May 3, 2020

Sundaze 2018

Hello, my network problems are partly resolved but their service still sucks a yes typical monopolist attitude , soon 5G will change all that, but i'm no wi-fi fan, after all life is elektro-magnetic and blasting it with hi-energy 30Hz-300Hz waves is after all driven by the need of more automation, with self driving cars as main 'driver'. But 5G ushers in the age of the machines and maybe that's driving the increasing unease about it's introduction.


Today's Artist is Stefano Musso who began recording music under the pseudonym of Alio Die in 1989. "Alio Die" is Latin for "another day", used as a greeting in Roman times as a positive look towards a better tomorrow......N'Joy

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Stefano Musso studied art and electronics in his home town of Milan, Italy,  and began performing  ambient, electro-acoustic music under the name Alio Die in 1989. Characterized by evocative acoustic sounds manipulated and tendered electronically, Alio Die's work builds intimate soundscapes tied to the mystery and majesty of life and nature. His first CD "Under an Holy Ritual", released on his label Hic Sunt Leones in 1992 and re-released on Projekt in 1993, was received with international acclaim. Enthusiastically received in his home country, 'Holy Ritual' expanded Musso's international presence significantly in 1993 when it was licensed by the popular U.S. darkwave label Projekt. His music is a shadowy, cavernous, intensely detailed fusion of acoustical elements, step-and-repeat sample treatments, sparse, echoing percussion, and deep, atmospheric sound design, playing ambient's static tendencies off of shifting melodic and textural passages that suggest movement without sacrificing the music's vague, entropic formlessness.   He subsequently released more than 25 CDs, and collaborated  with many well-known artists such as Robert Rich, Vidna Obmana, Mathias Grassow, Nick Parkin, Yannick Dauby,  Amelia Cuni, Raffaele Serra, Ora, Antonio Testa.

"Natural and acoustic sounds and selected noises, electronically treated and reworked, are integrated in a meditative and spiritual context that often, in the feeling, becomes close to a prayer. Visible static, this music is rich of hidden sounds, layers of elements to discover at each listening. Alio Die's music, in the consciousness space that creates, it's a melting of technology and mysticism, like a new ritual with echoes of a medioeval time, deep and grounded in introspection."

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This album is the second part of a trilogy of ambient music ('Hidden spring' on Crowd Control from 1998 is part 1) characterized by old sound sources. Composed, recorded and mixed between 1994 and 1999. Instruments : samplers, textures and drones, voice, flute and filed recordings.



Alio Die - Le Stanze Della Trascendenza (flac 206mb)

01 Alternate Realities 12:17
02 Cicada's Loop 4:34
03 Il Fondo del Pozzo 6:27
04 Melancholic Roots 23:59
05 Desire (instrumental) 3:15
06 Molecular Dance 6:40

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The third part of an ambient trilogy, a creative path of the music of Alio Die presented with artwork and text by painter Janusz Gilewicz. Natural and acoustic sounds and noises, electronically treated and reworked, are integrated in a meditative and spiritual context that often - in the feeling - become close to a prayer. This music is rich with hidden sounds, with layers of elements to discover at each listening. Alio Die's artful music creates a melting of technology and mysticism, like a new ritual with echoes of a medieval time, deep and grounded in introspection.



 Alio Die - Leaves Net  (flac 230mb)

01 Still Rapture 5:28
02 Breathing Again 4:30
03 First Perception 9:27
04 Leaves Net 5:24
05 A Chaos of Desire 4:34
06 A Fragment of Fire 3:57
07 The Way of Fire 8:57
08 Concerning Simple Fire 7:17
09 Régénéretion 8:08
10 Desire 3:17

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Antonio Testa specialises in organic sound and the creation of musical atmospheres through the use of a vast array of mostly native and shamanic instruments, together with his own creations made from organic and recycled materials. Has been active in music since early 80’s working as a percussionist specialising in tribal and Afro-Caribbean rhythms, etno-ambient and world music.

Earthy and shamanic (organic), rich textures slither, coil around the ears (embrace), leading the listener into all the remote pockets of unexplored terrain, a full-bodied excursion, and yet the sound is not cluttered or overwhelming. Quite the contrary, the fascinating collage of instruments (including Woodblock rototom, bone flute, rainstick, Tibetan bowls, water pumpkin, bamboo... stones, shells and leaves.. .electronics, samples, etc.) helps to create a diverse canopy under which the mind fills with images of forests (trees sighing...), wind and sky, of the sentience of eons long dead but still infused with vitality. The result is an always expanding array of sounds enmeshed in the fabric of ritual, of sonically soothing spiritual diversions that lead to transcendence, peaceful and yet invigorating. Ah, but within this framework, the heart of the disc grows quite dark,leery, more mysterious... it is a prismatic travelogue incorporating many sonic colours or lacks thereof (reds, yellows, grays...blacks...) in a haunting and sporadically time resistant cocoon... time standing still... losing meaning. A nice transition that keeps the listener always attentive. Calm, though quite invigorating...



Alio Die & Antonio Testa - Healing Herb's Spirit (flac  263mb)

01 Shuar 09:46
02 Rahien 08:05
03 Dreaming 05:11
04 Icaros 07:42
05 Yacaruna 10:25
06 Vimuktita 06:29
07 Turiya 07:36

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Ambient rainforests and native drums - this could be a pathway to the soul. In follow-upto their "Healing Herb's Spirit" release Italian multi-instrumentalists Antonio Testa and Alio Die (Stefano Musso) have made a recording of spirited release. The six tracks here merge fluidly into one another and massage your brain for just about an hour. Prayer for the Forest works its spiritual, tribal ways in the droning "A Mechanical Dust Sphere".One pictures a deep, lush Costa Rican forest in pitch darkness except for a distant, almost neon vibrant path of silhouetted shapes.Samples and environmental recordings showcase the underbelly of "Ancestor's Breath",a methodical track taking very slow steps towards its end. The cinematic air to this disc is quiet and dark, prowling through your subconscious.



Alio Die & Antonio Testa - Prayer For The Forest (flac 237mb)

01 African Dream 10:00
02 A Mechanical Dust Sphere 7:31
03 Ancestor's Breath 5:37
04 Walking Through The Camp 5:32
05 Prayer For The Forest 8:43
06 An Active Foggy Pathway 17:06

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1 comment:

T. S. said...


Dear Rho:

Thank you very much for opening me to this artist. I am really enjoying the listening. Great relaxing and calming music to chill to.

Best wishes,
T.S.