MAX CASACCI - Through The Grapevine, in Franciacorta (Earthphonia III)

Within the realm of projects tied to musical research and experimentation, it's almost always possible to distinguish between two broad approaches: those born from a self-sufficient drift on the part of their author (indifferent to outside approval) and those oriented toward a controlled kind of accessibility.

Max Casacci's now decade-long experience as a producer (not only with Subsonica) has always placed the episodes of the "Earthphonia" project in the second category, confirming how important it is for the Turin-based artist to carry a parallel message alongside the themes of writing and composition. If it all started with the need to foster awareness of climate change, and then continued with the desire to offer a danceable reading of the chaos of metropolitan areas, today with "Through The Grapevine, in Franciacorta" we find ourselves facing the recontextualization of a field that in Italy represents both economic and cultural heritage: winemaking.

Max's working methods stem from familiar principles: extensive fieldwork (pertaining, as the term suggests, precisely to field recording) to capture as many sonic details as possible, and an organized process of sample manipulation to complete the rhythmic, melodic and harmonic structure of the tracks. The theater of operations this time is the premises and cellars of the Bersi Serlini winery, in the province of Brescia, whose manager Chiara Bersi Serlini also comes from experiences tied to the contemporary art world in London, which led to collaborations with Bill Viola, Francesco Vezzoli, Chris Cunningham and Aphex Twin.

It's therefore solely the sound of barrels, bottles, glasses and falling grape clusters that shapes the perception of an entire world that often takes form through fermentation, while Max confirms his skills as an alchemist in arriving at a result that never feels forced or unnatural, only slightly penalized by its overall brevity (in partial justification, this is a much narrower sonic territory than the other two episodes).

"Cantine" carries us well beyond Franciacorta, with its flood of bubbles and resonances that unexpectedly echo Eastern atmospheres. "Trattore (Vendemmia cassa dritta)" plays with the mechanics of the quintessential piece of farm equipment, arriving at a sort of futurist, dance-oriented celebration of the grape harvest (though it also brings to mind "Timber" by Coldcut). "Cisterne" offers more industrial shades, incorporating the repetitiveness of labeling machines and struck plastic containers (alongside the tanks) to reach a space of existence shared with the Depeche Mode of "Some Great Reward".

Exactly as in "Earthphonia" 1 & 2, this is a result that is never a mere divertissement or a display of technique, but a successful attempt (even more so than its predecessors) to rethink the context of the real world and turn it into music, giving weight to gestures and moments that are almost never noticed in their everyday ordinariness, in this case also celebrating one of the most symbolic Italian products. Confirmation of the quality of a project that seems to enjoy virtually unlimited freedom of movement.

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19/04/2025