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Sub Rosa Sale: the label catalogue at reduced prices
Sub Rosa Sale: the label catalogue at reduced prices
Luciano CilioDialoghi del PresenteBack to the record
Dusted

“This is no austere minimalist composition though; consider it an exquisite, gossamer veil rippling over the void, gorgeous even as it reveals the chilling blackness beneath.”

Tad Abney · 4 October 2004

In a macro sense, it’s been a big year for Jim O’Rourke - what with the picking ‘n knob-twiddling on the anticipated follow-ups from Wilco and Sonic Youth - but on a smaller scale, it has been a success, too. There was the archival issue of his early work, Two Organs, but deeper underground, his seal of approval tastemaking has shed some much needed light on crucial artists. One recipient was singer-songwriter Judee Sill, as her two stunning early-'70s albums finally appeared on CD in the States (O'Rourke's touching up her unreleased third album some 25 years after her death). His kind words about the enormous and excellent '70s Swedish free-jazz collective Arkimedes Badkar no doubt helped their exposure.

Originally published by Dusted.Read it on Dusted

5 other reviews

Pitchfork

“As one might expect that with a title like “The Absent Universe,” it’s a spare album, its pleasures revealed through careful listening rather than quick snippets, but not a single note or gesture feels out of place.”

Tiny Mix Tapes

“My search for the album resulted in one of the most transcendent music experiences I've enjoyed in the past ten years.”

Nazione Indiana

“Lontana da tutto, verso una convergenza psichedelica, che partiva dal folk, dalla musica da camera, dal progressive, per approdare a un punto lontano, ancora inascoltato.”

Il Mattino

“Un esorcismo che trent’anni dopo non suona superato.”

Frequencies

“Dialoghi del Presente di Cilio è un’opera avanguardista rispetto ai tempi (uscì nel 1977) che ha prefigurato futuri musicisti in tal senso come Ryuchi Sakamoto e Jim O’Rourke (quest’ultimo grande ammiratore del compositore).”