Friday, March 7, 2025

from Paolo Tofani - Indicazioni (1977)


Oh dear, it's Cramps' avantgarde series, the 1970's italian place for experimental musicians (italian and otherwise) to unleash their most experimental instincts; this time around, the guitarist extraordinaire from Area, in a solo effort where, just as in the solo efforts his colleagues Demetrio Stratos and Patrizio Fariselli recorded for the same label, it would be ill-advised to expect to find much semblance of what that revolutionary powerhouse (in every possible sense) usually brought to the table as a collective. 
As such, like the bulk of these Cramps records, this one is a bit of a tough bone to pick, and while I have nothing against thought-provoking music, I do enjoy being thrown a meatier snack once in a while to reward my attention - same reason why physics professors feel the need to crack a joke about two atoms walking into a bar halfway through their lectures on quantum mechanics. 
That's sort of what Tofani does on "Tung Tze Mao", sandwiching his electronic feedback experiments between some lovely liquid guitar harmonies (that I'm sure hold their place in Jim O'Rourke's boundless echoic memory; what they might have to do with the "great helmsman", though, is beyond me), but that's about your only treat for the day. 
Beyond that, apart from a choppy vocal piece, it's an all straight lecture on the art of the avantgarde guitar. It may very well be of theoretical interest, and mixes in some sound experiments that can make you occasionally go 'cool'; but if you're easily distracted like me, there's also a good chance that, from time to time, you'll find yourself drawn to other pressing matters, like folding paper airplanes or sticking gum underneath the desk.

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