Homunculus Res - Echoes of Canterbury in Sicily

Canterbury in Italy: a long story that began in the 1970s with bands like Dedalus, Perigeo, Picchio dal Pozzo, and that proudly continues to this day, with outfits scattered across every region. Among these, the Sicilian group Homunculus Res are certainly - among the heirs to the historic (non-)scene - the most faithful to the second-generation line spearheaded by Hatfield And The North and National Health.

That Sicily could become more Canterbury than Canterbury itself was hardly something one could have expected, yet in the band formed by Dario D'Alessandro (voice, guitar), Davide Di Giovanni (piano, synth), Daniele Di Giovanni (drums), Mauro Turdo (guitar) and Domenico Salamone (bass), later replaced by Daniele Crisci, we find all the scene's defining traits: from the languid, ironic approach to nonsense lyrics, to the convoluted instrumental weaves, right through to a balanced mix of the various Canterbury generations with Rock In Opposition, freak overtones and numerous Wyatt-esque references. Worth singling out too is the project's creative mind and voice, Dario D'Alessandro, endowed with considerable musical knowledge born of painstaking study and personal listening experience, but above all gifted with a character and personality that reconcile a shy temperament with an ironic view of existence and an almost absolute consistency of vision, never corrupted by the seductive sirens of the mainstream.

Their records are a veritable compendium of the Canterbury scene's history, enriched by numerous Zappa-esque touches, steeped in that irony and irrationality typical of a distinctly Sicilian (and therefore also Zappa-esque) approach to art and life.

If one had to pick out a single trait that defines Homunculus Res' music, it would undoubtedly be irony - that ability to not take themselves too seriously, despite a musical proposition that is deadly serious and complex, thereby displaying a complete otherness compared to the dominant mainstream, which does exactly the opposite: lending an air of seriousness to the most utter banality.

They debuted in 2013 with Limiti all'eguaglianza della parte con il tutto, an anomalous, bizarre LP split into as many as 18 short tracks, like a cauldron full of elaborate ideas not all of which are fully fleshed out. It could be called their "Commercial Album" (Residents) or their "The Faust Tapes" (Faust), to compare it to two records full of small pieces cut up and stitched together into a single mix, where some ideas are carried through to completion while others remain mere sketches to be revisited (perhaps) at a later date. Demented vignettes, deranged covers, hilarious titles, split between a more structured first half and a less accomplished, slightly more experimental second half.

Canterbury is scattered everywhere, particularly in the choruses of "Preparazione bomba H" and the rhythms of "Culturismo ballo organizzare"; the same goes for the prog sonorities present in every track. In some ways, the second half hides even more interesting moments which, had they been fully developed, could have grown into great songs.

Two years later they released How One Becomes What One Was (2015), which can comfortably be called the band's mature statement, and which also earned them a degree of visibility among prog enthusiasts and specialist magazines. Two years of experience brought about a decisive evolution: no longer sketched-out ideas left unfinished, but pieces carried through to completion, turning the album into something like an instruction manual for anyone wanting to play Canterbury-style prog in Italy without sounding saccharine or predictable.

Although the sonorities are obviously the same (odd time signatures, synth, electric piano, jazz-rock), the difference is clear: fewer tracks, a higher average length, and one great 17-minute Canterbury-style suite ("Ospedale civico") that becomes the summa of their art, an enormous cauldron containing a thousand facets of prog-jazz.

But this time everything is perfect and worked out down to the smallest detail: from the whirling rhythms of "Vesica Piscis", to the ultra-Wyatt-esque "Dogface Reprice", featuring the voice of Aldo De Scalzi of Picchio dal Pozzo, to the homage to Soft Machine on "Opodeldoc". Fourteen tracks, often interlinked, that truly become a landmark of Italian neo-Canterbury.

It wasn't easy to repeat themselves at this point, but in 2018 the band returned with Made of the Same Stuff as Dreams, continuing down the same path as the two previous LPs while adding a slight singer-songwriter turn, dictated by the lyrics of Dario D'Alessandro, the band's creative mastermind. This time there's no long track, no "Ospedale Civico" to light up the record the way it did in 2015 with its jazz excursions. Made of the Same Stuff as Dreams instead consists of twelve relatively short tracks (none reaches five minutes) which once again contain an overflowing quantity of sketched-out ideas - ideas that don't cannibalize the canons of the Canterbury scene or a certain strand of Rock in Opposition merely to hide behind the fig leaf of derivation, but instead use and revitalize them for a singular, personal interpretation. Sobriety and extravagance ultimately converge in what can be considered one of the most original and innovative projects in Italian rock, confirming Homunculus Res as the creators of a language all their own, one in which retro impulses are dissolved by an intense sequence of harmonic solutions touched by essentiality and inspiration.

It ranges from the fun, paroxysmal rhythms of "La cabala" to the bizarre, Zappa-esque vocal timbre and lyrics of "Facci una pazzia", which successfully plays the "In Opposition" singer-songwriter card. It's impossible not to think of Henry Cow or Soft Machine while listening to tracks like "Dopamine", "Mentre dormi" (both featuring Tommaso Leddi of Stormy Six) and above all the molten "Il nome di Dio".

The light funky inflections ("La cabala"), the jazz-prog instrumental flights often framed by cutting lyrics ("Faccio una pazzia"), the sublime melodic flashes ("Bianco supremo"), the never-banal oddities scented with beat ("Non sogno più", "Se la mente mentisse"), the superb interlocking of lyrics and lovely sonic counterpoints ("Rimedi ancestrali") are all held together by a constant reference to the world of dreams, which here hovers as an element of subliminal truth with an ecstatic elegance, reaching its nadir in the proggiest territories of "Preludio e distrazioni".

Backed by ever-growing credit with the press and international audiences alike, Homunculus Res show no sign of ideological or creative backsliding.

The first record for Ams, Andiamo in giro di notte e ci consumiamo nel fuoco, once again enlists illustrious collaborators such as David Newhouse (Muffins), Aldo De Scalzi (Picchio dal Pozzo) and Petter Herbertsson (Testbild!), presences that guarantee a perfect balance between past and present.

The fleeting, dangerous allure of consumerism is the theme around which the Palermo band builds even more ambitious compositions, starting with the excellent "Lucciole Per Lanterne", which underlines the influence of Caravan and Soft Machine without ever sounding backward-looking.

It's an attitude the group strengthens and consolidates with the album's signature track, "Il Carrozzone", three minutes and forty-two seconds packed with sinuous, distinctive rhythms, layered synths, velvety sax tones, and a surreal lyric that pushes the stylistic coordinates even further toward the visionary intuitions of Robert Wyatt.

There isn't a single track that feels superfluous or like filler: the pop-prog grace of "Supermercato", the nod to the Beatles' "Hey Jude" at the tail end of the romantic "La Luccicanza" (whose intro recalls the famous "La Lontananza"), the dark timbre of "Tetraktys", and the waltz complete with flute and bassoon of the closing "Non Dire No", all bring a stimulating variety and biting lyrics to the table.

The most notable merit of Andiamo in giro di notte e ci consumiamo nel fuoco is nonetheless its ability to make an otherwise complex, intricate subject matter accessible (the pop turn of "Buco Nero" and the lounge/library-music atmospheres of "La Spia"), while the constant nods to Piero Umiliani and Piero Piccioni reshape the Palermo band's imagery beyond prog alone, projecting them toward a future full of possible surprises.

In 2021 Dario D'Alessandro teamed up with La 1919 guitarist Luciano Margorani. A two-way collaboration between Lombardy and Sicily that had already begun with the EP Little Songs (2020). In 2021 the partnership grew closer and led to the release of an untitled Lp, thirteen short songs defined chiefly by a lightness and simplicity that recalls a certain disenchantment and irony typical of much of the classic Canterbury scene. The project is also a riot of references, some recognizable, others hidden so carefully that it would take the time and dedication of a true Canterbury nerd to uncover them.

There is, however, a playful, almost childlike side recognizable in the duo, that "little song" quality that was probably the original starting point. "Entrata", with its guitar chords followed by keyboards, almost recalling a children's song, with its vocalizing that follows, is one such example. While the gorgeous track "Gramigna" can't help but recall Mike Oldfield's guitars on Mike Oldfield's Rock Bottom, and the Robert Wyatt-indebted vocals crop up everywhere, it's worth noting that the strongest link seems to be with the later Canterbury bands, known to history as the second generation — National Health and Hatfield And The North above all. An Lp full of small, light-hearted pieces, though at times extraordinary ones, like the brief "Ritorno", which suddenly launches into a dizzying loop in the style of Terry Riley.

A work out of another era, yet thoroughly contemporary, overflowing with ideas, melodies and quirky vocal lines, at times even desolate ("Distanza"), at times pure research ("Pianerottolo"), more often playful, as if Wyatt were singing alongside those pranksters Mamma non piangere ("Ambulanze").

With the album Here's the empire of double meanings, the Palermo band show they have no more qualms about engaging with pop's more flexible rules. Setting the pace and the methods are, as ever, the well-known influences of Soft Machine and Hatfield And The North; the ineffable, overflowing virtuosity of "Il Bello e il Cattivo Tempo" is fundamental to the project's dynamic, and it's from here that the suite-prog dynamics dominating the album's central section emerge. The brilliant interplay between progressive rock and Frank Zappa-style pop-jazz digressions on "Pentagono", the subtle kraut thread running through yet another foray into the lounge imagery of "Fine del Mondo" or the more daring, dissonant "Cinque Sensi", and the dreamy psychedelic textures in a Beatles/Cardiacs vein on the brilliant prog-pop of "Viaggio Astrale Di Una Polpetta", with friends Sterbus playing the jesters, all add up to a concentrate of irreverence and stylistic rigor that confirms the uniqueness of Homunculus Res.

"Ecco L'impero Dei Doppi Sensi" partly gathers up the emotional legacy of Dario D'Alessandro and Luciano Margorani's project, seeking new synergies between prog-rock and song form on "Quintessenza La La La", going as far as brushing against the imagery of Premiata Forneria Marconi on the ballad "Parole E Numeri".

Even the steady, singalong-friendly chorus of "Fiume Dell'oblio" and the baroque architecture of "Doppi Sensi" are, in their own way, part of a single whole, a creative attitude that honors the idea of music as a popular art form that's cleverly enjoyable, and confirms the Palermo band as one of the most stimulating presences on the Italian scene.

Dario D'Alessandro returns to collaborate with Luciano Margorani, joined by drummer Fabrizio Carriero (The Long Goodbye) on Ten Easy Pieces (2023). It's clear that the idea of writing "easy pieces" is, for Margorani, a pretext that makes the difference between simplicity and banality very clear. There is in fact nothing simple or easy about the trio's ten tracks, aside from the idea of lightness and irony typical of the Canterbury scene's heirs, achieved through an attention to detail that is absolutely the opposite of simplicity. In this sense, Margorani's work truly stands as the antithesis of contemporary mainstream music, where ease has become synonymous with mediocrity and sloppiness.

Contributions by Gianfranco Marmoro ("Made of the Same Stuff as Dreams", "Andiamo in giro di notte e ci consumiamo nel fuoco", "Ecco L'impero Dei Doppi Sensi")

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