To wander means to relinquish the idea of a destination—moving through sound without immediately seeking a form, allowing chance encounters, shifts, and resonances to suggest the path. It is from this gesture that "In Vago Spirito" emerges, the new album by Italian vocalist, composer and sound artist Ludovica Manzo. The record marks a new chapter in Ludovica Manzo’s ongoing exploration into the dialogue between free improvisation and composition—a path previously charted through her work with the duo O-Janà and her solo project Serpentine.
Moving between contemporary vocal music, electroacoustic practice, and experimental electronics, the record inhabits a territory where voice is transformed into a living, malleable material—an active acoustic element in constant metamorphosis. Each track in "In Vago Spirito" takes shape from vocal and acoustic improvisations developed over time, following a process designed to intervene as little as possible on the original source. Rather than building an abstract concept, Manzo observes sound as it surfaces, preserving the nature of its first appearance. The primary vocal lines are first takes, retained precisely for their lack of expectation or fixed intent.
Throughout this continuous drift, words gradually lose their primary function. Syllables emerge instinctively, guided solely by their phonetic weight and their relation to the immediate moment of performance. The voice functions as an instrument among instruments, interweaving with electronic processing, synths, and acoustic layers. The sole exception is "Inn’Aria", built on recognizable words chosen for their phonetic qualities, evoking the suspended charm of ancient languages that are only partially understood.
Balancing this initial freedom with a sculpted sense of structure, the album was co-produced with guitarist and electronic musician Ruggero Fornari, who helped shape the record's sonic universe by bringing acoustic instruments, modular synthesizers, and electronic processing into dialogue. Multi-tracked vocal layers expand the pieces into a choral organism, where small timbral ripples and subtle pitch variations become an integral part of the landscape, suggesting a shared movement and a collective presence. "In Vago Spirito" is a profound invitation to dwell within uncertainty, offering a suspended listening space where sound gracefully precedes language.
