Monday 30 August 2021

Meridiana

by Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino

I learned about this fantastic album — and the band that created it — from the Songlines review. Co-produced by Justin Adams, who also plays guitar on a couple of tracks, Meridiana (“sundial” in Italian) is supposed to be a concept album about (different aspects of) time. But you don’t need to understand Italian to thoroughly enjoy the music; the order of the songs is not particularly important either. Collaborations include Pizzica bhangra with Red Baraat and Tic e tac with Enzo Avitabile (of Enzo Avitabile & Bottari, another band I first heard about, many years ago, thanks to Songlines.) If I had to name three favourites, they’d probably be the opening track Balla Nina; no less goosebump-inducing Lu sittaturu that somehow makes me think of an Ukrainian folk song; and wonderful Vulía.

You can listen to the full album on YouTube, complete with contributions of a number of Italian scientists and philosophers and quotes from Lewis Carroll, Marcel Proust, Friedrich Nietzsche and, surprise surprise, Carlo Rovelli.

Meridiana

  1. Balla nina
  2. Orfeo
  3. Pizzica bhangra (feat. Red Baraat)
  4. Lu sittaturu
  5. Ninnarella
  6. Stornello alla memoria
  7. Vulía
  8. Quannu camini tie
  9. Tic e tac (feat. Enzo Avitabile)
  10. Ntunucciu
  11. Ronda
  12. Meridiana
Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino
    Mauro Durante: frame drums, violin, vocals
    Giulio Bianco: recorders, whistles, clarinet, harmonica, zampogna
    Emanuele Licci: vocals, bouzouki, guitar, battente guitar; tamburello (11)
    Massimiliano Morabito: diatonic accordion
    Giancarlo Paglialunga: vocals, tamburello, calebas
    Alessia Tondo: vocals, castanets; tamburello (11)
    Silvia Perrone: dance
Featuring
    Red Baraat (3)
      Sunny Jain: dhol, effects
      Lynn Ligammari: soprano saxophone
      Sonny Singh: trumpet
      John Altieri: sousaphone
    Enzo Avitabile: voice and pentarpa (9)
Guests
    Justin Adams: electric guitar (4, 9)
    Giacomo Greco: synth, sound design; additional production (1, 3, 4, 5)
    Valerio “Combass” Bruno: electric bass (1
    Antonio “Dema” De Marianis: additional percussions (9)
Contributions
    Maura Gancitano and Andrea Colamedici, philosophers and communicators
    Gianfranco Salvatore, anthropologist and ethnomusicologist
    Massimiliano Morabito, musician and ethnomusicologist
    Francesca Corbo, Amnesty International Italia
    Roberto Vacca, engineer, mathematician and science communicator
    Domenico Licchelli, astrophysicist
    Produced by Justin Adams & Mauro Durante
    Mixed by Francesco Aiello at Boombox Recording Studio
    Mastered by Tim Oliver at Top Cat Studios
    Executive production by Titti Santini