"Druid One" album review by Italian musician and writer Alessandro Monti.

Here's a brilliant review on "Druid One - Live at Essen Pop and Blues Festival 1970" by my friend Italian musician and music writer ALESSANDRO MONTI (https://unfolkam.wordpress.com/) a very big fan and expert of Our Holy Band.

"Where do we come from? 

All we know is that we are born on this planet, we live, we walk, we play, we work and then we leave leaving traces of our passage without knowing what will happen to those traces, and without paying the slightest attention to who will follow or collect them.

I have often asked myself these questions while listening to magnificent recordings like this one, in which half the members of the group are now elsewhere, entities of pure spirit beyond this material world without knowing that their improvised music was so intense as to take root in the planet and be rediscovered at unthinkable moments... or maybe they knew? 

Curious to think that the other half of the group continues to make music: a classical cellist and a violin teacher disinterested in his past: that's life. But to many of us this music still communicates a unique and unrepeatable emotion, a ritual that is renewed with every listen as if it did not belong to any era... perhaps because it belongs to ALL eras? 

The answer blows in the wind with this music taken from a concert in 1970, recorded impeccably by German radio at the time of the second album based on the four elements, it is no coincidence that two of them appear: water at the beginning and at the end, after an alchemical sonic journey, the dance of the earth. 

There was a time when we literally had to work miracles to find live recordings of our favorite bands, then the doors of the cosmic archives opened and we listened to all sorts of things. Today the release of a new TEB album seems almost normal, in reality all this is miraculous, especially if we think about the time spent on the dusty shelves of some archives. The music speaks for itself and no comment (let alone "critical") could add something sensible... just a few technical aspects to note: 

side A of this album starts in fade in, certainly after the performance has already begun, while side B ends with a fade out while the group seems to be able to continue endlessly, this makes me think (like Luca wrote) that perhaps it is not a complete tape, but the unrepeatable magic fully justifies its publication with the rare quote from Abelard & Heloise to seal the set: a surprise too good to be true."

Recording: ️ ️ ️ [5/5]

Vinyl dynamics: ️ [3/5]

Performance: ️ ️ [5/5]

Magic: ️ ️[5/5]

 

no©2025LucaChinoFerrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first)

John Lydon on the TEB again...

Frankly, I never believed that Rotten had actually stated his appreciation for TEB and MacBeth music, particularly for the pop song "Fleance" (read HERE).
In a recent radio programme, however, (the YouTube video of which was pointed out to me by my friend (and musician) Alessandro Monti) John Lydon confirms this by stating that he loves the film's soundtrack - "I love the landscape they created...", "I really loved that band live, they played some very intersting things" (but please overlook the fucking comparison with Enja's 'foggy' atmospheres!)...  

Below is the video with John endorsement at minute 29:30...

no©2022 LucaChinoFerrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first

Alessandro Monti published a book with two pieces about the Third Ear Band.

Avant-garde musician (and friend) Alessandro Monti has published with Arcana Editrice a book titled "Riproduzione Casuale"(in Italian) about "a sort of listening path from the point of view of the musician who, shedding light on cult and often obscure records, manages to link together the most diverse and distant music, through memories, experiences, reflections and provocations."

His original, very personal journey, contains also his two contributions about the TEB posted in Ghettoraga Archive months ago.

For detailed infos and for buying a copy click HERE

 no©2021 LucaChinoFerrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first).

EMBLEMATA NOVA DE SECRETIS NATURAE CHYMICA (Scrutinium Chymicum).

EMBLEMA VIII
Accipe Ovum & igneo percute gladio [take the egg and strike it with a fiery sword] 

“Emblema VIII. Accipe ovum & igneo percute gladio. ‘Take the egg and strike it with a fiery sword.’ The egg is the Subject of the Art, which must be struck by the martial igneous agent wielding the ‘double-edged sword’ of the Secret Fire. Mars thus comes to the help of Vulcan, and from the ensuing darkness of Putrefaction (Nigredo) the hermetick chick will hatch. Raymund Lull, quoted here by Maier, stresses in several places that the fiery sword is a sharp lance, because Fire, like a lance, pierces bodies, rendering them porous and permeable, so that Water may penetrate them and turn their hardness into softness” (p98).

 

According to Luca Ferrari's excellent and detailed notes inside the booklet of the 50th Anniversary edition of "Alchemy", the iconic cover was taken from the book "Atalanta Fugiens" by Michael Maier (1568–1622), published by Johann Theodor de Bry in Oppenheim in 1617 (2nd edition 1618). 

It consists of 50 chapters with engravings by Matthias Merian, a great artist rarely quoted. Alongside illustrations, poems, and alchemical explanations, it included 50 pieces of music in the form of "fugues" scored for 3 voices. 

Being a fan of Early, Renaissance and Baroque music, I let my imagination fly: if Third Ear Band were around at the time, could their music be considered some kind of alternative "secret" sound to the more famous composers of the era? I suppose there's no answer to this question, but I think that it could definitely be interesting to hear what the original pieces from the book sounded like.

Among the countless transcriptions of the work you can listen to a nice vocal performance here below:

More performances here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQliTHH7EXk&list=OLAK5uy_mIjRwdIHzyghXInVVwhUGL_HkMNM2U44g

For voices and instruments here:
https://soundcloud.com/honza-hejzl

A different Czech ensemble recorded the fugues using for the cover the same engraving of the TEB:

...and even two modern transcriptions for piano and synthesizer here:
https://archive.org/details/AtalantaFugiens
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1a6X-JUL2LE

 

It is also worth noting that for many researchers and musicologists "Atalanta Fugiens" may be considered an early example of multimedia.

Alessandro Monti :: unfolk

no©2019 Luca Chino Ferrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first)

Italian musician and composer Alessandro Monti reviews Third Ear Band's new release.

Here below Venetian musician and composer Alessandro Monti reviews the "Third Ear Band" remastered and expanded edition focusing some interesting aspects of the Electric Ear Band's composition/arrangement approach to the sound.

THIRD EAR BAND Elements 1970-1971: first impressions.
 

Two days ago I received from Burning Shed my advance copy of the 3CD set released on Esoteric/Cherry Red... and what a surprise it was! 

I was asked by Luca Chino Ferrari to write a review for the revitalised Ghettoraga Archive, but after two days of immersion in the timeless music of TEB, I can only say a few words about it: the package has to be heard to be believed.
The research of original master tapes in the EMI vaults led to an amazing amount of unreleased material we could only dream of! 

Alessandro Monti

On the 1st disc the classic 1970 album is augmented by two beautiful studio outtakes and three pieces taken from a BBC session; the alternate version of "Earth" seems to be the most exciting: a totally different approach to the piece by the band, probably studying new possibilities in the studio while recording, a fascinating glimpse "in progress" of TEB's compositional methods sometimes obscured by their freewheeling improvisational side. 

On the 2nd disc, we find an excellent remaster of the "Abelard & Heloise" soundtrack from the best sources available: improved by recent technology it's definitely a major addition to TEB's recording legacy and one of the most important sessions by the 1970 line-up, showing different perspectives at each rotation.
And here comes the extra good news! I've always thought that the Sweeney/Minns/Buckmaster/Bridges era created some of the most advanced sounds in the UK at the time. Three unreleased sessions from November 1970 are included: "Very Fine...Far Away", "The Dragon Wakes" and "Sunrise". The new electric sound recently documented through the "Beat Club" DVD is here in better focus. The new TEB sound was clearly influenced by electric Miles Davis and Paul Buckmaster's interview on the "Miles Electric - a different kind of blue" DVD confirm all that; detailed technical notes by the late arranger/producer/composer can be found here on Ghettoraga (https://ghettoraga.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-first-cellist-to-go-electric.html) deeply analyzing all harmonic and musical connections. The use of VCS3 synthesizer and psychedelic voices are more in tune with the underground sound of Hawkwind, Gong and early Pink Floyd, but the intelligent use of space on free rhythms is typically vintage TEB. Paul Buckmaster explores new territories on bass and cello, while Denim Bridges creates some jazzy noises on his double neck guitar far removed from Soft Machine or similar bands of the era. 

The appearance of three more tracks on the third disc (recorded intermittently from February to June 1971 at Abbey Road) "Mistress To The Sun", "Evening Awakening" and "In D", give us the unique experience of a "Lost Album". The 20-minute "Evening Awakening" is a major find: it seems a sort of unusual suite edited from different sketches and experiments closing with a circular riff reminiscent of Joe Zawinul's style with Weather Report. In my opinion, it could be linked to Weather Report's 1st LP and "I Sing The Body Electric" for the new approach to group improvisation using written structures only as a vehicle for the extended electric sections. Looking back Oregon shared a similar path on acoustic instruments at the time. Here Glen Sweeney's basic use of a real drum-set change the ethnic and ritual rhythms of the group leading to an almost rock idiom. The stunning listening marathon closes with the famous "BBC in concert" from 1971 presented here directly from the John Peel show in a slightly improved audio quality from the previous edition; particularly revealing at this stage is the evolution of the track "Eternity in D" in a barely few months, starting from a Miles Davis riff slowly becoming a more organic and "open" TEB piece. 

As I wrote the above 6 unreleased tracks make a fantastic "Lost Album" that needs repeated listenings to be fully appreciated, lots of inventions appearing at once on the speakers. Listening to this marvellous 3CD set was like opening a forgotten box, a secret treasure: we could only imagine of its existence but few seriously believed in it. The music of the 1970 TEB described the four elements but it could also be about the four seasons: a truly spiritual and otherworldly musical experience by one of the most loved bands of progressive music definitely coming from a parallel universe.
 

Alessandro Monti :: Unfolk

Read an exclusive interview with Alessandro Monti in this Archive at the page: https://ghettoraga.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-unfolk-music-of-alessandro-monti.html

no©2018 Luca Chino Ferrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first)

Some kind of popular music how much 'popular' today? The case of ROMOLO GRANO, Italian composer, arranger, conductor and his amazing music corpus.

If "Rolling Stones" magazine can omit the Third Ear Band's records in its celebrated "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" (Wenner Media Ltd. 2005); if "Uncut" special issue "Ultimate Record Collection" (December 2017)  in the 70's section 'forgets' Glen Sweeney & C.... maybe a reason there is.

I think popular music history might be re-written  and I'm very glad that nowadays, in this age of revisionism, some so-called 'cult records' can be mooted; maybe a new age of free minds is coming for fighting nostalgia and commonplaces of culture that are a real damnation for everyone...

The reasons because TEB's music cannot be ignored are first of all related to its musical nature, the peculiar identity of the sound (the instruments played) that advanced world music and all the forms of 'contaminations' of sounds. Their syncretism was so unique and authentic that was just pure sound with no image (fashion), no indulgences on pop star trivial tricks  and other kind of banality.

Other reasons can be found in their implicit contents>: I've tried to explain in a past short essay (read HERE) why "Alchemy" is one of the most dangerous records ever played. And it's possible that this is one of the reasons because rock magazines generally don't consider TEB's work in their useless, boring lists of 'essential' albums.

I don't feel any embarrassment into writing that "Alchemy", "Third Ear Band", or "Music for Macbeth" are more important and fundamental records than all the Led Zeppelin's or The Who's discographies. Or i.e. the Shadows of Knight's "Gloria" or that boring Eagles' "Hotel California"...

In terms of evolution of forms, that specific 'arcane' and 'primordial' traits of the sound, TEB's research was never achieved, also if a lot of bands and musicians are going through the same path...

My only problem is that every time I read this kind of list of records with no a TEB's albums in I have a jump. Well,  I might wait for all of this and pass beyond!

But Third Ear Band's fate is not so isolated: some intriguing, wonderful stories are hidden somewhere to be discovered and one of the aims of this Archive was to document it.

One of these 'wrong fates', regarding a less-known Italian composer as Romolo Grano, is related in some ways to Third Ear Band's music, the same rare sensibility for the form, the same cultural/musical roots, the same result...

Please, listen to this track titled "Taranta" (go HERE!), composed and recorded by Grano in 1972: Taranta is a folkloric south Italian dance form, precisely diffused in Salento, a territory inside the Puglia. Studied by anthropologist as Ernesto De Martino in the first half of last century and more recently by George Lapassade as a modern experience of trance, is an old dance people uses to dance today as a mere form of entertainment, in the past as a reaction to the spider's bite, even if characterised by a strong metaphorical element of social liberation for the low-class people.

Italian composer Romolo Grano.

As musician and composer Alessandro Monti wrote me (letting me know about Romolo Grano), "maybe taranta or pizzica could be related to some sections of the film, and to some kind of prog music of the time... but its mood is the same of the Third Ear Band, if one considers it is from 1972. For myself, it's quite similar to "Earth"... maybe it's not so strange that the film's synopsis talks about magic and spirituality... Surely this is not a coincidence!"

Reviewing the soundtrack, recently published in a pirate CD edition, Federico Biella told the genesis of the tune: "The movie's most impressive scene, when Bosè in trance is vomiting frogs, is moving with "Taranta", Mediterranean dance for violin and percussion with unusual origins.  Around 1965, Giulio Questi was in Macedonia for filming live some folk rituals intended for a docu-film, never finished, by [famous Italian film maker] Gillo Pontecorvo. Visiting the local countryside, he met a violin player who was playing a monotonous folkish tune. He was impressed by it. Years later, planning with Grano "Arcana"'s soundtrack, he remembered that theme who had recorded on a tape.  He gave it to the musician for listening to and he was so excited by it that he decided  to arrange it."
(from http://www.colonnesonore.net/recensioni/cinema/5109-arcana-l-uomo-del-tesoro-di-priamo.html)

So Grano's track was included in the film soundtrack album titled "Arcana", one of the many works composed and produced (often for TV programmes) by this very eclectic artist - spacing through pop, easy-listening, muzak, electronic, avant-guarde music...

 

But who is Romolo Grano?
Friends of Italian avant-garde composer Bruno Maderna, Grano was born in Santa Maria (Cosenza, Italy) in 1929. He was a composer, arranger, and conductor of music used for movies and RAI television programmes from 1964 ("Ca Ira" movie directed by Tinto Brass) to (around) 1978. 

After have been at the legendary Studio di Fonologia in Milan, following the experimental works of Luigi Nono, he was composing music for the most popular Italian TV movies of the Seventies - as "Nero Wolf" or "La Baronessa di Carini" - mixing electronic with classical compositions inspired by Romantic Eastern composers, contemporary jazz, folk music and melodic pop songs in an extraordinary melting pot of sounds created for making a comment to the film scenes.

 

For some critics, just "Arcana" is Grano's masterpiece and "Taranta" the main theme with its catching ritual folk dance structure that reminds to the Third Ear Band.

Originally realized in few vinyl promotional copies, this soundtrack was a very rare album until Italian label Digitmovie edited it officially in 2015 together with another TV film ("L'Uomo del Tesoro di Priamo"). Other exclusive works are i.e. "Musica elettronica", realised in 1973 and available on the Web  (listen to it on Soundcloud at https://soundcloud.com/broken-music-au/cp109cd), a sampler of a huge amount of abstract electronic recordings based on delays, bloops, analog drones, hums...

As like its author - a real genius! - many Grano's compositions are so interesting  piece of music that can stay with full rights in that same pantheon with giants as Ennio Morricone, Nino Rota, Piero Umiliani, or Gary Hermann.

 A ROMOLO GRANO'S DISCOGRAPHY 

is available at Discogs at https://www.discogs.com/it/artist/841458-Romolo-Grano

 

no©2018 Luca Chino Ferrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first)

The "unfolk" music of Alessandro Monti, Italian composer & musician.

Alessandro Monti is a quite intriguing musician. I listened to his music years ago when he published his first album titled "Unfolk" for his own little label Diplodisc and I really liked it. I usually give away lots of the Italian records I receive at home (for reasons you can easily understand...), but that Monti's album is still one of the few I hold in my discography with some great old Italian experimental music (Area, first Battiato's albums, Aktuala, Alan Sorrenti' first two records, Zeit, Dissoi Logoi, Tangamanu...).

At 57, Alessandro has been composing and recording music for almost two decades, a peculiar research deeply rooted in folk and world music, but that shows to know well electronic and popular music too. As in his last studio work titled "Intuitive Maps", full of ideas and suggestions that you could record three different albums!

Because he admits, among other bands, to be inspired by the Third Ear Band, and because I feel that something of TEB is displayed in his music, here I am with a long, articulated interview about music, compositions, record market, technologies... And even if he states popular music is living a big crisis now, he's the clear example we can have some hopes for the future... 

 

LCF: "Your first solo album, this wonderful "spiritDzoe" published in 2014, is a syncretic fusion of lot of folkloric and WM elements... and it seems to me to detect in it bits of Terry Riley, Richard Youngs, Cuffern (that wonderful album "Wyrdstone"), Michael Cashmore, 'our' Third Ear Band... all in a very personal, unique style that it's just yours, of course - this "Unfolk"music you're playing for at least one decade... How is born your "unfolk" and this marvellous solo record?"

AM: "Well, last year we celebrated 10 years of Unfolk with a collective album and "spiritDzoe" was my previous effort, my only "solo" album so far: I must confess I'm still very fond of its silent and humble perspective.

"Unfolk", first edition (2006).

It was a sort of musical therapy for me at the time in a difficult moment (separation from my wife, health problems, issues in my daily job), and something which took shape directly in the studio, with few pre-conceived ideas playing virtually everything at hand, deliberately leaving noises and imperfections on tape as a sort of human document, for me intensity was more important than perfection, expression more vital than showing off. So after listening back to all the pieces of the puzzle it seemed like a ritual, I was searching for the primitive rhythm, the purest essence of sound... passing through all the elements and instruments, finally reaching it in the all-percussive ending.
 

Frankly I never heard some names you quote, but of course I've grown up listening to Terry Riley and John Cale (who indeed followed the most unique and extraordinary path in music), the Incredible String Band, Art Bears, Stockhausen and "our" Third Ear Band: listening to "Macbeth" as a teenager was a life-changing experience.

"Unfolk" celebrative edition (2016).

I actually saw Richard Youngs in Venice years ago and I liked the records, but I think we have a different approach, he seems to enjoy singing a lot, while I mostly love the instrumental side... even if I'm working on an album of "songs" right now! Perhaps we both share this idea of Unfolk ("non folk" in Italian), traditional elements to be transformed by the times we're living, through new technologies and other cultures. My "Un-folk" is "Un-orthodox" folk music, "Un-known" tradition, an organic update of that timeless musical language... it's also a vital transformation, a never ending work-in-progress..."
Listening to the recording after all these years, on that final section I was influenced by the style of The Art Ensemble Of Chicago and the master Japanese percussionist Stomu Yamash'ta.

LCF: "And what about "spiritDzoe", your first solo effort?

 
AM: ""spiritDzoe" starts with a mandolin feedback (parte 1), I think the only one recorded so far... but I could be wrong [laughs]. After I used all the possibilities of that instrument (both acoustic & electric) on the previous cds ("Unfolk" & "The Venetian Book Of The Dead"), I felt the need to go beyond the strings, because nothing's sacred in my opinion; plus I love feedback and I tried to obtain the right notes while moving the neck in front of a small Orange amp at maximum volume... 

 "The Venetian Book of the Dead"

I practiced for approx 30' until I found the right notes; it was truly inspiring and it slowly became a "composed" piece, using a synthesizer drone like a tamboura... in early music is called "bordone", nothing's changed and both East and West share the same elements. Lou Reed's "Metal Machine Music" and Derek Bailey's guitar improvisations were other influences at the time, and of course Syd Barrett's use of controlled feedback on early Pink Floyd recordings. And yes: World Music has a special place in my heart: I started studying indian music in the early 80's, then Greek, Balkan and African styles; we're in the middle of a crisis in our Western world and arts reflect all this, so I'm learning from other cultures... there's always something new to enjoy out there!

"spiritDzoe" (2014)

Anyway in the making of "spiritDzoe" I was listening to the so-called post-rock scene... bands like Rachel's, Labradford, Tortoise and the most popular of them all: Talk Talk, their last recordings "Spirit Of Eden", "Laughing Stock" and the acoustic Mark Hollis' solo cd are crucial records to understand the evolution of alternative music, still important and influential... perhaps the last great records produced by a rock band.

I'm so happy you love "spiritDzoe" because it comes directly from my heart, it's sincere and true and definitely the difficult and esoteric side of my work. I'm not a full-time professional musician, I'm also a healthcare worker and parts of "spiritDzoe" were inspired by my job with disabled people; I realized I wasn't paying much attention to rhythm, but I was amazed at how important it can be... I mean spiritually, physically and psychologically.""

LCF: "So you are inspired by a lot of references and different music genres... what do you think about the present condition of Western popular music?"

AM: "What can we say? Something radically changed after the 90's and during the last few years it seems that all quality pop songs disappeared from airplay, leaving only the same old melodies, the same chord changes and the same electronic tricks with no ideas, but I think that it reflects society's decadence... I'm not sure if we're living through an era of transition but you can experience this in politics, arts, media and culture in general.

Talking about music: we don't have talented artists like we used to, they were creating art-songs with lots of ideas. Technology nowadays is often used with boring effects, take the Autotune for example: you can hear it everywhere, but few people can obtain original effects from it; it could be really interesting for vocal transformations (like Vocoder in the past), but I only heard John Cale & Todd Rundgren using it in a creative way so far... but the fact is they're both 70, this means a lot to me: different generations, different understanding of music and social awareness... this is truly a “generation gap” in a negative sense.

"After the 70's many people of my generation hated the 80's, but I remember I was listening to a lot of great songs back then, post-punk bands, new wave and synth-pop... recently I transcribed many 80's classics on my guitar for a live unplugged project and I decided to choose mostly electronic dance pieces because they were a sort of challenge: all results were great, I had fun with the chords and structures... really good stuff. Now it's over, I hear only bad copies of old styles.

"Intuitive Maps" (2017)

By the way I always loved pop songs and I really miss a good song coming from the radio; I used to buy pop records once in a while, but now I can only feel a deep void, we're quickly going into a black hole where everything is filtered through social networks and cell phones taking control of the lives of millions: it's very dangerous... I ran out of facebook years ago when they blocked my account for no reason: I was only promoting my music but they didn't like it! Young kids now listen to music in cell phones, with awful audio setups, playlists made of short fragments downloaded for free from the Internet.They just don't know how to hear music anymore, they can't imagine what a full album is, and they don't care about the work behind a record... they take their files for granted. I think it's our responsability: we created a lot of culture in the past but we destroyed it with apathy and laziness. It's a complicated matter and there are many levels of reading this, but the truth is: today showing a new tattoo is much more important than sharing a record, sad but true.

"So I could answer that the condition of Western popular culture is the result of a dramatic change in Western society. From time to time we still hear some great music... at 57 I'm still producing new records with the same enthusiasm though: you may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one (thanks, John!)."
 

LCF: "Yes, I agree with you, we're living in very strange times: it's so easy to produce music now, but at the same time we have a huge amount of rubbish around... What kind of music you're listening to in these very difficult momentum for popular music?"
 

"Firstly I don't rely on the web too much... I only try to get infos about some rare material or specialist distributions, but I still support the local shops a lot: they're the most important source for culture and they must live! Inside the booklet of the new "Intuitive Maps" cd I wrote very "alternative" notes: I thanked all friends working in record shops, they helped Unfolk so much through the years. Plus I think that walking inside a shop and hearing something new is still a fascinating experience to me. I must admit I never listen to music on YouTube or Bandcamp, I don't really like the sound on tiny computer speakers and I enjoy cds very much: I think they're the best solution for sound today; I don't believe in vinyl reissues, except for original copies or old analogue pressings. All new editions on vinyl transferred from digital masters are pointless to me, the sound is flat and the dynamics almost non-existent... we have the best support, why don't we choose it? Having said that, the strangest thing is: I never saw so many new releases as in these difficult times... I mean reissues, remasters, unreleased stuff and live broadcasts: they're financially impossible to follow. So, sometimes I prefer buying something old than new, I only bought one or two new releases this year, but I got lots of amazing stuff from the past... perhaps I'm getting old [laughs]. 

I like Contemporary Classical, electronic and concrete music, many rare and deleted recordings are available now, so it's the right time to get them. I also love unusual Library music and jazz reissues (classic Sun Ra and Don Cherry recordings always seems to be inspiring), and I always love to hear the occasional african vibe. About rock music: it seems to me that the best of the last few years came from Eastern Europe, bands like Plastic People Of The Universe, Pulnoc, Reportaz, ZGA, Roz Vitalis... all very original and inventive. My favourite labels are ReR Megacorp and LTM (their 20th Century Avant-garde series is priceless), and I think Burning Shed has the best prog distribution... so I always discover stunning works I missed with unusual material and beautiful artworks. But I always ask my local shop first!"

LCF: "You're from Venice, or at least I think so, one of the most famous historical town in the World. Is this fate inspiring in some way your own creativity?"

AM: "Good question. I was born in Venice but I live in Mestre (only 10' by bus)... when I was a kid I spent every weekend in Venice because my grandmother lived there; I loved the City and the unique atmosphere, it was quiet and much different back then, less tourists and caos. Perhaps some traces can be found on my use of mandolin, it was a popular instrument in Venice during the past centuries (Vivaldi concerts are wonderful examples); funnily enough the instrument I used on the early Unfolk cds isn't Italian but Irish! 

Paul Delvaux (detail of "Thevenetian Book of the Dead" cover ).

Another hidden influence could be my interest in world music because Venice was an important crossing of different cultures in the past. So I surely love that City but Mestre had a deeper and darker influence on my work: "The Venetian Book Of The Dead" is an album inspired by the industrial disasters in Marghera where many workers died by cancer in the PVC/vinyl factories (I wrote long notes about this album on my blog: unfolkam.wordpress.com): environmental issues are still alarming here for many reasons."

LCF: "Do you think TEB's music can be still influential for a contemporary musician in terms of improvisational music?"

AM: "It's a difficult question... during the mid-70's when I was at high school, Third Ear Band was a rather famous group, nowadays it's hard to imagine so many students having copies of the second Lp or "Alchemy"; they were esoteric of course, but I clearly remember exchanging copies of the albums with many friends. TEB were unique, something that was truly original even in the record boom of those years, but people who listened to conventional rock music, Kosmische Couriers or The Soft Machine were enjoying their sound: it's no coincidence that TEB was a perfect opening act for bands as diverse as The Rolling Stones, King Crimson or Pink Floyd... they created a sonic flux literally uplifting the audience to another level. Those were incredible times for sure and many improvising musicians were touched or influenced by them; certainly when I was at high school I was growing up in a cultural environment and turmoil very different from the present one, but I feel that TEB could still be influential in post-folk, new jazz, world and progressive music. I think that the balance you hear on the classic recordings by TEB is nothing short than exemplary and instructive; it could be a source of inspiration for new generations. Thanks to your website, a true labour of love, you're unveiling the mystery surrounding Third Ear Band 's existence and recordings... it's the best thing you can do: using today's technology and tools to promote their music and make musicians aware of their improvising art." 

Paul Delvaux (detail of "Thevenetian Book of the Dead" cover ).

LCF: "Which specific elements of Third Ear Band's music you feel are in your "unfolk" approach to sounds?"

AM: "I think that perhaps all specific TEB elements found in my music surface on a sort of unconscious level, but I'm sure that the use of hand percussion, strings and eastern drones come directly from those records. I dedicated one requiem to Florian Fricke (of Popol Vuh) on the first Unfolk record, but I should do the same for Glen Sweeney as well! There's a spiritual and primitive side in TEB's music that I love, I really think that TEB captured the essence of a timeless sound. I played a version of "Eternity In D" linked to "Bitches Brew" like a medley; the bass riffs are quite similar but the notes evolve in different directions (Paul Buckmaster explains the musical aspect in detail in your interview); I love electric Miles and knowing that there's a link with TEB seems logical and beautiful. The incredible thing about the 60's, 70's & 80's was that everyday search for new solutions and cross-pollinations, in other words there was MUSIC, no boundaries or style limitations... "file under freedom".

I'm very proud that some of my cds have been linked to TEB by critics and listeners. I was a teenager when I first heard "Macbeth" in a Venice record shop... I can still remember the feeling I had in my headphones, standing petrified and listening to a whole side without interruption, it was an epiphany of new sounds: those dissonant string arrangements by Paul Buckmaster & Simon House, the non-classical use of oboe by Paul Minns, Denim Bridges' distorted guitar totally out of a rock context and Glen's basic 4/4 rhythm patterns were a total revelation to me. The music was so simple and rich at the same time, leaving a lot for imagination. I actually watched the film many years later but I already made my own personal images with the music. Sometimes I think that soundtracks shouldn't be made for a film! If music works you can close your eyes and live through a parallel dimension creating your own story... imagination is the key: that's why I prefer records to films, and radio to TV.

 

I'm working on a new project of songs right now with a deep subject: the musician's oblivion... I think that music exists before and after its actual creation, so the composer's ego is totally useless, he's only a decoder of cosmic waves, nothing more. Fame, success and stardom are the other (wrong) side of the coin. When I listen to TEB records I always forget who's playing and concentrate only on sound: the notes are living their own life both individually and collectively... that is a rare achievement in my opinion and all the best music should have this quality."

Promo poster for the last CD.

A Third Ear Band sketchbook

(8 random notes for Ghettoraga Archive by Alessandro Monti)

1. The pizzicato violins on “Stone Circle” and “Earth” are among my favourite sections of TEB's records;

2. the non-classical use of oboe on TEB's recordings reminds me of the sound of an ancient and rediscovered instrument, like something unearthed from the dust of time. The experiments by Yusef Lateef, Paul McCandless and Karl Jenkins were very much interesting but more structured and modern;

3. the hand drums on “Air” have an almost electronic quality, something rarely heard in folk/world music at the time... the rhythm is so good even today that it could be confused for a sampled track!

4. the trance-like “Fire” is a monolith performance that seems to me without a beginning and without an end. The result is very close to La Monte Young's experiments of the 60's with John Cale (on viola) and Tony Conrad (on violin). The collective playing on “Fire” is so intense that it could only be interrupted!

5. the only song recorded by TEB in the classic trilogy is “Fleance”, a functional piece in the film, but also an effective folk ballad: in my opinion it's a deliberate reminder of the essential purity and utter simplicity of their almost childish approach;

6. many artists tried to convey in music “The Egyptian Book Of The Dead”: Pierre Henry recorded the darkest composition on the opposite side: concrete & electronic music. Here's a subject that will resurface in different ages and styles, until people will rediscover the early acoustic pioneers! 

7. the balance between traditional instruments and electronics on “Macbeth” is unparalleled: still in a no-man's land;

8. few artworks can be so "iconic" than the trilogy...

ALESSANDRO MONTI's DISCOGRAPHY

"Unfolk" (CD - Diplodisc , ITA 2006)  350 copies limited edition
"The Venetian Book of the Dead" 
 (CD - Diplodisc dpl 002, ITA 2009)
"spiritDzoe" (CD - Diplodisc dpl 008, ITA 2014)
"Unfolk"/Live Book 
(CD - Diplodisc dpl 005/6, ITA 2016)
"Intuitive Maps"  
(CD - Musiche Particolari & Records MPRCD072, ITA 2017)

 OTHER PROJECTS/SAMPLERS/COMPILATIONS

Caveman Shoestore
"Master Cylinder" (Tim/Kerr Records, 1992) production

Various Artists

"Italia No! Contaminazioni No Wave Italiane (1980 - 1985)"

(LP/CD - Spittle Records, 2013) 
 Massimo Berizzi 
"Spirali"(CD - Diplodisc dpl 007, 2013)
Various Artists
"Diplocomp. A Diplodisc Sampler"
(CD - Diplodisc dpl 010, ITA 2014)
 Various Artists
 Burning Shed Free EP (Burning Shed) limited download only
Quanah Parker

"Suite degli Animali Fantastici" (MP& Records, 2015)

 Quadelectronic
"QE98" (Quadelectronic Documents, 2017) 12 × File – FLAC Digital album

Various Artists
 "The Wire Tapper 44"
(CD - The Wire magazine, UK 2017)

 CONTACTS  

Web site:  

http://unfolkam.wordpress.com
Soundcloud:  
http://soundcloud.com/unfolk 

no©2017 Luca Chino Ferrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first)