Fabio Orsi, Gianluca Becuzzi

The Stones Know Everything is a mammoth two-cd offering from experimental fellers Gianluca Becuzzi and Fabio Orsi (try saying that with a mouthful of Pringles while drunk) and surprisingly the duo manage to keep up the quality for the entire duration. Interestingly though the two discs sound very much like separate entities, the first being a more melodic collection of tracks reminiscent of Fennesz or more recently Ateleia, and the second being where the two flex their experimental muscles, forging two long-form pieces and one short interlude. I would guess that the majority of these sounds have been extracted from the humble guitar (a useful beast is it not?) and with this the two musicians throw swirling whirpools of psychedelic distortion and fuzz. This is not however an album that should be lumped into the sprawling 'avant-psych' genre, 'The Stones Throw Everything' feels a little more sculpted and a little more finely realised than many other albums of its kind, and the attention to harmonic detail (especially on the first disc) gives it a strength rarely heard. A good comparison might be to Mirror, who show an equally finely-tuned ear to the humble drone, but these guys don't really sound exactly like anyone? something that maybe arises from their location. Since the Italian scene is somewhat in its infancy it will be interesting to see it grow, and with the help of such artists as these it looks like the future is going to be bright indeed. Deep, crumbling melancholic ambience? you couldn't ask for more really.

a nice article on fabio orsi (in italian)