TERRA

Italian psychedelia with Oriental flavour blows in!

Yes as honestly I say, at first I could not realize Terra (The earth) should be in Rock Progressivo Italiano genre. Already in the beginning are exotically percussive and sitar-like synth sounds active, and the smooth and gentle keyboard and bass can take you to 'East Asia' I feel. Although I have heard that MAPPE NOOTICHE could be much influenced by not only RPI but also Krautrock or Space Rock, this Egitti style should be, in my opinion, nearly Indo-rock or Japanese-folk one. Indeed they may have various styles of progressive rock, but without pasta & pizza they can push their experimental and improvised sounds onto you. And what an impressive and comfortable stream they can shoot! OK to give yourself to the stream. Dance and twist to Dub One, a very rhythmical but heavily drowsy song. May be suitable for a junkie party - as a dreamy state of mind, as a trance can I express the song? The sharp-edged guitar solo under the mainstream sounds is more psychically fragrant. Even here Oriental percussion can act extremely and naturally. The next Ti Ricordi? (Do you remember?) is a slow ballad with guitars' kindness in strong contrast to the previous one. Depressive atmosphere and spacey air are the same, though. Dreamy and aesthetic keyboard solo can make you safe and sound - in spite of the darkness. Very interesting I feel that darkness and brightness can simultaneously live together in this album. Paradossi (Paradoxes) is, as the title says, paradoxically heavy and ground-rumbling. The bass repetition is hypnotic and the synth stardust is brilliant - with growling guitar solo. Without your intention you should clap your hands to this song - paradoxically. Your dream will go on - Lacrime (Tears) has quiet guitar and eccentric synth sounds in the first part, voices with special effects and danceable percussion are very comfortable in the middle, and again quiet atmosphere with the synth, whispers, guitars can come in the last. You may dream with teardrops - your tears sometimes drop quietly and sometimes flow like a fall - not you? As the next song Frontiere (Frontiers) should be, their voices and whispers can be one of the instruments here - make the songs more impressive and dreamful. They can use all instruments (including themselves :-P) effective for this spacey psychedelia. Interludio (Interlude) is a short and graceful piano anecdote, that may remind you the next heaviness and darkness. You bet! Mura (Boundaries) can get started with heavy and fluttering bass solo. A bit irritating and tentative keyboard sounds and steady drums together should be mysterious for you - can feel, as it is said, like a scene close to danger. However, you can realize all they shoot can be your pillows, your brainstorms...with builder and breaker of your mind. Hmm, how should I say, about this free'n'easy acoustic guitar and warping synth one in the song Satellite Centro (Satellite center)? With really strange comfort you will rush to the end... E Le Stelle Siano Con Te (And the stars are with you) is, I wanna say, exactly fit for the end of the work. Various instruments by them can make a sound shower and a sound chandelier, with Oriental spices. As I've emphasized before, Italian progressive rock has some Oriental flavour! (Overestimating? No, no, we 'Eastern' countries love Italy so much! :-D)

You can be more and more immersed into Terra (the earth), splendid time is guaranteed for all!

Italy is not just about RPI but also other neighborly genres such as Heavy Prog, Crossover, jazz-prog and even Canterbury but Space is also prime territory as witnessed by groups such as the masterful Sunscape (only 1 album in 1999 but what a whopper!) or Mary Newsletter. This is just another new kid on the cosmic block, a classy quartet where the bass is up front and center (kind of necessary in this genre to be succesful), the propellant of astral tapestries that alternately float, glide and whoosh. The platform is based on a solid grid of interweaving keyboard courtesy of the brothers Fiorin , Mario and Andrea, hard percussives pounding between bass rumbles, all providing the catalyst for guitarist Umberto Schirosi to flutter at ease from one screeching universe to another. While highly contemplative and soporific, the quality of the playing is masterful. After a dreamy opener ("Egitti"), the true nature of Nautical Maps is revealed on "Dub One", a pulsating adventure into starlit expanses, featuring swirling synths, marshalling drums and uninhibited guitar rampages that are an omen of things to come, all within a tight compositional context. This is exquisite when there is an actual melody to boot. "Ti Ricordi?" proves that Space/Psychedelic is not about senseless noodling or some hip silliness but rather a timeless focus on slow developing melodies and sonic dimensions with intense soloing (Schirosi really rips here) and the ability to evoke cerebral invocations in the listener's mind. The Eastern vibe previously mentioned by other reviewers enters the fray, mostly due to a sitar-like tone from the picky guitar, who uses this spice with gentle persuasion. "Paradossi" is the longest track at 9 minutes and highlights their style perfectly, an aural catapult that zooms forward unabated, setting down a breezy groove that recalls a distant Isle of Everywhere (a Gong classic) , a celestial rapture that conjures images of subtle power and forceful drama. The bass guided tempo is pursued on the gorgeous "Lacrime", featuring wailing swaths of fuzzy vocals and meaty rhythms, a cosmic cavalcade of the highest stature that will whoosh your mind into farflung space horizons. Garbled voices pinging and ponging recklessly, kept in line by that hypnotic bass furrow, it does not get any better than this. "Frontiere" seeks out more adventurous boundaries, perhaps a bit beyond the usual spatial romp but one has to only hook up with that nasty bass line and get back into the groove. This is perhaps more psychedelic what with all the vocal bellowing amid the snail-paced beat, very reflective, ponderous and yet febrile. Umberto then takes the spotlight for a sweet and extended solo that ushers in some interesting innovations, almost breezy (that wah-wah section is so yummy) winking at spaced out early period Steve Hillage. "Mura" is a slightly more tangible monument, reverting to more conformist space noodlings, still conducted by that devilish bass guitar , the binary drums pounding relentlessly with added effort from a sublime electric piano and zooming synths. There is a more experimental Floydian premise here; combined with some Eastern tones a la Gong or the Ozric lads. The brief "Satellite Centro" is sweetness incarnate, twangy guitar pickin' that just boggles the mind, crafty little devils, these Italians. The finale "E Le Stelle Siano Con Te" gets very reflective, sitar-like tones in the background, a slow-moving mirror pool of soothing sounds from the glorious piano and assorted percussives , showing immense creativity and musical variation.

A thoroughly impressive listen, this is Space the way it should be perceived = constantly adventurous . These lads are.

I feel sad for all those audiophiles who resort to ambient shoe gazing material to paint sonic landscapes in their living arrangement when there is so much expressive Space prog releases out there for the taking. This Mappe Nootiche album is ideal living room, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and den music! I can't wait to get their next one, as I can listen to this universal bliss forever. Space fans need this now, call Santa ASAP

5 ocean charts

Well I wasn't too impressed with the follow-up to this but tszirmay insisted that i'd like their debut better, and he was right. There's a FLOYD vibe here at times along with that PORCUPINE TREE beat we hear on those early albums. This is pretty much all instrumental too but we do get some voices and vocal expressions at times. I don't think i've played an album more than this one before I reviewed it. I just was on the fence as far as the rating goes but have decided it's worth the 4 stars. Lots to enjoy here for psychedelic music fans.

"Egitti" opens with percussion as spacey sounds join in along with these outbursts. Piano before 1 1/2 minutes then bass as the percussion continues. Percussion and bass only 4 minutes in then the piano joins in again. "Dub One" has some atmosphere as the drums and bass join in. Some Gilmour-like guitar after a minute and an almost Reggae rhythm. "Ti Ricordi ? " sounds really good when it becomes fuller before a minute. I like the guitar as well in this relaxed tune. Some nice bass after 3 1/2 minutes. "Paradossi" has a FLOYD vibe early then it kicks in with prominant bass and a spacey soundscape. Piano before 2 minutes. Guitar after 4 minutes as it solos over top. It stops before 7 minutes and some vocals follow.

"Lacrime" kicks in at 2 minutes with a beat. Vocals join in too and it settles back late. "Frontiere" has a beat with guitar and atmosphere. Vocals and bass join in after a minute. Guitar to the fore after 4 minutes and it's Gilmour-like. The bass is excellent here. "Interludio" is less than a minute of laid back piano melodies. "Mura" sounds great as it builds. A definite favourite. "Satellite Centro" has picked guitar,synths, a beat and more. Lots of intricate sounds. "E Le Stelle Siano Con Te" is a good one and a great way to end the album. It's spacey with a beat as piano and guitar play over top. Vocals before 5 minutes.

A low 4 stars but I appreciate this style of chill-out music.

An Italian group from Cremona, that started as a trio under the name M.C. Noon with Andrea Fiorin (bass, synthesizer, vocals), Umberto Schirosi (guitar, vocals) and Luca Galimberti (percussion, loops).After the self-produced album ''Altroquando'' in 2002 with additional member Fausto Brusamolino on flutes/guitars, they changed their name to Mappe Nootiche, a term derived from the book ''Elianto'' of writer Stefano Benni.The group became a constant performer around the Milan area, now with Andrea's brother Mario on additional keyboards, and found a home in the Music Center record label.In 2008, along with the compilation album from the M.C. Noon days ''Le origini'', they released their official debut ''Terra''.

Back in the age of M.C. Noon the original trio played experimental and imrpovised spacey music, that eventually developed into Mappe Nootiche's semi-loose and sonic music soundscapes, a style based mainly on hypnotic grooves, airy piano lines, atmospheric synths and alternating guitars.Unfortunately the majority of ''Terra'' is dedicated to narcotic, deep and almost ambiental textures with loops and synthesizers being the main instruments, lacking the nerve and dynamics of OZRIC TENTACLES, which is one of the group's main influences.Steady, light grooves by the rhythm section and some smooth vocals support a very psychedelic but not really interesting music, that hardly contains any serious variations.Of course there are a few pieces in here with some tremendous energy akin to QUANTUM FANTAY or compatriots ASTRALIS with heavier guitar lines, long, spacey keyboard interludes and finally some changes in the direction of the same track, even having a bit of cinematic grandieur at times.There are also some moments that even the mass of lighter tunes are sensitive and emotional, especially on the lovely piano moves, but these are too few into the chaos of extended, boring minutes.

This is not among the best Space/Prog Rock works around.The absence of serious dynamics, trully memorable, soaring movements or deep inspiration marks it as a good purchase for fans of ambiental and rather Lounge Space Rock, however some potential is definitely indicated among its best parts, enough to at least keep an eye on the band...2.5 stars.