raul lovisoni/francesco messina: prati bagnati del monte analogo

Originally published in 1979 by the legendary Gianni Sassi's Cramps Records label as part of a series curated by Franco Battiato, the long-awaited Prati Bagnati del Monte Analogo is finally made available by Die Schachtel in a repackaged deluxe edition, fully remastered (by Giuseppe Ielasi) from the original Cramps tapes, and complete with three extra tracks (in the CD edition) dug from Francesco Messina's archives. Produced by Franco Battiato, the breathtaking oeuvre of Francesco Messina and Raul Lovisoni is openly inspired by the unfinished metaphysical novel Le Mont Analogue, by the French writer René Daumal, who had been for many years a student of the teachings of the enigmatic Armenian Georges Ivanovich Gurdjieff. The reference to Gurdjieff is important in order to frame this work in its own context, because at that time the great Greek-Armenian mystic was beginning to exert a large influence into the diverse and stimulating artistic environment that for many years developed around Battiato, which included, among the others, Juri Camisasca, Francesco Messina and Giusto Pio. Battiato's entourage was characterized by a deep desire of spirituality that would not adhere to a particular faith, but rather involved a full opening of the mind and body. This spiritual quest, that one can hear shining through the music, was something intimate and personal and it never became the expression of religious extremists looking forward to life in another world. Similarly, Prati Bagnati del Monte Analogo is a stage of that journey that the artists developed independently, yet with a constant tension of the spirit resulting from years of readings and reflections shared with others. The music on this album is an exact compendium of such an intimate journey: drones and overtones, repetitive patterns, a deep, meditative feel, and space atmospheres. "Writing this on a Sunday afternoon during breaks taken from restoring two zithers from the late 19th century. I love the instruments not only for their beautiful craftsmanship and sound, but for what they've seen, the stories in which they've played a part, and the journey that brought them to me. Francesco Messina and Raul Lovisoni's Prati Bagnati del Monte Analogo is playing on a loop as so many times in the past, coloring the space I inhabit with its glowing overtones, spreading its majestic quietness. Taking as a starting point an unfinished utopian novel, written by French pataphysician René Daumal, in which is described the ascension of a mountain connecting Earth and Heaven, the three compositions take us on a journey through the rich green pastures of Mount Analogue, occasionally pausing beneath veils of light, only to stride determinedly onwards, to the realms of an ancient wind deity. At some point during this incursion, you may find yourself in a landscape set out by John Cage, witnessing Vainqueur, Substance and Resilient as children chanting their vocoded chants, or else enter a false portal planting you in Anthony Moore's cloud and ballroom. While the subject matter is esoteric and the music makes no attempt to conceal this fact, it's time we released these haunting pieces from the demesne of obscurity. Messina and Lovisoni have created a work of radiant beauty, oneiric states waiting to be explored, to lose ourselves in." --Stephan Mathieu, from the liner notes