LIMITI ALL'EGUAGLIANZA DELLA PARTE CON IL TUTTO

Amazing modern RPI/Canterbury

Another wonderful band on the ever-growing excellent AltRock label, HOMUNCULUS RES is a Sicilian band centered around songwriter/guitarist/keyboardist Dario D'Alessandro. Other members currently include keyboardists David Di Giovanni and Federico Cardaci, bassist Domenico Salamone, flutist Dario Lo Cicero, and drummer Daniele Di Giovanni. A featured guest on the band's debut is YUGEN keyboardist Paolo "Ske" Botta.

The primary inspiration for the band is PICCHIO DAL POZZO, the best Canterbury-influenced Italian band from the 1970s. They seem likewise, as did PICCHIO DAL POZZO, to derive inspiration from other Canterbury bands, particularly CARAVAN and SOFT MACHINE. There are some trippy GONG-like passages as well. But HOMONCULUS RES is far from being a simple clone--they have taken the light, breezy, humorous Canterbury feel and mixed it with the early material from PREMIATA FORNERIA MARCONI and even LE ORME. They have combined these influences, spinning the whole in their wonderful melodic sensibilities, in the process creating one of the more unique and memorable entries into the crowded field of modern excellent Rock Progressivo Italiano.

This is one of the more interesting and better entries into a very crowded field of recent Rock Progressivo Italiano albums. The melodies are infectious, and the songwriting always interesting. There are several musical quotations that briefly appear (my favorite is the Michael Jackson "Billie Jean" riff that shows up in "DJ Psicosi"). The musicianship is stellar, as well, though always restrained and tasteful. And how can you not love an album with a song entitled "Preparation H Bomb"?

Don't let this album go unheard! There are several songs on YouTube and some abbreviated clips on Allmusic. (Also, catch the excellent progmistress review!) This is one that you'll enjoy for a long long time. Four stars (Gnosis 12/15)

Homunculus Res hail from Palermo and in 2013 released an interesting début album on the independent label Altr0ck/Fading Records with a line up featuring Dario D'Alessandro (guitar, vocals, minimoog, glockenspiel, percussion), Davide Di Giovanni (piano, organ, keyboards, drums, percussion, acoustic guitar, vocals), Daniele Di Giovanni (drums, percussion, acoustic guitar, vocals), Domenico Salamone (bass), Mauro Turdo (guitar), Federico Cardaci (minimoog, organ) and Dario Lo Cicero (flute) plus some guests and a special guest such as keyboardist Paolo Botta from Yugen, Not A Good Sign and Ske.

According to the band, their main sources of inspiration stem from artists linked to the Canterbury scene of the seventies such as Soft Machine, Robert Wyatt, Caravan and Hatfield and the North. Anyway, in their music and artistic approach you can find also the legacy of an Italian band from the seventies as Picchio dal Pozzo and echoes from contemporary bands as Yugen or Breznev Fun Club. Homunculus Res' style is bold and eclectic, they showcase a great musicianship and creativity but even in their most extravagant, challenging sonic experiments they never lose the sense of melody with brilliant results.

"Limiti all'eguaglianza della parte con il tutto" (the title could be loosely translated as "Limits to the equality between the part and the whole") features eighteen tracks very different in mood and length but that flow away as if in a long suite where you can find everything and its contrary. The lyrics swing from the funny nonsense of the opener "Culturismo Ballo Organizzare" to the poignant sarcasm of "(Che ne sai tu di un) cerchio nel grano" where they jokingly quote "bunga bunga", Lucio Battisti and Fabrizio De André.

In "Jessicalaura" the band mix Pink Floyd and Gianni Morandi in a funny, original way while the instrumental "Rifondazione unghie" recalls seventies atmospheres and an Italian band called Calibro 35. You can find a parody of a psychotic D.J. fan of Michael Jackson ("Dj Psicosi") and an ironic love song as "La ballata dell'amore stocastico". There's also a short quote from the "Happy Accidents" by Rascal Reporters ("Accidenti"), some echoes of bossa nova ("Estate 216 solstz") and many more interesting ideas.

By the way, the main composer of the band, Dario D'Alessandro, is also a painter and maybe his paintings and drawings that you can find in the booklet could describe the music better than my words. Have a try!

It's not every day that we see new bands bringing back the sound known as Canterbury. In my personal opinion, I don't think Canterbury should be considered a Prog Rock subgenre. It this should be seen as a scene instead. But I agree that this few bands have a similar kind of sound.

Homunculus Res is one of these bands. Coming from Palermo, Italy, this septet emulates the Canterbury sound as if they were in the 70's. Formed by Dario D'Alessandro (vocals, guitar, minimoog, glockenspiel and percussion), Davide Di Giovanni (keyboards, percussion, acoustic guitar and vocals), Daniele Di Giovanni (drums, percussion, acoustic guitar and vocals), Domenico Salamone (bass), Mauro Turdo (guitar), Federico Cardaci (Minimoog, organ) and Dario Lo Cicero (flutes), Homunculus Res released their first album in June 14 by the Italian label AltrOck. Homunculus Res Homunculus Res recorded an album with small tracks in a total of 18 and lots of humor.

They begin with the funny and weird 'Culturismo Ballo Organizzare', and in the next two tracks you can see that the band will have many marvelous and curious moments, especially if you understand a bit of Italian to laugh with their lyrics. 'ΔU' and 'Dj Psicosi' for example, are perfect examples of that.

Limiti All'Egualianza Delle Parte Con Il Tutto (2013) is a 50/50 album, the instrumental part has tracks spread through the album like 'Preparazione Bomba H' that brings the Canterbury sound very alive, 'Sintagma' that is weird and almost electronic, 'Rifondazione Unghie' that has a bit of Jethro Tull on it and 'Nabucco Chiappe D'Oro' that is an explicit Caravan influence. The other part of the instrumental tracks are 'Il Papa Buono' with a great drum work by Daniele Di Giovanni, 'Accidenti' that is just a really short intro kind of track with a very nice bass line by Domenico Salamore. And while 'Centoquarantaduemilaottocentocinquantasette' (which means 142.857) is a weird track with broken time signature, 'Profiterol' is a bit more melodic with guitars taking the lead. The next two tracks 'Estate 216 Solstz' and 'Puk 10' come to show how weird Homunculus Res can also be when it comes to choosing the names for their songs.

Now, talking about the tracks with vocals and lyrics, it's quite incredible how Dario D'Alessandro's compositions can emulate the classic 70's sound so well without falling into the copy field. 'Jessicalaura' and '[Che Ne Sai Tu Di Un] Cerchio Nel Grano' present us another unexpected mix of sounds that could figure in any great 70's record of the subgenre.

Going forward we'll find 'La Ballata Dell'Amore Stocastico' that, as the name suggests, it's a love ballad. Also, we have 'χΦ' that once again has a symbol as a track name and 'Il Contrario Di Tutto' that is the last track on Limiti All'Egualianza Delle Parte Con Il Tutto (2013), a solid song with a good melody and many vocals.

Throughout the album one thing that impresses is the big amount of vintage keyboards used in the recordings: minimoog, casiotone, memotron, piano, organ, microkorg, Wurlitzer, arp odyssey, farfisa and hohner. This shows how serious the band is about having their sound 'real'. Once again, the Italian label AltrOck delivers a high quality product with beautiful artwork in one of their albums.

Homunculus Res is a band that if you're not aware of them you'll swear that Limiti All'Egualianza Delle Parte Con Il Tutto (2013) was released in 70's and you're just discovering it now. This fact makes them perfect for you, fan of Canterbury.

(Originally posted on progshine.net)

What a wonderful cover art! This new Italian band doesn't hesitate to go full steam at any musical ideas that keep blossoming just like the little mushrooms from the guy's head. Right from the start you get both Zappa's breath-taking angularity and Canterbury's jazzy charm as referring points. One example of the free- minded approach is the way 'Dj Psicosi' ties together disco and jazz grooves with a musical citation of Michael Jackson's 'Billy Jean'. There are as many as 18 tracks, under three minutes in average, but the listening experience is not much marred by that seemingly short-tempered nature any more than on the certain albums of Soft Machine or Hatfield and the North.

The playing is amazing, even virtuotic especially for the Moog. There's naturally the danger of self-indulgent showing off, but it's happily avoided. Probably the biggest reason for that is the fresh airiness in the keyboard oriented sound, where also the guitar usually stays pretty cool and jazzy. The first half of the album has more vocals that effortlessly get along with the music's wittiness, whereas the latter half is more instrumentally oriented, and there may be a slight unbalance in the track order. However the final song is nicely relaxed. For me this is one of my highligts in the prog year 2013.

(Recycled from a review for Colossus magazine.)

Even though it's sort of funny that you can use the word "Canterbury" to describe bands that didn't come from that relatively small British city that was a hotbed of prog in the 70′s. Well, I'm going to go ahead and use the term with Homunculus Res; even though they're an Italian band debuting in 2013 there are so many moments on their, Limiti all'egualianza della Parte con il Tutto, that absolutely nail the British style that I simply can't help myself, making them perhaps appear in many of our minds alongside their countrymen, Picchio dal Pozzo in the Canterbury sound. Despite their similarities to classic groups like Caravan and Hatfield and the North, there's most definitely more to this band than meets the eye at first glance, as they certainly know how to spin more experimental elements into their songs with frequency.

Right from the start, "Culturalismo ballo organizzare" dives in with odd rhythms, jazzy chords, and funny keyboard sounds that prove that this album isn't a mere canterbury ripoff; it maintains a quirky edge, even including zeuhl and RIO elements from time to time. Obviously though, this is a British-centric record; there're a number of tracks like "DJ Psicosi," "Preparazione Bomba H," and "Jessicalaura" that hint at bands such as Hatfield and the North and Camel-esuqe melodies (including some 'dat dat dah' lyricless vocals following chord changes). These are not without their twists, however, such as the avant- garde leanings (reminiscent of Rascal Reporters) in the middle of "Preparazione" and the zeuhl-like repetitions with increasing intensity in "DJ Psicosi." From here it gets stranger and stranger with the arrival of "Sintagma," which opens up with some zany sounds and rhythms?typical of what we'd expect from an Altrock band?before moving back into some more familiar territory such as the dreamy chord changes and perfectly classic use of Mellotron flutes in tracks like "Nabucco Chiappe D'oro.

Although there are lots of great things about Limiti all'egualianza della Parte con il Tutto, I think if it has a weakness it would be the second half of the record. Around track twelve there's a tendency to present a lot of short songs that make the album, overall, feel a bit drawn out (in my personal opinion). Tracks like "Accidenti,"demonstrating a straightforward cantebury influenced style, "Centoquarantudemilaottecentocinquantasette," which toys with us by using lots, and lots, and looooooots (and lots) of rests after a quirky opening (best song title ever, btw), and "Puk 10″ which leans a bit psychedelic, all come off as pieces with fantastic ideas. But simultaneously they leave me with the impression of jam ideas that were rolled out in practice?never fully developed into full what they could have potentially been.

In the end (how many times have I wrapped up a review with that phrase? Time to dig a bit deeper in my lexicon) Homuculus Res churned out a pleasing first record. It's founded on strong ideas and a high level of playfulness (without degenerating into silliness) and shows promising prospects. I'm looking forward to seeing where these Palermo boys will go from here on future records.

4.5 stars. HOMUNCULUS RES are an Italian band who have created a Canterbury album which was greatly influenced by fellow Italians PICCHIO DAL POZZO. We get 18 tracks over the 48 minutes of running time. This is light and melodic and it's sure to put a smile on your face. There are some crazy long song titles including the title of the album which again is almost a tradition when we're talking about Canterbury music. It's cool to see Ske(YUGEN etc.) helping out as a guest on several keyboard related instruments.

"Culturismo Ballo Organizzare" is by far the longest track at just under 6 minutes. It reminds me early on of ANTIQUE SEEKING NUNS and the vocals arrive quickly. Catchy stuff. Lots of piano and drums on this one including some intricate guitar before 2 minutes. "Delta U" is light and catchy with laid back vocals. The tempo really picks up after a minute which is a cool section. "DJ Psicosi" is a feel good tune with vocals. It's fairly uptempo at times as the tempo shifts gears throughout. The keyboards and drums lead the way and we get some trumpet as well after 2 minutes which is a welcomed new element.

"Preparazione Bomba H" is a top four and actually my favourite song on here. Water sounds and wind to start as the piano joins in. This has vocal melodies and a catchy sound. Can a song possibly make me feel any better than this one does? "Sintagma" is a short electronic sounding piece. "Jessicalaura" opens with relaxed piano as bass, drums and guitar join in followed by vocals and backing vocals. This sounds more like an RPI tune and it's gorgeous. Some flute here as well. "(Che Ne Sai Tu Di Un)Cerchio Nel Grano" is a top four for me. We get beautiful vocal sounds, flute and a beat. I like when it picks up, it reminds me of SOFT MACHINE for some reason with the fuzz. This song transports me.

"Rifondazione Unghie" is drum and flute driven as other sounds join in. A catchy uptempo tune that sounds so good when the synths lead after 2 1/2 minutes to the end. "La Ballata Dell'amore Stocastico" is led by piano and reserved vocals. It's laid back early on but it does turn fuller as contrasts continue. "Chi Phi" is another excellent tune led by vocals, piano, drums and synths. "Nabucco Chiappe D'oro" is another top four song for me. Man this sounds amazing and I love the piano and intricate sounds. Also we get mellotron before 1 1/2 minutes. Nice. "Il Papa Buono" is uptempo with pulsating organ and drums standing out. A spacey calm arrives before a minute with mellotron, synths and more, then it kicks back in after 1 1/2 minutes. "Accidenti" is a very short 23 second tune that honours the Canterbury greats.

"Centoquarantaduemilazttocentocinquantasette" is actually the title of this track, is it even a word? Piano and drums lead the way as the music starts and stops which i'm not a fan of. It then starts to flow beautifully after that though. "Profiterol" is led by percussion early on as the guitar and more join in. This is so uplifting. Synths also arrive and lead. "Estate 216 Solstz" features vocal melodies and breezy instrumental work. Another feel good tune. "Puk 10" is my final top four. This is all about the mellotron and buzzing synths. "Il Contrario Di Tutto" ends the album and we get reserved vocals and a mellow sound.

I'm such a sucker for that Canterbury sound and these Italians certainly have impressed me big time with their own special take on that beloved sub-genre. A must for Canterbury fans.

A band from Italy in the AltrOck Productions stable whose debut album, 2013's Limiti all'equalianza della parte con il tutto, offers wild and humorous musical stylings that definitely evoke that light, airy Canterbury feeling. All songs (but one) are short (less than four minutes) and quirky in the SOFT MACHINE/Matching Mole style. Great keyboard and synthesizer work, drumming, and rhythm section as each and every song incorporates amazing and unexpected whole-band syncopation and tempo and key shifts throughout. The laid-back vocals of composer and Casiotone virtuoso Dario ALESSANDRO are awesomely soothing. The Di Giovanni brothers, Daniele and David on drums and keyboards, respectively, flutist Dario Lo Cicero and not one, not two, but three keyboard players (including AltrOck ubiquity, Paolo "SKE" BOTTA), serve Dario's songs amazingly well.

Imperfect songs: 5. "Sintagma" (1:09) (8/10); 8. "Rifondazione unghie" (3:18) (9/10); 14. "Centoquarantaduemilaottocentocinquantasette" (2:06) (9/10), and; "Puk 10" (2:25) (9/10).

Perfect songs: All of the others! (14 of them!!)

This is the best Canterbury album of the 21st Century and perhaps the best of all-time!!

When it comes to Italian prog there is no doubt that the majority of bands that have come and gone since the genre's nascency in the early 1970s have been loyal traditionalists and followed in the footsteps of the pioneers such as Premiate Forneria Marconi, Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, Museo Rosenbach, Quelle Vecchia Locanda or Le Orme but every once in a while certain artists were more interested in casting their gaze towards lands far away for inspiration. Area was one of the first totally off the wall and unorthodox bands to emerge on the scene but as time went on some bands were more interested in the English sounds than anything close to the Mediterranean. Nothing screams bloody England more than the idiosyncratic jazz-rock style of the Canterbury Scene but yet this warm and inviting technical wizardry laced with absurdities and whimsy has appealed to many bands from well outside the pastoral English countryside.

While Italy has not exactly been a hotbed for the Canterbury sounds that made bands like National Health and Hatfield & The North some of prog's most beloved acts, the Genova based Picchio dal Pozzo was the first to put Italy on the map for with its strange blend of avant-prog and Canterbury charm rolled out into some of the most unique sounds in the musical universe. Picchio dal Pozzo was the oddball in the Italian prog scene since its debut all the way back in 1976 with virtually zero interest from other Italian bands but finally in 2013 in the city of Palermo on the island of Sicily another band caught the Canterbury bug. HOMUNCULUS RES is another oddball prog band. Musically sounding like a mix of Caravan, Soft Machine along with a bit of avant-prog from fellow countrymen Yugen and their knotty, sinewy technicalities, HOMUNCULUS RES stuck to the Italian tradition of keeping lyrics in the mother tongue as well as adopting a few touches of the passionate operatic vocal style of the Italian greats.

LIMITI ALL'EGUALGLIANZA DELLA PARTE CON IT TUTTO ( Limits To The Equality Of The Part Of The Whole) is the band's debut album which was released in 2013 and immediately set the band apart from virtually every other Italian prog band that came before. With the playful pop-infused hooks of Caravan, HOMUNCULUS RES also displayed a firm command of those complex playful jazzy chord workouts found all throughout the Canterbury universe whether it be from the English stock a la Hatfield, Egg or Matching Mole to the foreign exports such as Supersister and fellow countrymen PIcchio dal Pozzo especially in the electronic deliveries however one can also hear traces of the experimental art pop antics of Stereolab especially with clever electronic atmospheres and the light and airy vocal harmonies that are slightly off kilter. The band at this point were the four D's: Dario D'Alessandro (guitar, vocals, keyboards,) Davide Di Giovanni (piano, organ, synth, vocals), Daniele Di Giovanni (drums, percussion, vocals) and Domenico Salamone (bass) but six collaborators and guests contributed flutes, wind controller, minimoog, memotron, organ, more guitars, more electronics and even a trumpet.

The beauty of LIMITI is that it changes things up fairy often offering both progressive pop tracks easily digestible in the vein of Caravan's "In The Land Of Grey And Pink" to nasty prog angularities that offer some bombast as in "Rifondazione Unghie." Add to that the more traditional melodic symphonic prog cuts like "La ballata dell'amore Stocastico" and the experimental electronica of "Sintagma" and chances are that you'll never be bored for a second on this one. With a firm foot in the Canterbury sounds of England, HOMUNCULUS RES manages to add enough spice in the form of space rock, electronic experimentation and traditional Italian prog sounds to keep their sound somewhat unique although the band never strays from the Canterbury oddball jazziness for too long with only brief intermissions of true avant-garde splendor. Overall this is a beauty of a debut that allowed this Palermo band to become a prog fave of many and has continued to release excellent albums up to the present day.