2016 restock Riccardo Sinigaglia truly is a key figure in the late 70s mid 80s experimental scene from Italy, and this small selection of concrete, electronic and experimental instrumental works is just amazing.
The albumis drawn from the late 70s to mid 1980s, mainly rescued from two early pieces: Scorrevole 1, mostly recorded outside with a portable tape deck and a Sennheiser stereo microphone MKE 2002 and then the sounds are elaborated with the concrete music traditional techniques. The second side of the LP present Sinigaglia mingling electronics with percussive and environmental sounds to create Zen-like moods. Usually there are only one or two things going on at a time, generating a pastoral, relaxed state, but the electronics and/or percussion may briefly surprise or raise a clamor. Imagine sitting by a lake in the Rockies in spring while watching the movie Tron on your portable TV, with your Tibetan monk who likes the sound of reverberant bass drums, bells, and thumb pianos.
Natural sounds where recorded and then modified with reverberation, echo, tape loops, etc. Mixed with these were vocal sounds and Western instruments like flute, piano and various percussive devices. Prepared analog sounds were overlaid with natural sounds (bird songs and water, for instance). Sinigaglia also used analog synthesizers whose timbres more closely matched those of the outdoor sounds he recorded. Obvious in the percussion parts are Latin and Arabian influences. Some compositions recall the structure of a gamelan piece. Sinigaglia utilize space very well, and the tape shows a unifying structure in the rhythms. Even at its most cacophonous, the tape conveys quietness difficult to describe. The blend between synthesized and natural sounds is seamless and the dynamic range is good, although not dramatic, (which adds to the serene feel). Darker passages are not striking or chilling; they are insidious and insinuating.
Born in Arona in 1953, Riccardo Sinigaglia is an architect as well as musician. He teaches electronic music at Milan Conservatory where he studied during the Seventies with Angelo Paccagnini. He collaborates with the video center of the Faculty of Architecture, Milan University, where he lectures on the relationship between music and image. His musical production also include music for documentaries, ballets and theatre spectacles. His work is based on modes, mean tone, pitagorean scales and complex polyrhythmics: he is deeply involved in ethnomusicology, the elements of which are revisited and employed in his musical language. In the 80's, togheter whith Walter Maioli and Gabin Dabirè, he founds the group Futuro Antico, a cross beetwin electronic and etno shamanic music.
