|
Based in Chicago, L'Altra is Ken Dyber's pet project, which includes
vocalists Joe Costa and Lindsay Anderson and Eben English (also in Del Rey).
The EP L'Altra (Aesthetics, 1999) introduced a sublimely elegant
fusion of pop, jazz and classical music.
The album Music Of A Sinking Occasion (Aesthetics, 2000) collecs ten
madrigals adorned with small chamber arrangements and played with a
lazy, renaissance grace
(Little Chair,
Lips Move On Top Of Quiet,
Room Becomes Thick).
The effect is a transposition of atmospheric/intellettual pop music to another
temporal dimension, as if the
Penguin Cafè Orchestra played
Low's songs.
In The Afternoon (Aesthetics, 2002), featuring the ubiquitous
Fred Lonberg-Holm, is equally engaging.
Lush and oneiric soundscapes accompany the dual vocal harmonies
(Traffic, Certainty, Black Arrow, Moth in Rain).
The (too brief) instrumental Goodbye Music that closes the album could
easily be the centerpiece of a more ambitious piece of music.
Different Days (Hefty, 2005) is another parade of
lullabies for themes of alienation and atmospheres of decadent spleen
(Sleepless Night,
So Surprise), but the music is far less enticing than on previous
outings.
|
(Translation by/ Tradotto da Massimiliano Monteverdi )
L’Altra sono il progetto, con base a Chicago, di Ken Dyber, a cui partecipano i cantanti Joe Costa e Lyndsay Anderson, insieme a Eben English (anche nei Del Rey). L’EP L’Altra (Aesthetics, 1999) introduce una fusione sottilmente elegante di pop, jazz e musica classica. L’album Music Of A Sinking Occasion (Aesthetics, 2000) raccoglie dieci madrigali abbelliti da arrangiamenti da musica da camera e suonati con una languida grazia rinascimentale (Little Chair, Lips Move On Top Of Quiet, Room Becomes Thick). In questo modo le strutture del pop intellettual-atmosferico vengono trasposte in una nuova e diversa dimensione temporale, come se la Penguin Cafè Orchestra suonasse dei pezzi dei Low.
In The Afternoon (Aesthetics, 2002), che reca il contributo dell’onnipresente Fred Lonberg-Holm, è altrettanto affascinante. Paesaggi lussureggianti ed onirici accolgono le armonie a due voci di Traffic, Certainty, Black Arrow, e Moth In Rain. Il troppo breve strumentale Goodbye Music in calce all’album potrebbe facilmente diventare il centro di una più ambiziosa partitura.
|
