* 100 copies only, this box-set contains a gatefold LP + 28-page illustrated futuristic calendar + poster + special surprise artifacts. * Over the last couple of decades, Italy’s thriving new, experimental, and improvised music scene - for long an outlier in the global consciousness - has slowly come into focus - via the efforts of imprints like Die Schachtel, Black Sweat, Holidays, and a handful of others - as one of the most singular, varied, and ambitious within the contemporary landscape of creative sound. Among the labels leading the charge with particular focus on the emerging and underground is the formerly Canadian, now Bologna based, Maple Death. Since its launch in 2015 by Jonathan Clancy, the label has dug deep, bringing out killer release by Everest Magma, J.H. Guraj, Andrea Belfi, Stefano Pilia, Alessandra Novaga, and Adrian Utley, to name only a few, illuminating different trajectories of this incredible context every step of the way. With an incredible year behind them, Maple Death now returns with “Flowers are Blooming in Antarctica”, the latest from the electroacoustic composer and saxophone player Laura Agnusdei. A sprawling journey of psychedelic tribalism, laden with heavy grooves and polyrhythms, and guided by a strong sense of abstraction drawn as much from the realms of jazz as radical electronic experimentalism, it’s truly visionary and hard to call to mind another record that sounds anything quite like it. Issued in two, highly limited vinyl editions - a standard black vinyl edition with obi strip, and a deluxe limited edition box set on black vinyl in a standalone LP sleeve, housed within a beautifully produced box that also contains a 28-page illustrated futuristic calendar by Daniele Castellano, a poster, and special surprise artefacts, the latter of which marks the debut of Opale, a new suite of releases curated by Maple Death and publishing house Canicola Edizioni, exploring and researching the intersection of music and narrative through images and sound, giving life to new dialogues between the two languages. Completely engrossing and absolutely killer, once again Maple Death has blown the lid off of some of Italy’s best kept secrets and left us in awe.

Classically trained on saxophone at the Conservatory of Bologna and in electronic music composition at The Institute of Sonology of The Hague, Laura Agnusdei has been making waves in the Italian scene for a number of years within the cult psych-rock band Julie's Haircut, as well as an electroacoustic composer, performer, and musician, performing widely and issuing a handful of solo releases on imprints like The Wormhole, The Tapeworm, and most recently, with 2023's “Goro”, Maple Death. While unquestionably drawing on radical roots from improvised and electronic experimental music, Agnusdei is noted for drawing upon a vast number of creative and cultural reference points, particularly jazz and rock, sculpting a singular series of resting points that act as unexpected bridges between worlds, deploying the saxophone as a central actor within onic landscapes that shift between melodies and textures, song form and improvisation, fusing acoustic, digital and analogue sound sources to create charged emotional states. Her latest, “Flowers are Blooming in Antarctica”, is no exception to this rule.

Drawing inspiration from pioneering ideas, exploring unconventional realities - James Bridle’s “Ways of Being”, a radical story intertwines themes of ecology, tech and intelligence; “Codex Seraphinianus”, an illustrated encyclopedia of an imaginary world, created by Italian artist, architect and industrial designer Luigi Serafini between 1976 and 1978, that metamorphosizes flora, fauna, and anatomies into new fragile beings; and J.G. Ballard’s dystopian climate-fiction, on many terms Laura Agnusdei’s “Flowers are Blooming in Antarctica” can be regarded as her most ambitious full-length to date. Enlisting a full ensemble - Giulio Stermieri on farfisa organ and synthesizers; Edoardo Grisogani on percussion, Giacomo Bertocchi on alto sax, clarinet, and flute; Ramon Moro on trumpet and flugelhorn, Teguh Permana on tarawangsa; and Giovanni Minguzzi on drums, Agnusdei, herself leading the way on tenor sax and electronics, weaves a startling, multifaceted journey through imagistic sonorous worlds resting at the juncture of spiritual jazz, fourth-world minimalism, tropical electronics, tribal futurism, and rigorous electroacoustic experimentalism that culminates as a remarkable creative meditation on our relationship with planet Earth, the eco-conflicts, and her fascination with non-human forms of life.

While feeling remarkably cohesive in throughout its sound journey, “Flowers are Blooming in Antarctica” allows itself a cornucopia of touchstones and reference points - the hypnotic, transition musique concrète of Roberto Musci, the psychedelic tribalism of bands like Aktuala and Arica; the Fourth World explorations of Jon Hassell, electric era Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock, and the progressive end of ECM catalog - chopped and blended into singular forms and drenched in an expansive sense of space. Guided by a striking sense of radical optimism and joyous creativity that never strays far from playfulness despite the weight of its subject matter and rigour, the album entirely remodels the historical pursuit of sonic liberation, offering an immersive antidote for our own unfolding dystopian times.

Engrossing in every possible way, “Flowers are Blooming in Antarctica” is a record like few others. An absolute blast that doubles back to provoke the mind in so many different ways. A career-defining statement from Laura Agnusdei that has placed her at the center of our minds and will keep her lingering there for a great deal of time to come. Issued as the debut release of Opale, a new suite of releases curated by Maple Death and publishing house Canicola Edizioni - exploring and researching the intersection of music and narrative through images and sound, giving life to new dialogues between the two languages - “Flowers are Blooming in Antarctica” is released in two highly limited vinyl editions - a standard black vinyl edition with obi strip, and a deluxe limited edition box set on black vinyl in a standalone LP sleeve, housed within a beautifully produced box that also contains a 28-page illustrated futuristic calendar by Daniele Castellano, a poster, and special surprise artefacts. A total trip and journey not to be missed. This one is a highly recommended as they come.