SUSPENDED FEATHERS

Suspended Feathers belongs to Alio Die (Stefano Musso) earliest explorations into heavenly inspired trancey dronescapes. Stefano Musso is a very prolific artist who (along his careerà has delivered constant quality inside experimental dreamy electronic music. His creative ambiental soundscapes are reminiscence to Robert Rich, Arold Budd, Steve Roach and others electronic pionniers. However the static ambient sculptures include much more substantial intuitive-improvised parts with regular uses of droning sequences and darker-lugubrious atmospheres. The moving, spacious and sonic musical background is often punctuated by manipulated sounds taken from the nature, giving to the piece a sort of sacred flavour evocating metempsychosis. All compositions are quite evocative, including fragile melodies and harmonious-ethereal-melodic phrases. It finishes with the rainy-pastoral Wings of Firefall and its natural sounds and its eerie-textured droning moves. Vital experimental work that introduces harmonious correspondances between our own subjectivity and the sacred theatre of the universe. A good introduction to Stefano Musso's original world of sounds before to be involved into his sublime "environmental" electronic trilogy (Hidden Spring, Stanze of Transcendance, Leaves Net).

It doesn't start very well. The more than 20 minutes long first track has very little variations. I wouldn't be able to distinguish it from any of the Phrozenlight's drones. I like the genre but this or any other track of this kind doesn't make a big difference.

But this "Suspended Feathers" is not only this. A characteristic of Alio Die (Other Day in Latin) is the use of acoustic and natural sounds filtered and manipulated by electronic devices. "Ruins Garden Drones" is a fantastic track featuring water, wood, winds and a fantastic flute all accompanied by what I think is the "chinese cymbals" which sounds between a harp and an acoustic guitar. On this track the word "Progressive" stays well together with "Electronic". It's the soundtrack of a dream. It's the primordial fusion with Nature. I wouldn't be surprised if one of the Geinoh Yamashirogumi choirs appears suddenly. In one word: it's a trip.

"Time In Absence" is more spacey, like the first track but also in this case the flute, or the keyboard or whatever it is sends us in a dreamy world. No longer a wood or an Eastern jungle, in this track I see the deep space's darkness. The only awaken astronaut walking in a generational starship. Minor chords slightly changing. Imagine the intro of Shine On You Crazy Diamond slowed down a lot with the flute leading the simulacrum of a melody and no blues at all.

The title of the title track has made me think to Forrest Gump before listening to it, but there's absolutely no relationship. This feather is suspended, it's not carried away by the wind. It's a suspension in Time, a crystallized quantum of space-time at the beginning of the world. What would be another drone in Phrozenlight's style is later transformed by the sounds of rain, howling animals, and non rhythmic percussion.

"Wings Of The Firefall" proceeds on this line, but with a litlle more energy. There's the impression of a cello, then the heavy rain coming in the middle of the song brings with its some noises more or less natural. This track is like a moment of mystic ecstasy, one of those moments when you can feel a sensation of unity with the cosmos...I'm probably flying too high, but this is what this music does to me: it makes me fly.

Of course you need to let your mind go, you have to be conscious that it's progressive electronic, and must want to experience something like this. Or you are just tired after a long day and want to relax yourself. In this case it's one of the best things that you can put on.

I think 4 stars are well deserved. If you are not keen with ambient music stay away, otherwise this is an excellent addition to your collection.