108

Il Ballo delle Castagne are an Italian prog band based in Milan that was formed in 2007 on the initiative of two musicians coming from different experiences: Vinz (vocals) and Marco Garegnani (guitars, sitar, keyboards and moog). The line up features also Diego Banchero on bass and Jo Jo on drums. After an eponymous debut album featuring an interesting mix of hard rock, progressive and new wave they're working on a new album, more focused on the roots of Italian prog.

According to the band, "108" is a sacred number in many Eastern cultures and that's why they chose it as title for this 10' vinyl single from the upcoming album "Kalachakra", influenced by the charm of Eastern religions like Buddhism and Hinduism. It features just two covers of the early seventies: Biglietto per l'Inferno's "Ansia / Confessione" and Franco Battiato's "Paranoia". The band did not try to imitate the original versions but managed to reinterpret them in a quite interesting way, with a sharper and darker sound. The result is quite good. Of course, just two covers and ten minutes of music are not enough to judge the band, but this is an excellent appetizer and I'm looking forward to the new album with the original stuff. Anyway, I think that this single should be of interest for vinyl prog collectors...