IL GIARDINO DISINCANTATO

Italian project OTEME (an abbreviation of Osservatorio Delle Terre Emerse) was formed in 2010 by noted composer and musician Stefano Giannotti, a veteran in the field of experimental music with a career that stretches back to the 80's. "Il Giardino Disincantato" is the first production by this venture, and was released on the Edd Strapontins label in 2013.

Oteme's debut album "Il Giardino Disincantato" is a production where words like beautiful and elegant beg to be used multiple times, and a recording hard to describe without using words like experimental and contemporary as well. Using elements from classical music, jazz, rock as well as details harder to place inside any of the big genre umbrellas, this is a production that should be sought out by those who tend to enjoy music that exists outside of the common norms, especially those who enjoy productions of that kind that manage to maintain a highly accessible nature and manage to combine that with a challenging approach and execution.

When a couple of weeks ago Claudio Milano has gifted me of the second album of OTEME I promised a review, but when I went to the band's page on PA, I have realized to have not written one about the debut. I was sure to have done it before.

So now I'm here relistening to an album that really impressed me when the ZART team evaluated the band for inclusion. First of all, I want to mention the lyrics. Non-Italian listeners will unlikely have the possibility to hear how deep and poetic they are, but in any case the beauty of this album is in the melodies, the armonies and the arrangements.

It goes from Crimsonian atmospheres, passing by a possible influence of BANCO DEL MUTUO SOCCORSO, to reach soundscapes and chords reminding even to Claude DEBUSSY.

The kind of instruments used: harp, strings, oboe, clarinet, give some songs a chamber-rock mood but never too challenging. The influence of bands like ART ZOYD that the band itself consider as a source of inspiration can be found in the orchestration, but there's a lot of melody in all the tracks and it's not as dark.

It's a dreamy soundscape whose melodic integrity survives even in the most unusual chord passages. An example over all is "Dite A Mia Moglie", with a bossa-nova base of classical guitar reminding to the Tropicalia movement of Tom ZE' as base for Frippistic passages. Who has enjoyed the Itaian band AKT, will likely find similarities.

This album has no flaws and no fillers. The alternance between percussive and relaxed moments is well balanced and also the voice of Giannotti is well inserted in the mix so that it can considered an instrument itself.

A note apart for the title track: it's the peak of an excellent album. The instrumental part lead by the clarinet in a jazzy crescendo fading into a harp solo is amazing. People not familiar with Avant music can find in this album a good starting point.