«A record dedicated to the music of Area, probably the most revolutionary and innovative group in the history of Italian music, became an opportunity for us to relate to those sounds with a personal and irreverent approach. The music that arises is not slavish repetition, but a tension towards contemporaneity and the fruit of an alternative vision.” It is a precise, programmatic declaration by Enrico Merlin and Valerio Scrignoli, two electric guitarists – different in background and horizons but united by creative freedom and the desire to explore the boundaries between musical genres – are ready for one of the most ambitious works of respective careers. Maledetti Area Music is an original, irreverent, iconoclastic reinterpretation – or rather a “reinvention” – of eight Area classics. Cursed the concert and the album are produced by Musicamorfosi.
Not a tribute album, much less a sequence of covers, but a starting point, a stimulus, a springboard to venture into the improvisational and expressive possibilities offered by Area’s music. It is no coincidence that the two guitars enter into songs so characterized by the voice of Demetrio Stratos or in pieces from 1978, in which the very recognizable guitar of Paolo Tofani was absent. Furthermore, Merlin and Scrignoli also work on surprising connections and solutions, bringing out quotes and references ranging from the James Bond theme to Joe Zawinul, via Miles Davis and King Crimson.
Enrico Merlin states: «When we were asked to tackle Area’s repertoire, I thought it was madness. Music in which the improvisational elements were generated or closely linked to very structured, complex compositions, rich in polymetries and multirhythms. We worked on it a bit and, as with the other “sacred” repertoire, we managed (I think) to find an alternative way to interpret the materials, on the various musical parameters”. Valerio Scrignoli reiterates: “we took thematic fragments of Area’s music and threw ourselves in there. Letting ourselves go with what was going through our heads, a lot of it is improvisation and the album is also a “live in the studio” recorded in six hours, almost all in one go.”
Henry Merlin (1964) is one of the most multifaceted figures on the international guitar scene. Instrumentalist, writer, popularizer, teacher and artistic director, he is known for the unconventional spirit of his projects, his essays, his works for the theater. Valerio Scrignoli (1960) has been active since the ’80s, a guitarist with a jazz background but involved and passionate in “borderline” projects. Since the ’90s he has been a personality present in the main Italian and European jazz festivals. Among his collaborations, those with Giulio Martino, Carlo Nicita and especially Giovanni Falzone stand out, with whom he worked in Around Jimi, Led Zeppelin Suite, Requiem Around Requiem and Rossini Barbiere.
Two events precede the concert on Sunday. Saturday 11 May at 7pm to Bucci House An EAR From Monday, seven sentences, more or less long, taken from a chat with John Cage after the famous concert in Milan at the Lirico (3 December 1977). An unreleased project by Maurizio Comandini with Valerio Scrignoli & Enrico Merlin, electric guitars/Maurizio Comandini effects – live feed (bookings on casabucci.it). Sunday 12 May at 12 pm appointment at Black Marmalade Record with 1000 records for a century.
Information and pre-sales at the Rossini Theater (0721 387621) and AMAT/vivaticket circuit ticket offices, also online. Ticket office at the Church of the Annunziata (334 3193717) on the same day of the concert from 8pm.
