ALBERGO INTERGALATTICO SPAZIALE

After the demise of I Giganti in 1972, their guitarist Giacomo Mino Di Martino made a surprising switch to exploring the keyboards, dedicating himself to Avant-Garde Music.Along with his wife Edda ''Terra'' Di Benedetto he participated around the mid-70's in the Avant Rock supergroup Telaio Magnetico next to Juri Camisasca, Franco Battiato and Lino "Capra" Vaccina.Reputedly in 1976 Martino and Di Benedetto formed the Experimental/Prog duo Albergo Intergalattico Spaziale, named after a club they owned in Rome, recording a work, which did not see the light until 1978, when it was privately released in a limited number of copies.

This has to be one of the most experimental, sinister and genuine Electronic Prog albums of the 70's with Martino performing on various keyboards and his wife being responsible for the haunting vocals of the album, much in Spoken Word style with plenty of wordless voices and some lyrics close to the Hebrew or Arabic languages.The album alternates between dark-sounding organ improvisations, muddy chants and ambiental soundscapes, borrowing influences also from Psychedelic and Classical Music, and eventually delivering a total mess of keyboard-driven textures, that is both enigmatic and charming.The combination of mourning vocals and eerie synth- and organ sounds is absolutely efficient, while Martino's work breaks often into more romantic, spacey grounds, offering Electronic themes with finesse and a unique atmosphere.While the album wins a personal style of its own at the end, some BATTIATO and KLAUS SCHULZE influences are apparent through the process.Even more surprising is the fact that after the listening of such a dark-sounding and extremely bizarre album, the feeling is quite positive, giving birth to dreamy and ethereral emotions comparable to many of this effort's soundscapes.

Martino and Di Benedetto continued to be strongly connected to the territories of Electronic and Avant-Garde music over the years, while an archival release of early demos by the duo, entitled ''Angeli di solitudine'', was released by Giallo Records in 2009.

Extremely obscure but deeply inventive and fascinating Electronic Prog.Highly recommended to enthusiasts of the style and strongly recommended to anyone with open ears and bright horizons...3.5 stars.