Tempi duri (anche) per le compilation, a fronte all'enorme messe di pubblicazioni offerte dall'attuale panorama discografico. Si direbbe infatti che le raccolta di brani a firma di artisti diversi finiscano quasi sempre per passare in secondo piano rispetto ad album più concisi e soprattutto contrassegnati da quell'omogeneità che richiede minori sforzi di concentrazione nel tener dietro all'avvicendarsi dei brani.
Ciò che invece può destare interesse in simili operazioni sono proprio i due elementi caratterizzanti "Leaves Of Life", raccolta curata da Buck Curran degli Arborea per raccogliere fondi per la lotta alla fame e pubblicata dalla spagnola Borne! (di recente balzata agli onori delle cronache per aver pubblicato l'ultimo album di Mi And L'au, "Good Morning Jokers"), ovvero un ampio novero di artisti più o meno conosciuti in ambito latamente folk e totalità di brani inediti, realizzati appositamente per l'occasione.
Altrettanto inedite sono le quattro collaborazioni comprese tra i diciannove episodi di "Leaves Of Life", prima fra tutte quella del brano iniziale, affidato all'incontro tra due interpreti di grande forza espressiva quali Alela Diane e Mariee Sioux. I compilatori della raccolta mostrano grande sensibilità e attenzione verso il folk al femminile poiché, oltre alle due citate, forniscono il loro contributo alla causa comune, tra gli altri, due artiste in vista quali Larkin Grimm (per una volta impegnata in una ballata molto lineare) e Marissa Nadler, qui affiancata da Black Hole Infinity, in un veste sonora ancor più suadente e dilatata rispetto al suo ultimo, splendido "Little Hells".
"Leaves Of Life" rappresenta inoltre l'occasione per riascoltare qualcosa di nuovo da Devendra Banhart – il cui cullante demo "Hotel St. Sebastian" lascia presagire una ritrovata ispirazione nella scrittura del cantautore texano – e per evidenziare le qualità di due band finora ingiustamente passate troppo sotto silenzio, quali il duo psych-folk americano Arborea e la band inglese Starless & Bible Black, che sono in procinto di pubblicare il seguito del loro fresco album omonimo di debutto.
Com'è naturale, poi, nel corso dell'ora e un quarto di durata di "Leaves Of Life" non manca spazio per artisti meno conosciuti ma di sicuro talento (una menzione la meritano Micah Blue Smaldone e Rio En Medio), né tanto meno vengono trascurati gli aspetti più wyrd e stranianti del folk, qui rappresentati in quasi tutti i suoi multiformi caratteri. Non solo ballate, dunque, ma anche più decise virate psichedeliche, tanto nella consolidata formula ipnotica e minimale di Mi And L'au, quanto in quella del limpido fingerpicking di Eric Carbonara, quanto ancora nella pronunciata coralità dei Cursillistas e nelle torsioni moderatamente freak di Citay.
Considerato nel suo complesso, "Leaves Of Life" adempie egregiamente la sua missione di raccolta destinata agli amanti delle tante sfumature del genere e risponde in maniera coerente alla sua funzione divulgativa nei confronti di artisti e band non ancora assurti a un'attenzione generalizzata, i quali potranno trarre sicuro giovamento dal fatto di essere affiancati a nomi più affermati. Inoltre, la qualità di gran parte dei brani e l'attenta compilazione della tracklist ne fanno opera godibile nella sua interezza, che senza cesure di sorta dimostra ancora una volta la straordinaria vitalità e ricchezza dell'offerta musicale attualmente riconducibile allo sconfinato ambito folk.
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30/09/2009
This article is an English translation of the original Italian text by Raffaello Russo, published on OndaRock.it. It was translated with the help of artificial intelligence, under the editorial responsibility of OndaRock's editor-in-chief, Claudio Fabretti.
Tracklist
- 1. Alela Diane with Mariee Sioux - The Cuckoo
- 2. Rio En Medio + Israel Cilio - Mary
- 3. Fern Knight - Our Mountain The Mother
- 4. Marissa Nadler and Black Hole Infinity - Dead Wives Club
- 5. Devendra Banhart - Hotel St. Sebastian (demo)
- 6. Arborea - Son Of The Moon, Daughter Of The Sun
- 7. Micah Blue Smaldone - The Clearing
- 8. Larkin Grimm - The Butcher
- 9. Mi And L'au - The Funeral, The Pray
- 10. Mica Jones - Best Life
- 11. Starless & Bible Black - All The Finest Beams
- 12. Cursillistas - Mothers Taught
- 13. Silver Summit - Oaks
- 14. Big Blood - Sick With Information
- 15. Eric Carbonara - Sundowns At Parakeet Park
- 16. David Garland - Splinter Heart
- 17. Magic Leaves - Lasso Reason
- 18. Citay - Little Kingdom
- 19. Ora Corgan featuring Anni Rossi - My Belle
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