Pepe Maina
Il Canto dell'Arpa e del Flauto
CGD 1993

01. Il Canto dell'Arpa
02. Il Canto dell'Arpa e del Flauto (Prima Parte)
03. Spring Song
04. Two Balls
05. Africa
06. Il Canto dell'Arpa e del Flauto (Seconda Parte)
07. San Nicola

A record from the 70's, when folks were just becoming interested in "music for dreams and illusions"... From Milan comes Pepe Maina, who "for twenty years has attempted to create and translate into music, atmospheres and images absolutely non-commercially, blindly intolerant of the logic of the Italian music market". Twenty years and fourteen albums, of which Il Canto is the first and possibly most defining about his approach. Far from groundbreaking/visionary, but I can see how it was out of ordinary: the hard to categorize, deep stoned vibes, Eastern tinged passages, repetitive patterns specific to early minimalism, massive use of flutes, bongos, harps, keyboards, Indian/Tibetan instruments, arranged in a somewhat subdued way for a serene and lovely ambient effect. Regarded as a "masterpiece" at the time. Whatever... It's a welcome relief when all kind of tensions run free through your life.

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