EMANUELE CORREANI

Emanuele Correani was born near Rome in 1981 and is thus from a new generation of RPI artists. He is a talented composer and multi-instrumentalist in one life but also a sound engineer who has worked in music, television, film, stage, and even teaching. His contribution to the RPI scene today is the 2008 album "Embrione" which was written and recorded several years earlier but took a while to find the light of day. I found one interview where Correani mentions the big prog bands as influences, but the most telling influence to his own work was Italian legend Franco Battiato. I would guess Emanuele is a big fan of Battiato's early work as that is what his album reminded me of. The softer dreamier parts also reminded me of the Paese Dei Balocchi album a little bit, and his acoustic/tabla tendency reminds of Claudio Rocchi.

Right from the outset one is enticed. "Occidente Oriente" begins with lovely melodic piano as typical of the Italians, with electronic effects whizzing behind and Correani's exceptional bass soaring, played more like a lead instrument. Soft vocals and acoustic guitars enter the mournful song, flute in the background. In the middle everything stops and we get bongo drums starting up along with folk oriented acoustic and chant-vocals that recall Claudio Rocchi. Like many tracks here the feeling is very dreamy and mournful, a sense of mystery and longing envelop the listener. Frequent changes and variation in mood and sound are common making for a spicy package! "La Visione" then dives straight into Battiato-like sound collage for the opening before becoming an impressive acoustic guitar workout. Songs feature environmental sounds mixed in and generally have a backbone of acoustic guitar, keyboard, and electronic. There is almost no loud drumming or electric guitar, thus the feel of the album is softer, but never boring. "Oberkampf" is an exception with a Floydian feel and a bit of rock.

"Dorme" shows off a gorgeous blend of strings, guitar, bass, keys, all beautifully married together but so light on the touch...you are not bludgeoned by shred, rather it's very light and intricate. "Sogno" brings some driving rhythm to the piece, think acoustic rave-music, with accessory electronica that gives a latter day Bjork feel. Never a dull moment! The two-part "Suite Blanc Noir" is the album's highlight for me, as it has the most classic era feel and the largest ingestion of avant-garde mischief. Lovely piano and flute opening. The instrumental piece uses strings/piano and a cinematic vision to create atmosphere, it feels like the soundtrack to a classic Italian film. The second part introduces a much darker feel with pulsing bass and ominous guitar leads. It closes strongly with the swampy "Respiro" which ends up slithering in strangeness just outside your door. Murky, unsettling, brilliantly constructed song.

Correani is a fascinating songwriter who makes little paintings of sound, generally rather short and accessible despite his experimental tendencies. "Embrione" is an album that will not frighten the kids, yet despite the pared down production it should appeal very much to modern and classic RPI fans alike. It can be downloaded and a small number of CDs are available at Syn-phonic and one or two Italian websites. This is an artist with so many interests he may move outside of RPI and do other things, but with "Embrione" he has contributed to this genre even if he never makes another RPI album