LUCA SCHERANI

The album is of course centered around the nice keyboard work of Scherani and explores the territories of Symphonic Rock, Electronic and Jazz/Fusion, while some smoother passages are also placed in the compositions.The musicianship is heavily driven by the delicate synthesizers, producing dreamy and nostalgic soundscapes, and a few oriental and Chill-out inspirations can be traced through the material.Some tracks are closer to Classic Prog of the age with symphonic themes, Classical piano interludes and dual keyboard moves, blended with sharp Electronic workouts and loops.The good use of some acoustic guitars and the addition of the violins (played by Nicola Peirano) make the album quite flexible.The sporadic electric guitars, where used, are delivered in a very virtuosic way, somewhat close to an ALLAN HOLDSWORTH style.Scherani's collaboration with the aforementioned Fabio Zufanti's projects seems also to have inspired him, as the music ranges from grandiose textures to calmer moments with the use of modern technologies.

''Everyday's life'' is not a groundbreaking album, but it is certainly a fine, mostly instrumental work for Progressive/Art Rock fans with a pleasant and dreamy atmosphere throughout.Additionally, in one or another, it marks also the starting point of Scherani's full involvement within the recent Italian Prog scene.Recommended.

Well, this is one of those names that may not be well-known, but that should be, because a talented man should be better recognized if he deserves it, and this is the case of this Italian man called Luca Scherani. He started playing piano at the age of five, and since then he has studied and dedicated part of his life for the music.

I don't really remember who recommended me this album, but I remember there was a time where Lucha Scherani was added to the database and people use to talk a little bit about it, now it is my turn to let people know about this musician's first solo effort. So there is the album called "Everyday's Life", released in 2007, an album that features eight songs and a total time of 45 minutes. It is important to mention that Scherani plays several instruments, though piano and keyboards are maybe his main attraction. Also, this album features several guest musicians who added their talent playing some instruments, or sharing their voices.

The album kicks off with "In the Darkness" Since the very first second you will listen to a piano sound, so it may be evident that it is a keyboard-driven album, be prepared for it. After some seconds you will listen to a nice violin sound, and later several noises created by keyboards and synthesizers, the song is pretty nice, and despite being led by piano, the "ordinary" instruments such as guitar, bass and drums also are here adding their grain of sand.

"In the Morning" is a nice track with gentle acoustic guitar accompanied by a symphonic keyboard sound. Seconds later the violin appears again and the song begins to progress, creating a friendly atmosphere which makes the song even more enjoyable. After the half of the song, there are some strange noises that put the piece into a spacey mood that lasts for a minute, later the song returns to that friendly sound.

"Anonimous" is another song that starts acoustic guitar and a soft rhythm, but only seconds later it makes a considerable change and keyboard and synth sounds appear everywhere, creating a robotic-like atmosphere that will be accompanied later by addictive bass lines. But well, the song later turns softer and again a gentle sound appears. Here for the first time vocals appear, I believe it was the same Luca using a vocoder, which I am not particularly fan, but sounds fine. This track offers a lot of experimentation, the robotic sound alternates with a jazzy and soft sound, and it is pretty cool.

Then the title track, "Everyday's Life" with a fresh and relaxing sound, the mood is quite enjoyable, so you can sit, close your eyes and let the melody enter into your mind, then you'll feel tranquil, even peaceful. This is a mellow and gentle track where one can also appreciate Luca's skills with keyboards, synths and piano, he creates great atmospheres and knows how and when to use them.

"Il Dono" is a cool track that has a different flavor, I would say this is his most eclectic composition, you will notice that percussion sound he creates. But later there are lush keyboards and bombastic solos that are filled with other synth sounds as background, so this song is quite experimental, and quite interesting, though I have to admit that the last minute sounds a bit repetitive, even unnecessary.

"Solo Chi Ha Sofferto" has again that friendly sound, however this time the keyboard sound stronger at the beginning. Seconds later the song little by little progresses, the drums are nice and the vocals good. There is a nice guitar solo before the third minute and later again some experimentation, several noises here and there. Then, that gentle sound returns, in moments, becoming repetitive.

"In the Evening" has a spacey sound that may fit in any sci-fi film soundtrack, but that was only the introduction because later the piano and bass appear creating a quite different atmosphere. It is good until here, because then a beat sound enters and quits all the beauty of the track, of course, in my opinion. Later it disappears and the song becomes better with those keyboard sounds that in moments remind me to Wakeman. But oh no, that beat sound reappears and screw up the song. Spoken word, using vocoder again, make this even worse, what a pity.

"Soli" is the shortest and final track. Nice bass lines and great female vocals. Good to see she sings with his voice, I mean without the help of any electronic item that would distort it. I would have placed this song earlier and not in the end, it is pretty, fresh and warm.

This is a good album by this Italian artist, I enjoy most of them with the exception of a couple of passages, anyway I believe it is a quite decent debut that should be noticed among prog lovers. My final grade will be three stars.

Enjoy it!

In the Darkness: The track starts quite nicely with a piano melody and gets much more complex afterwards, with added drums, bass, several synths and guitar. In the complex parts the timing is a bit off, but other than that it's a nice track.

In the Morning: This track features a Richard Andersson like sharp synth lead on top of acoustic guitar strumming - but this part quickly makes way for an experimental keyboard dominated interlude, which after some time morphs back into the first part, this time with a normal synth lead.

Anonymous: After some synth experimentation a laid-back groove begins, with e-piano like accompaniment and several different synth leads. throughout the track these two parts alternate, with some variations. Timing is much more tight than on the previous two tracks.

Everyday's Life: A very mellow track, very tasty groove and synth layers. There's a cool experimental section about half way through.

Il Dono: My favorite track. Quite experimental, sparse drumming, various different instruments take the lead.

Solo Chi Ha Sofferto: Nice mellow track, not as diverse as Il Dono but with solid timing and tasty experimentation.

In the Evening: Interesting synth accompaniment, and in the last third the rhythm breaks down and makes way for tasty piano improvising and spoken words morphed into synths - the the track resumes with strings and mellotron/synch-choir in the background and a nice guitar solo.

Soli: The only track with vocals (female, in Italian) ... nice!