Saxophonist Giuseppe Doronzo and percussionist Pino Basile have created music that is fresh yet contains elements of history. With various cultural origins and implications, Aterraterr has contemporary relevance yet also feels as if the music has come from centuries of time.
The sounds are visceral, natural, and authentic with an ephemeral feel, enhanced by the fact many of the instruments were fashioned just for this recording in sustainable manners. Doronzo and Basile play free yet with an inexplicable grounding toward each other and the listener.
Aterraterr is inspired by soundscapes from the Apulian region in Italy, where both musicians come from. They use unique instrument combinations to open a new musical territory at the edge of early and contemporary music, free improvisation, and complex rhythmic structures.
The album-opening “Favo” is atmospheric, with a sense of mystery and wonder as Giuseppe Doronzo and Pino Basile explore the relatively simple melody lines, interspersed with intricate percussive rhythms, with Basile making good use of the seemingly endless capabilities of the percussion at his fingertips. At times, the baritone sax has classical tones; at others, it feels free and unconstrained.
“Alberelli” is a duet of bubbu flutes, and has an almost Andean feel, as the flutes offer whistling effects, warbles, and a sense of nature calling in the wilds. There is an oddly delicate feel to this number, even when Doronzo and Basile are in full flow, rising from harmonies to separate paths that meet at intersections in a delightful manner. “Lauro” is a wonderful creation with baritone sax expressive over delicate cupaphon, creating a dancing, uplifting folky feel. The song becomes a glorious freestyle journey into ever more creative musical soundscapes, as Doronzo’s sax adds frenzied interludes over gentler yet intricately worked percussion.
“Magesse” is a beautiful track with Giuseppe Doronzo’s baritone sax creating emotive, lifting rises so smooth, it could be a bowed cello at times. The percussion answers throughout in rhythmic pulses. The results feel classical, yet “Magesse” firmly crosses the line into free playing. “Bubbu Sapiens” sees flutes and percussion played by both musicians, creating a whimsical, short interlude of beauty before “Katsikodromos,” where the ney anban wails its cry across a frame drum that adds sharp, precise heavy notes of contrast. It’s rhythmic, noisy, and somehow incredibly engaging.
“Strazzavisazz” opens with percussion, which develops a range of rhythms before the sax adds intricate, fast cadences, rises and falls before a theme emerges and vanishes just as fast. The track explores, develops, and tests several rhythmic combinations of sax and percussion, and is 10 minutes of wonder. “Matematica Campestre” is beautiful for its rhythms, anarchic for the way Doronzo takes the sax along pathways that seem to go nowhere but fall neatly back to the original key. Along the way, he switches from smooth, flowing lines to slightly manic deviations into free in style, yet musically controlled escapades. The final third has a definitive melody line underpinned by intuitive percussion. “Bubbastan” is a duet of flutes, at times playful, at others melodic, popping, and harmonic. It’s a joyful way to finish this album.
Aterraterr is different, and it takes listening deeply to a new level if you want to find all the little intricacies which flow between the two musicians – the classical and freestyle of performance, and the cultures which are implicated in the music. It is engaging, interesting music, and the hope is that Giuseppe Doronzo and Pino Basile collaborate in the future and produce even more explorative sounds.
‘Aterraterr’ arrives via Doronzo’s label, Tora Records, boasting a special hexagonal-shaped paper packaging that reflects this album’s artistic vision around nature, transience and slow development. It was created by a team of artisans dedicated to sustainability and recycled materials.
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