Nicola Frangione

"Conceived and curated by the Italian multi-media artist, activist and organizer Nicola Frangione, Italic Environments involves Frangione supplying a host of fascinating fellow Italian avant gardists of the era with suggestive location recordings of specifically Italian environments for them to integrate into their work. Former Futuro Antico member Riccardo Sinigaglia's contribution (in concord with one Mario De Lio) begins the proceedings here in high fashion (really high fashion) with a very subtle but intense foray into resonant drone and emotionally intoned vocalizing that's very much an after effect of Franco Battiato's influence, though Battiato was never accompanied by a lake full of quacking ducks. Piermario Ciani is up next blathering away through what sounds like one of those electronic larynx's provided to throat cancer patients to the accompaniment of spare and fragmented free jazz nudges from sax and drums before building up to a sudden and unexpected head of steam and barreling through a hectic Etron Fou Leloublan-like passage of infolding avant rock tumble. Arpa Celtica Vincenzo Zitello rounds out the A side with some very proto new age-y harp, hand drum and rainstorm sonics. Naif Orchestra begin side B by latching onto a pass of buried crowd noise and building a slight synth pop track on top of it rather arbitrarily before Franco Ballabeni wheels into frame with a contribution that's consistently lapped by Frangione's recording of splashing water, into which he situates some very ZNR-like passages of pensive piano and wheedling synth, while Giovanni Fontana seems to be running several recordings of bebop jazz ensembles simultaneously with little detectable accompaniment from Frangione's recordings and little individual gravity to speak of, though it makes for a head scratching album closer to be certain."