Listen to: Lorenzo Monni (Italy, Eclectic)

A composer and multi-instrumentalist with a a classical music background, Lorenzo Monnicreates eclectic progressive rock pieces with high emphasis on gorgeous melodies and intricate arrangements and structure.

He has released 3 albums, thus far: 

Death of Future Men (2007)
  
Debris (2008) 

Grey Swans of Extremistan (2010)  

You can stream the last two albums on his bandcamp.

In the first two albums Lorenzo played everything himself and the drums were programmed, which may affect some listeners response to the music, but despite that, the music itself is simply wonderful, so I highly recommend getting beyond any obstacles or pre-conceived notions you might have about programmed drumming. In the third album released recently he has real drums played by two drummers (not together). 

Here is his formal bio from his website:
Biography (English translation by Serena Boldrin and Annamaria Arlotta):
" Lorenzo Monni was born in Cagliari in the late 80s and spent his early childhood around Sassari countryside. At the age of 7, he moved to San Donà di Piave, a town near Venice sorrounded by cornfields and cement. When he was 8, he started playing the recorder, envious of his cousin, who was studying flute at middle school and successfully performed for the family. 2 years later the teacher advised Lorenzo to move to the cello. But he didn’t find the new experience too inspiring, because he prefered playing songs by ear to practising with cello technique.At the age of 14, swept away by his newborn passion for rock music, Lorenzo dediced to give up classical studies and went into eletric guitar. When he was 15, he undertook a passionate and solitary study of the blends between classical and modern music. He begun to write his own songs, saving the sheet music in the computer thanks to an old notation programme for Windows 3.1. Meanwhile, he played with unsuccessful local bands. At the age of 18, after liceo scientifico qualification, he reistered at the faculty of electronic engineering, at the university of Trieste (at the moment he is at the third year). When he was 19, he bought a classical guitar and started to play it in fingerstyle. At the same time, his interest for eletronic music and personalization of sounds grew up. In 2007 his first album was released, fully self- produced and written, with the title of “Death of future men”. In the same year, he begun his collabotation with various budding musicians, such as Dunkelblau, eletronic duo he still plays with, and Superio, band he left in September 2007 after he had offered his contribution for their first demo disk. He has also collaborated with singer-songwriter Andrea Liuzza, who Lorenzo is going to work with in 2008 too.In February 2008 Lorenzo’s second album, “Debris”, produced between April 2007 and February 2008, was released."

Bump... worth it!

Will listen 

^ Amen, Gazz.  You can usually find the BTF stuff on our continent at Synphonic (www.synphonic.8m.com).  But I agree, sometimes he doesn't stock the things I'm interested in, and then I end up having to place a large order just to justify the enormous shipping costs.  And then there's the wait, which is eternal.

First review!



Finnforest
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator / RPI Specialist Grey is the colour and more guitar-centric

Lorenzo Monni is a composer and multi-instrumentalist born in Cagliari in 1986. After studying classical music as a child he switched to guitar and became interested in sound experimentation. Now in college he already has three full original albums to his credit. His latest work is 2010's "Grey Swans of Extremistan" and this one seems even more influenced by Fripp and Belew. It was recorded at Artisound Studio in Venice and released on the Lizard Records label.

Whereas the previous album "Debris" seemed to be more open-ended, the music of Grey Swan seems more deliberate and the songs more unified in vision. Where "Debris" was more a collection of diverse vignettes, Grey Swan focuses much more on the guitar. There is more rock here as well as Monni has brought human drummers on board for the new material, and his playing seems more biting and less laid-back. Some songs of Grey Swan take a darker and more dissonant tone than the often playful daylight feelings of "Debris." Here the material can drift into somewhat harsh droning loops and cloudier chord progressions, although there are some lighter moments as well, like "The Mysterious Cyclist of Cyclette," a pop-shuffle that reminds me of "Walk Like an Egyptian" of all things. That one is a real departure however, and most of the album focuses on slowly building guitar and rhythm pieces of variable mood. "Zeitgeber" is quite heavy, almost industrial sounding, a bit of Toby Driver. My highlights would veer to the more atmospheric playing on "Amarcord" and "Doggerel of the Deep." The former features beautiful leads over bright chords and bass guitar, to some hand percussion, before changing to acoustic strumming. The latter "Doggerel" could be a track from "Insurgentes" starting somewhat moody and fairly quiet, then adding handclaps and drumming, building to some forceful sections before ending in a droning haze.

This is another impressive step for Monni as he continues what promises to be a very eclectic career. For my tastes though I much preferred the previous album (see my Debris review) which just had more variations and a bit more whimsy. I would like to see Monni work with a great Italian language vocalist in the future, perhaps do something in the avant-classical vein like Opus Avantra, given his classical background. But wherever he goes next I'll be dying to check it out.