"DISOBBEDISCO!" @ FILTH FORGE (I) by Il Levriero Staff
28/11/2006 at 00:54
Another great "Disobbedisco!" review!
"Undoubtedly one of last year’s revelations, Ianva is a very unique entity in the Italian underground, strong of such a personal and distinctive musical and esthetical concept, that it’s nearly impossible to link it to any other band around at the moment. It’s also not very appropriate to talk about a band, since nine elements and a lot of guests give this project from Genova a profile more similar to a small orchestra. Some of the names involved are not exactly unknown: Mercy is the leading voice of cult progressive bands Malombra and il Segno Del Comando, as well as of the more new wave-oriented Helden Rune, Francesco La Rosa is Malombra’s drummer, Argento and Azoth are active with Spite Extreme Wing, the most appreciated Italian black metal act, Fabio Grema and Giuseppe Spanň play in prog-rock combo Dćdalus, and, last but not least, Stefania T. D’Alterio was the lead singer of Wagooba, an interesting cult band known for its ironic atmospheres and the love for a certain vintage cinema. The most interesting features linking all these musicians coming from different experiences, is that they are extremely skilled and talented, some even with a Conservatory training, assuring therefore to the compositions a level of complexity and refinement unknown to the vast majority of the contemporary scene, especially in the neofolk area, to which Ianva have anyway very little in common, on both musical and thematic level. "Disobbedisco!" is a concept album settled during the famous "Fiume Enterprise", when Gabriele D’Annunzio led a private army to the conquest of Fiume, the city of Dalmazia that had a majority of Italians among its population but hadn’t been included in the territories left to Italy by the defeated Austro-Hungarian Empire after the end of WWI. The story revolves around two characters, Cesare Renzi, Major of the Arditi legions, and Elettra Stavros, femme fatale, chanteuse of the most exclusive night cafés, as well as a spy secretly working for occult forces. Both of them are in Fiume for opposite purposes and end up facing each other, at first as enemies, and immediately after as lovers, when a sudden and flaming passion explodes between them. This passionate tale of war, struggle, love, defeat and honour perfectly captures the unique atmosphere of the 1920s’ using a variety of styles that rages from dark progressive folk-rock to the "national-popular" Italian and European song, from Scott Walker’s intimistic ballads to Ennio Morricone’s melancholic soundtracks, from Fabrizio De André to Jacque Brel and Lucio Battisti, passing then through the decadent glam of the early David Bowie. It’s an original and unusual formula that looks to the past, in particular to the 1960s’ and 70s’, but manages to bring ideas and feelings from that unrepeatable musical season to the present. The CD opens with "Intro - Colpo Di Maglio", a menacing marching track where the military dispatch speech before the final battle on the Eastern Italian front precedes hammering drums and a severe military trumpet, thus evoking the gloomy and frightening atmosphere of the trenches of WWI. It’s in that blood-stained and deadly scenery that the male protagonist is introduced: the marvellous "La Ballata Dell’Ardito" (already tested on last year’s limited edition single) is a melancholic and touching ballad with excellent accordion and trumpet tunes which portrays the character of a brave and proud soldier, loyal to its cause to the last, yet marked by an existential sadness, like he already was aware of the final, inevitable defeat. These feelings are deeply explored in "Vittoria Mutilata", another epic masterpiece of a ballad, this time more in the acoustic folk vein but enriched by electric guitars and keyboards of sweet prog taste. Through Cesare’s voice, marvellously sung by Mercy in his elegant and distinctive Genovese accent, the song describes the disappointment caused in Italy by the results of the international resolutions. The most striking composition is undoubtedly "XII - IX - MCMXIX: Di Nuovo In Armi". Here the presence of Spite Extreme Wing’s members is particularly felt, in the marching, tribal rhythm section as well in the slicing acoustic guitars, giving birth to an epic, thrashing war chant that puts to shame any neofolk anthem ever. The lyrics evoke the will for revanche, the rebellion and the ardour of the Arditi legions and of all other soldiers, fighters and adventurers that joined "il Comandante" D’Annunzio in the taking of Fiume. Those who disobeyed, who refused, who "pissed on decrees wished by old usurers". At this point of the story, the female protagonist enters the scene: Elettra Stavros, the archeofuturist muse, makes her appearance at the Café Europa, announced by an histrionic master of ceremonies and welcomed by enthusiastic claps in the audience. The character’s voice is interpreted by Stefania T. D’Alterio, whose astonishing vocal style is worth of the classic female divas of Italian and European music, think of Milva, Gabriella Ferri, Mina, or even Marlene Dietrich, and perfectly portrays the irresistible charm of this mysterious femme fatale. "Per Non Dormire" is the intimistic moment where the fragile and human side of soldier Cesare Renzi is revealed, as he confesses to his lieutenant the flaming passion for Elettra that makes him unable to sleep since he saw her exhibition the night before. The story moves then towards its dramatic epilogue: in "Traditi", the voice of "il Comandante" D’Annunzio himself, played by Andrea Chimenti, announces the end of the utopia, while in "Fuoco A Fiume" and "Muri D’Assenzio" the climax is achieved, with the two characters confessing their passion while the enemy is approaching fast at the horizon, and it’s once again time for battle. A last, only kiss, the dark-haired adventuress parts from her Major, a couple of moments before his head is blown into pieces by the "fraternal fire" of the Italian army, sent to crush the rebellious. Curtains close on the record’s story and on history. A final tribute is included as ghost track, with Elettra singing the southern Italian traditional "O’ Surdato Nnamurato", the soldier in love, surely in honour of her Major. "Disobbedisco!" is an epic, all-consuming and touching album which is very likely to conquer a wide audience with its originality and refinement, as well as the musical skills and taste showed by all members of Ianva. Even the average "alternative" listener, who proudly refuses everything with a popular or mainstream edge in favour of so-called "extreme" music, could be conquered at once by the Genovese ensemble, and maybe start digging its inspirers to discover new fascinating approaches. The strong nostalgic feeling that dominates the music has nothing to do with politics, as what it’s here regretted is the spirit of men and women who wrote a page of history living, fighting and dying for love and ideals. Something that has totally disappeared from the modern world. Without doubt, one of this year’s masterpieces". (Simon. V)
Our biggest thnx to Simon V. & all Filth Forge Staff
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