Italian Prog Legends Syndone To Release New Concept Album “DirtyThirty”.
Italian Prog Legends Syndone To Release New Concept Album “DirtyThirty”
Sit down, make yourself comfortable. This is the story of an artistic journey, a 30-year parable.
Listen. Immerse yourself. Eliminate all distractions; let the music speak to you, like it used to do. “DirtyThirty” is the culmination of a class struggle, of the utopian ideal of those who stubbornly cling to a model of the world that still embraces thought, wonder and the courage of art. Syndone is a vision, a nine-album journey, the desire to make a mark in the world. Syndone is a shapeshifter, a band that’s changed its skin and its musicians without ever changing its soul: swimming against the tide, defying fashion and the decline (not only musical) of an era in which you can be successful only if it pleases the powers that be.
Yet there was a time when record albums were capable of transporting us, starting with the artistry of the album covers, of breaking the rules, crossing boundaries, with a whole set of atmospheres, sounds, and thoughtful, refined, stylistic constructions. Those were the days of progressive rock; at the time it was simply called ‘pop’, because it was popular. Today there’s very little left that’s progressive: there’s no thrill of discovery, we’re no longer open to wonder and amazement, we don’t deviate from the idea of an increasingly standardized and replaceable human being.
Nik Comoglio, the musical heart and soul of this story, has never surrendered to that reality; flanked by the vocal and conceptual talents of Riccardo Ruggeri, the Turin-based keyboardist and composer has truly succeeded in making his mark. Syndone, with their erudite, impeccable rock, as violent and energetic as they are melancholic and orchestral, are a dare, a counterpoint, a raised middle finger to the devious strategy of collective narcosis slyly dropped from above in the Kali Yuga of Western civilization. They’re an antidote.
“DirtyThirty” is their crowning achievement, the (perhaps) final chapter. Enjoy it like fine wine, in small sips, and remember to stay human.
Track list:
1. DirtyThirty - the end of my love - (Comoglio/Ruggeri) [5’06”]
2. Fight Club (Comoglio/Rubinato/Ruggeri) [3’08”]
3. The Angel (Comoglio/Rubinato/Ruggeri) - quoting the track “Il fiele e il limite” from the album “La bella è la bestia”, 2012 [4’19”]
4. Valdrada’s Screen (Comoglio/Ruggeri) - restyling the track “Spleen” from the album “Spleen”,1992 [3’46”]
5. I spit on my virtue (Comoglio/Rubinato/Ruggeri) [4’40”]
6. I only ask for a super glue (Comoglio/Ruggeri) - quoting the track “Eros & Thanatos” from the album “Odysséas”, 2014 [5’02”]
7. Mary Ann (Comoglio/Ruggeri) - restyling the track “Marianne” from the album “Spleen”,1992 [5’57”]
8. René (Comoglio/Ruggeri) - restyling the track “Magritte” from the album “Melapesante”, 2010 [4’25”]
9. God’s will (Comoglio/Ruggeri) - restyling track “Inca” from the album “Inca”, 1993 [5’30”]
10. Thousand times I cried (Comoglio/Ruggeri) - restyling the track “Proverbi” from the album “Inca”, 1993 [2’11”]
11. Evelyn Japanese version (Comoglio Ruggeri) translation of the track “Evelyn” from the album “Mysoginia”, 2018 [4’21”]
12. So long everybody - the time has come and I must leave you - (Comoglio) - restyling the track “Penelope” for full orchestra from the album “Odysséas”, 2014 [4’46”]
Bonus track
Evelyn Japanese version (Comoglio Ruggeri) translation of the track “Evelyn” from the album “Mysoginia”, 2018 [4’21”]
Total time running 48’03”
SYNDONE Line up:
Nik Comoglio - composition, orchestration, hammond, juno dist. moog, mellotron, keyboards
Riccardo Ruggeri – composition, vocals, lyrics
Marta Caldara – vibraphone, marimba, keyboards
Gigi Rivetti – ac. piano, el. pianos, hammond, moog, accordion
Simone Rubinato – bass, fretless bass, el. baritone guitar Ciro Iavarone - drums, percussions
Guests
Tony de Gruttola – electric guitar & ac. guitar (on “DirtyThirty”)
Andrea Carbone – electric guitar (on “Mary Ann”)
Pino Russo – classic guitar (on “René”)
Gianluca Cagnani – pipe organ (on “Valdrada’s screen”)
Kaori Tsutsui – clarinet in Bb (on “Evelyn”)
Rebecca Onyeji - backing vocals
Charlie Poma - backing vocals
String Trio (on “I spit on my virtue”) – Valerio Iaccio (violin), Roberto D’Auria (violin), Michelangiolo Mafucci (cello)
Budapest Scoring Symphonic Orchestra conducted by M° Francesco Zago
Fabrizio Argiolas - sound engineer
Valentina Fornacca – artwork cover: “folli eroi e sognatori” (oil on canvas)
Eugenia Brini - layout and booklet project