LUDOVICO EINAUDI & VARIOUS ARTISTS
Taranta Project Ponderosa Records CD130
Sometimes the words ‘Major Event’ seem to be written all over a release. This is one of those. Springing from a commission that northern Italian composer Einaudi received in 2010, Taranta Project has toured and played to hundreds of thousands in Italy. It’s a summation not only of the taranta and pizzica music of southern Italy (it’s the heel in the boot), but also the foreign influence on the region which was a Greek province before the Romans existed. Building from what’s really an overture to heighten tension, Taranta explodes with Justin Adams’ electrifying guitar and Juldeh Camara’s riti. But although the spirit of the region underlies the whole album (listen to the voices on Fimmene, for instance), this is as much about the multicultural experience of the region as anything – hence Mercan Dédé’s subtle electronics and Ballaké Sissoko’s kora as part of the mix. Members of Canzionere Grecanico Salentino are heavily involved, working with the Roma Film Orchestra as the spine of the sound. It’s all remarkably global – Nizzu Nizzu transports John Lee Hooker to the Med as one example – but it works and never loses its local touch. It’s swaggeringly confident, often lush, but always retaining that raw edge that keeps the emotion high. There’s plenty of tension and release, but a strong connection to the earth throughout it all; often, with the West African connection, it feels like a deep blues for Salento. And finally there’s the graceful peace of Nuvole Bianchi to bring it to a close. Kudos to Einaudi for subsuming himself in the culture so deeply, but bringing in these outside elements that – as news arrives of boats carrying refugees sinking as they try to find hope in Italy – is more relevant than ever. So yes, it deserves that ‘big’ tag. It’s a bit of a triumph www.ludovicoeinaudi.com/
Chris Nickson