TEHO TEARDO - Plays Twin Peaks And Other Infinitives

When tribute bands or cover albums are involved, I generally prefer to steer well clear; but in this case, knowing the artist's calibre and having followed the historic TV series "Twin Peaks" created by David Lynch, with its celebrated soundtrack by Italian-American Angelo Badalamenti, the temptation was very strong: I was far too curious to find out what that genius Teho Teardo would come up with.

The author of countless soundtracks for cinema, television and theatre, and a protagonist of collaborations with Italian and international artists, among which the recent ones with Einsturzende Neubauten mastermind Blixa Bargeld stand out, this time the tireless composer from Friuli wanted to try his hand at one of the most famous scores of all, intelligently revisiting the three most famous notes that came out of television sets in the early 1990s, adding newly written tracks along the way.

The cast of top-notch musicians includes young Vito Bondese, who opens the ball on "Falling", singer and musician Susanna Buffa, British multi-instrumentalist David Coulter, formerly of Pogues/Test Dept, Stefano Bollani on piano, Gabriele Coen on winds, Abel Ferrara, featured in the spoken part of "And The Birds Will Have Their Say", and actress/musician Keeley Forsyth, author of the solid album "The Hollow" (2024) and, above all, of the excellent "Limbs" (2022). Rounding out the group are the trusted session players, including a string section.

The key tracks dealing with the soundtrack proper were crafted with meticulous care, without overturning the original score, adding a touch of class and experimentation. But what really made the difference are the newly written pieces, inspired by 17th-century Baroque classical music by composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach, Henry Purcell and the Venetian Barbara Strozzi.

The initial dripping notes of "Eravamo senza saperlo", accompanied by Bollani's minimalist touch with strings providing the backdrop, leave one stunned by their beauty, and only the following, mournful "Fuochi alleati" (inspired by Roberta Ioli's book) offers the sense of having lazily returned to earth, as in Vivaldi's summer.

Sinister blasts rising from the underworld kick off one of the album's most accomplished tracks, "L'insonnia delle rondini", where Keeley Forsyth's incredible voice shapes an intriguing journey with no time, no destination and no hope of return. Electronic vibrations set against seductive strings mark out "L'unico confine è la pelle", a track that glides slowly over the fir trees of Carnia, drifting all the way to Slovenia.

Another precious gem is the masterful "The Ghost Of Piacenza", derived from Enda Walsh's piece "Medicine", where a crescendo of frenzied strings and other instruments of unknown origin carve out a frothing trail that wraps around you like a slithering reptile, releasing you from its coils only at the very end.

The closing track "And The Birds Will Have Their Say" is taken from the Dante-inspired staging created by Mauro Teardo and Elio Germano and inspired by Paradiso XXXIII from Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, where Abel takes us by the hand and guides us through this hypnotic illusion in which nature prevails over everything, and the only lifeline left to hold onto is the sound of musical instruments.

The risk taken by Teho Teardo was a big one: it's all too easy to fall into the trap of banality with this kind of work, but drawing the necessary conclusions, we can say that our curiosity wasn't just amply rewarded, it also gave us the chance to listen to one of the finest albums of this year, another lovely surprise coming from Italy, specifically from Friuli, just as with his fellow Friulian Massimo Silverio and his exquisite "Surtùm".

We strongly recommend listening with headphones in order to fully appreciate the nuances and the highly distinctive sounds that define and highlight this work, which also gave rise to the dark concert, another stroke of genius from this great artist: an immersive sonic experience in which the audience listens in total darkness to compositions generated from nighttime field recordings made by Teardo himself (birdsong in the forest, animal calls, noises) enriched with electronics and synths, for a sensory journey that conjures mysterious landscapes and imagined encounters. The goal is to listen "with sound", letting the senses move through the darkness for an experience of peace and mystery.

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13/12/2025