SEBASTIANO DE GENNARO - Hippos Epos

"Hiipos Epos" is the debut album by Brianza-born Sebastiano De Gennaro. The collection's components are uneven, and so are the results. Part of it is devoted to reworkings of baroque repertoire, a mix of Wendy Carlos's electro-analogue revisitations and Conlon Nancarrow's cavatinas for "toy piano". Another part consists of a performance of a minimalist piece by Steve Reich ("Music for Pieces of Wood"), which however scales back the phasing in favour of an amateurish, videogame-like mood.

The third and final part, the most interesting, is devoted to original tracks, some written solely by the author and others in collaboration with Enrico Gabrielli ("Donald Fauntleroy Duck"). "Electric Ponei 1X" sounds vaguely inspired by Karlheinz Stockhausen's "Kontakte", again with a childlike spirit reminiscent of cartoon theme songs. "Musica per Aristofane", besides its dazed duets between percussion and electronic timbres, makes abrasive use of distortion, the standout moment of the collection. "Donald Fauntleroy Duck" hooks together the complex rhythms and harmonies of Frank Zappa with the sounds of Dan Deacon. These are somewhat redundant, self-referential tracks.

An internationally recognised drummer, the percussion equivalent of Gabrielli (who indeed collaborates with him, drawn in like him by the "erudite" side of Trovarobato), De Gennaro - born in 1979 - makes his debut with a collection of squandered talent. There's too lingering a whiff of the conservatory, or of an even more stifling alternative conservatory, in these divertissements, which instead try to shake it off through clownish feats. Co-produced with Parade Dischi, recorded at Spaziale in Bologna in the summer of 2011. As a touring musician: Le Luci Della Centrale Elettrica, Edda, Pacifico.

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google

03/03/2012