DISORGANICORIGAMI

In 2008 two experienced musicians, Roman drummer Davide Guidoni and Alfio Costa, keyboardist from Bergamo, shared a vision and came up with a new project called DAAL (the name is an acronym inspired by the first letters of their first names). They spent together a week in a country house in the province of Viterbo, in the Cimini Hills area, putting together and recording their musical ideas, then they refined and chiselled them in studio with the help of some guest musicians. The result is "Disorganicorigami", a debut album that was released in 2009 on the independent label Mellow Records. It's a work full of enthusiasm and passion where the musicians blend vintage sounds with modern influences and up to date technology looking for "an absolute freedom of expression". Although the album is completely instrumental the art work by Davide Guidoni and some liner notes in some way explain what the music is about...

The short opener "Holocaustica" is about the never ending human tendency to self- destruction. You can hear screaming hooters and synthetic sounds then a threatening, distorted marching beat. There's an overall disquieting mood... "Tell me... Man... Aren't you tired of breathing death yet?". Next comes the dark "Chimaira" that, according to the liner notes, was inspired by a Valerio Massimo Manfredi's novel of the same name dealing with Etruscan rites and a mysterious statue called "L'ombra della sera". The guests Flavio Costa (guitar) and Cristiano Roversi (Chapman stick) add deep red colours to this excellent track... "I was only a child, but when I become a warrior I saw its eyes and lost my sense, forever...".

"Mo(o)nso(o)n" leads you far away towards East with its frenzied percussion work and its nocturnal, exotic flavour. A strange presence is following you keeping to himself, following a path on his own... The electric violin provided by the guest Riccardo Paltanin add a touch of mystery. "Brain Melody" is another dark, hypnotic track enriched by Alessandro Papotto's Turkish sax obscure melodies... "I am the way to the night, the wanderer following the tracks of time... Dancing to the rhythm of madness...".

The long "The Dance of the Drastic Navels Part 1" is divided into four parts and was inspired by a sci-fi story about sex between humans and machines that you can read in the booklet. The piece begins with an experimental, suggestive section, "Chapter One: Touch my oscillators", then comes a part close to free jazz, "Chapter Two: Inside The Electronic Witch". After eight minutes the atmosphere becomes more relaxed with the beautiful "Chapter Three: Ibrida-Ex". The dreamy "Chapter Four: Sleeping Away" concludes the story... "And sleep caught up with him dead tired... A sleep he didn't wane to ever wake up from...".

The short title track is dedicated to the memory of Richard Wright along with the following Pink Floyd's cover "A Saucerful Of Secrets". Then comes "Children Of Our Dreams", a short, delicate acoustic track featuring the guest Vincenzo Zitello on flute, viola, cello and clarinet. It's a kind of lullaby for all the suffering children all around the world... Ragnarök's cover "Var Glad Var Dag", credited as special bonus track, concludes the album drawing other dreamy atmospheres. Well, this is a challenging album and it could be difficult to appreciate it on the very first listening but if you try again I think it can be rewarding.

I did something unique, I purchased 3 albums from Daal in one shot , without really hearing anything about them, a wild and bold gamble that was well worth it, considering the band offered me to review their latest, to which I promptly replied 'Great timing, 3 are ordered and in the mail!) . It's for a good cause but what spooky timing'..They were laughing too!

Daal has a different spin on the prog version of electronica, whereby both the keys and the drums play a vital part in the overall sound, as Alfio Costa (ex-Tilion and Prowlers) is unafraid of combining old-school symphonics and soloing into his vast arsenal of synthesized sounds. This lies somewhere between classic electronic and film music, old fashioned prog (mellotrons, flutes, violins) and the more technoid crowd but with sizzling drums from master percussor Davide Guidoni (Tapobran among many others) , fascinating piano designs and evocative compositions. Infusing some weirdness also helps keeping things unpredictable and magical. Strangely, I find this kind of strong music very romantic, perhaps even sexual in a way, ideal background music for some durable loving. Their debut 'Disorganicorigami' has profound liner notes that aptly describes how 2 polar opposite musicians welded together spiritually and musically. Muscular electronic prog this will be, a soundtrack for the bruised and forever hungry mind!

'Holocaustica' rages like air-raid siren that blares from the opening slit. The mood is set for some serious sonic mind rambling and divine progressive bliss.

On the brash 'Chimeria', Alfio's brother Flavio blasts some fizzling chords, while Stick bass maestro Cristiano Roversi (Moongarden) shuttles some mean low-end notes. The ebb and flow are stunning and highly (pun) effectual.

'Mo(o)ns(o)on' is a brooding , doom-laden synthesized bulldozer, pummeled by Davide's straightforward drumming mixed with sultry percussion (eat your heart out Carl Palmer!) , with occasional tropical glimpses, slashed by jungle noises, scarred by daring violins meows and bubbling ethnic sounds. Unlike anything I have heard instrumentally, the lads combine organic with electronic in an effortless fashion, molding a terrific composition and applying layers of texture.

The obscured by clouds 'Brain Melody' sounds frighteningly similar to one shot Swedish cinema proggers Morte Macabre or fellow countrymen L'Ombre della Sera, perfecting some highly visual soundtrack music with gargantuan torrents of lusty mellotron , aided and abetted by some Turkish sax (woss dat?). Brain melody indeed, this is deadly stuff, even zeuhl fans would flock to this comp! Sombre reptiles lurking in the gloomy shadows, hissing nastily.

'The Dance of the Drastic Navels Part 1' is the atmospheric epic selection here, a 14 minute + extravaganza of vaporous sighs, troubling sounds and surrealistic pillows. Furtively pinging synth bubbles, anomalous marimba patches and exotic percussives all coalesce into this cauldron of weirdness; a blitzkrieg rifle suddenly appears, armed by sax, clarinet and oboe (a la Andy Mackay) , giving the piece a highly experimental sheen, avant- garde and manically improvised, like early instrumental Roxy Music gone bananas! Metallic clanging, obtuse ramblings, bizarroid textures (early Eno?) only add to the apprehension. Not very melodic but certainly schizoid. But then, a sweeping and prolonged Keith Emerson- like synth solo blows in from the south, unannounced! Okay, I am gutted! Definitely mind music.

The mini title track is a snippet of deep breathing voice effects (smoking what, non sono sicuro!), a neurotic sax solo and all around quirk.

Pink Floyd's cover of 'A Saucerful of Secrets' is a bold yet unsurprising step, as the duo provide a denser electronic sheen, in complete acquiescence with the stupendous organ sounds, thus modernizing the classic piece beyond its boundaries. Drumming is fittingly nimble, the arrangement disjointed and schizophrenic. The solemn piano section is simply diabolical, glorified in the presence of Fabio Zuffanti's rolling bass (he of Finisterre, Hostsonaten and la Maschera di Cera fame) and Laura Mombrini seductively wailing vocals. Stunnerville!

'Children of Our Dreams' is a romantic piano-led lullaby, sweetly pastoral and orchestrated, crystalline in its purity and thus far-removed from the electronic kling-klang.

Bonus track is a cover from Ragnorok's 'Var Glad Var Dag', a classic Swedish prog composition drenched in eccentricity and cascades of abysmal mellotron, slithering drumming, grooving bass keyboards and woolly synthesizer soloing on an overpowering lead melody. A stellar opening goal for these astute Italians, a screaming volley right into the old onion bag! Daal is on the ball and I am anxious to immerse myself in their sophomore album, coming up next.

4.5 Confused paper dolls

Italian duo, formed in 2008 by two veterans of modern Italian Prog: Keyboardist Alfio Costa, founding member of Prowlers and Tilion, and drummer Davide Guidoni, formerly of Gallant Farm, The Far Side and most notably Taproban and graphic designer of several artworks for prog albums.The two men resided in a farmhouse at the Viterbo Hills for about a week to compose the material of what was to be their debut album ''Disorganicorigami''.The recordings took place at two different studios between September 08' and March 09' and a deal with Mellow Records secured its release in 2009.

The aim of the duo was to free themselves from the borders of the more classic forms of Progressive Rock and come up with a work with no particular boundaries...except maybe from an instrumental point of view, as Costa handles all vintage and digital keyboards and Guidoni all the percussion and samplers on the album, which has limited contribution by other instruments by a few guests.The music is quite bombastic and extremely psychedelic at moments, creating acidic instrumental trips, which recall Electronic Kraut Rock, Experimental Rock, Classic Prog, Jazz and even Ethnic Music.Structurally the arrangements are rather loose, especially in the longer pieces, which sound quite improvised, the shorter ones being more cohesive and thus more competitive.So the listening actually consists of powerful and highly cinematic tracks with a tremendous grandieur to rather incosistent, long compositions with some intersting ideas as well as boring textures.Costa's armour is endless, including Mellotrons, organs, moog synthesizer as well as different modern keyboards and he is the main reason of the diversity of the sound, from old-styled Symphonic Rock to trippy, contemporary Electronic Music, supported by Guidoni's samplers.Some sax and violin parts add respectively a jazzy and Chamber atmosphere in the album.During the composing process of the album the duo was shocked, hearing the news about Richard Wright's death and they included a cover on ''A Saucerful of Secrets'', which sounds quite nice along the lines of the group with good changes between old-fashioned and digital keys.

Original and weird stuff by these Italians.''Disorganicorigami'' will be loved by all fans of more Avant- or Experimental Rock forms and keyboard freaks with a tendency towards atmospheric musicianship, but it will also be a hard listening for followers of more conservative prog material.Nevertheless, this is a recommended and very fresh album.

DAAL's first registered 2009 album: "Disorganicorigami", shows clearly the band's whereabouts.

Quiet deconstructed and excessively experimental, it somehow prefigures DAAL's "future", far more polished albums. But that will be the "future". This one holds some very good songs, others are good, and some others kind of expendable. The best surprise is to find these guys roots, on Non-prog/Prog bands like "YELLO", "Tuxedomoon" and "Underworld's" electronic/ trance.. Also, a lot of very early "electronic music",( which by the way, many consider Italy to be its "craddle", way back in 1930). And close to Prog influences like Van der Graff, ELP, Univers Zero and Klaus Schulze's first works.

"The good and the not so good":

It is daring but also simplistic. It has attractive and intelligent proposals, but stays short of them more than once. The experimental "electronics" opposed to "acoustic" instruments performances, predict their "future" musical language, but on this one, the results on some songs is outbalanced by one or the other. The use of "vintage" synths sounds is novel in these "times" (2009), but the sound alone does not help much, if it really does not trascend the mere use of them as "collectible vintage instruments". And finally although there are interesting musical lines that could have been worked, more than once they just act as background, to less surprising structures, that have been "worked" vaguely or to an excess of repetition.

The best is that this band will jump from this to their 2nd., excellent album. And the good parts outweight the not so good.

To wrap it up, good but will be better. This is not the best place to start your DAAL's aquaintance, more for people who have already listened to posterior works and care to know this band's whereabouts. Therefore good, but not essential, until you listen to their following projects and become a DAAL's follower .

***3 PA stars.

And then from another seemingly parallel musical universe comes the eccentric and eclectic sounds of DAAL. A duo who took their name not from the Hindi word meaning "bean" although DAAL curry soup is quite tasty, but rather by simply taking the first two initials of the the two only official members DA-vide Guidoni and AL-fio Costa and strung them together much in the spirit of many other groups ranging from Abba to Codona. The result of this collaboration of talents is a musical tastiness all its own. Although officially a duet, they incorporate the talents of many musical friends in the making of this album including electric violins, turkish and soprano saxes, flutes, clarinets, oboes, violas and cellos.

These guys come from Bergamo, Italy and have played in a number of progressive bands thoughout the years. DAAL emerged right from the getgo as masters of bizarre alien soundscapes that incorporate whole swaths of sounds spanning the musical world. Upon first listen they sounded to me like they married the alien electronic atmospheres of Coil, mixed in the tribal ethno-folk drumming of Comus and the occasionally jazz outbursts of John Zorn horn solos and post bop flirtations while also adding gypsy styled violins. The other musical influences range from Floydian space rock to Tangerine Dream ambience to even some occasional hard rock outbursts and classical music also poking in and out of the scene in a wrestling match with a space drone section.

The true wealth of sounds comes from the space synths of Alfio Costa who includes all of the following on this album: Hammond M100, Leslie 125, Leslie Simse 'Space Master', Minimoog, Mellotron M400SM, Fender-Rhodes Mk II, Kurzweil piano SP76, Furstein-Farfisa piano, Korg MS10 analog synth, Hammond-Suzuki XB2, harmonium, Moog Modular VST synth, SynthOscar VST synth, Arp2600 VST synth, Pro5 VST synth, Minimonsta VST synth, Ivory Piano VST synth, Colossus VST synth as well as others. Equally impressive is the percussion skills of Davide Guidoni who not only takes us on percussive journeys hither and tither with his own arsenal of sound making devices in the forms of: Tama Hyperdrive Plus Roland V-Drums TD6, Roland V-Drums TD12, Synhestesia Mandala drum pad, Roland handsonic, Korg Wavedrums, Rotoloops, cymbals & gongs, Metal Octobans, percussion and many other samplers.

While the eclectic nature of this music sweeps you away from the first sirens alerting you that you are in for a truly unique experience, it didn't really hit me until the cover of Pink Floyd's "A Saucerful Of Secrets" commenced. The lightbulb went off! That's what they are going for here. That particular track has always been an absolute favorite of psychedelic achievement removing the shackles of the pop and blues aspects and offering up a more alien and brooding atmosphere that always made me feel like a close encounter of a musical kind. It seems in fact that "Saucer"is the blueprint for their entire output, not in sound at all times necessarily but in the liberating spirit of that tracks that Pink Floyd only repeated briefly again on "Ummagumma" and then jettisoned for a more accessible style.

The music in all its twists and turns remains alien, dark, brooding, bizarre and at times plain creepy with overlapping parts to heighten the desired effects. This debut album is the beginning of a string of excellent albums that have been getting more attention in recent years. I find this to be an excellent debut. It only begins to wear thin starting with the female vocals on the "Saucer" cover when i feel our female diva shows the constraints of the human world and brings the extraterrestrial experience down to a mere mediocre human one. The tracks that follow seem to derail and seem like mere filler at this point but up to that fateful point i really love this album.

Be warned that this is an extremely ambitious album with a constant business to it that will only appeal to the most hyperactive and ravenous music addicts but it's not always busy. There is plenty of slow brooding melancholy and hypnotic spaciness. If this is, by chance, what you're seeking then DAAL will not disappoint and their debut album DISORGANICORIGAMI is the absolute perfect entry into their eclectic and electrically charged musical universe. Some may find this disjointed, too busy for its own good, unfocused as to not make it brilliant or whatever, but this music is what it is. It is the kind that samples liberally and evokes a mood. Take it for what it is and it is brilliant. Start placing judgments on what you deem should have been done instead then the magic will collapse around you. I personally find this entrancing and outstandingly captivating music and this is only their first album. 4.5 rounded down