Product Description
2 Strange Percussion
3 Circular Time
4 Mystery Ritual
5 The Matrix of a Gemstone
6 Urban Soundtrack
7 Float
8 Like Rain that Washes the Memories
Styles: Electronic, ambient, relaxation
An electronic collaboration between Italy’s jarguna and 12 European & North American artists
Starring:
Paolo Alfani • piano, synth
Frore (Paul Casper) • modular synth
Jack Hertz • synth, glitch
jarguna (Marco Billi) • modular synth, loop, sampler, drum machine, mix, master, graphics
Gianluca Manfredonia • drums
Henrik Meierkord • cello, viola
Chris Russell • synth, drone
Elisa Saveri • voice
Rocco Saviano • guitar, effects
Nicola Serena • modular synth
Umberto Rossi • electric piano, effects
Ryuzen (Alcvin Ramos) • shakuhachi flute
Uzbazur (Simone Santarsiero) • synth, drone
Chimera of a New World, Session Two is a beautiful meeting of minds, hands and many many instruments. Outside of any cultural boundary, regardless of where we come from, the music makes our strings vibrate. Deeply electronic drafts, but not only that. The synthetic and hypnotizing intertwining pulls you into parallel, near, distant, superficial, deep worlds, where at times the percussion has a character of rituality, in others more contemporary experimentation. All accompanied by acoustic instruments such as guitar, cello (performed by Henrik Meirkord), piano, drums, and finally the mystical and solitary shakuhachi (performed by Ryuzen).
Organized by Italy’s Marco Billi (jarguna), this release sees each guest collaborate across multiple tracks where it is unclear where one ends and the other begins. Here the idea was to leave the composition completely open, and anyone could do what they wanted within each track.
“Within this poem,” Marco comments, “I am extremely proud to present all the artists of this new sound meeting. It is thanks to them that this album has taken shape and thickness; let’s say that I pulled the strings, I threw the cards, obviously did my part — mixed all the tracks and maybe gave the personality a little jarguna style — but all of us have a small or large part in this work which allowed us to build this fascinating puzzle full of many emotions.”
He continues, “Looking inside a kaleidoscope maybe you can understand more where the real image is. Each track accompanies you to experience intoxicating, conflicting, candid and twisted emotions.”
jarguna is Italian sound-artist Marco Billi; he creates organic-ambient-electronic music in mandala-like hymns to drone and richly enveloping ritual music. From the first recordings in 1998 — through his 43rd album Chimera of a New World, Session Two — it's an exploration of sounds, feelings, contrasts, passion, acoustics and electronics.
Reviews Editor –
From Audion #71
As “An electronic collaboration between Italy’s Jarguna and 12 European & North American artists” this amounts to an interesting selection of diversions from the artist’s usual style. The release notes go on to say “this release sees each guest collaborate across multiple tracks where it is unclear where one ends and the other begins. Here the idea was to leave the composition completely open, and anyone could do what they wanted within each track”.
All this is somewhat confusing, as the listener (and, in this case, reviewer) has no frame of reference as to who plays where. The music is generally lush and deeply layered, with each of the first four tracks underpinned or built on some sort of rhythmic base and cultural melodic content, be it Arabic, Andean, Indonesian. All these have a feel somewhat like the Steve Roach / Byron Metcalf recordings. The fifth track The Matrix Of A Gemstone differs in that it is rhythm free, with vast swathes of synths in swirling layers with violin like tones on top, and is somewhat in Aeoliah meets Bernard Xolotl territory. After all that, Urban Soundtrack, with its more trance based rhythm and lilting melody seems totally out of place, ruining the flow somewhat. After that, Float does what the title suggests, with a nicely crafted piano lead in space feel about it.
The album then ends with the sublimely celestial Like Rain That Washes The Memories with a mystical temple atmosphere enhanced by some vastly reverbed flute work. So, excepting one track, it’s quite a successful collaboration. I’d still like to know though, who is doing what on each track, if only to know how they contribute to the whole. -Alan Freeman