Izvajalec: Chance:Risiko
Založba: Altrock
Izid: year
Ocena: 4/5
Skupino Chance:Risiko sem prvič imel čast spoznati na festivalu Altrock v Milanu, kjer sem jih po polurnem nastopu odpisal kot Radiohead klone. S tem sem jim delal hudo krivico. Chance so namreč mnogo več kot to, a iz enkratnega poslušanja je to težko razbrati, saj so najbolj vpadljivi vplivi prav prej omenjeni. Z bolj poglobljeno analizo pa se le da razbrati, da niti približno ne gre za imitatorje, temveč zasedbo, ki nekatere vzornike naznanjajo na ves glas, medtem ko druge ohranjajo v ozadju. In ravno ta skriti, infiltracijski element jih dela pašo za ušesa.
Njihov prvenec z naslovom Sleep Talking se začne dokaj alternativno rockersko obarvano in na ves glas trobi “Radiohead”, na trenutke pa tudi Muse. Vse se obrne pri skladbi Oompa Loompa, ko postane glasbeno ozadje mnogo bolj pisano. V nadaljevanju nas torej čaka mnogo bolj igriva godba, ki na vsakem koraku postreže s kakšnim presenečenjem v slogovnem konceptu – od avantgarde, meditativnih navdihov (My Plastic Jaw), post rocka in seveda še vedno alternativnega rocka, ki se vsaj zaradi vokala vedno zadržuje kje v bližini. Italijani v tem nadaljevanju izkažejo večjo lakoto po ritmični raznolikosti kot post rockerji in alternativci. Svoje napore raje usmerjajo v mešanico preprostih oblik in bolj smelih vzvodov.
Osnovna in površna zvočna podoba je torej nekako Radiohead. To nadgrajujejo s širšim izborom iz kataloga eksperimentlne kompozicije, skupaj z bistroumnim prepletanjem melodij in bohotnimi aranžmaji. Sprva njihovi trudi delujejo precej suhoparno, saj se kitarein tudi ostali instrumenti zdijo precej osnovni, brez solaž in brez pretiranega postavljaštva. A v to tančico dokaj osnovnega alternativnega rocka je zavita globokoumnost njihove glasbene izraznosti. Ko se ti uspe potopiti v morje prepletajočih se melodij in izvrstno umeščenih stranskih instrumentov (še posebej velja omeniti tolkala kot so vibrafon, zvončki in ksilofon, pa tudi violine, violončelo in pihala), ti postane jasno kako zelo razvejane in preudarne te kompozicije sploh so. Na splošno so njihovi visokoleteči cilji in velike ambicije zaviti v majhen paket. Kratke skladbe s polno dogajanja se lahko poslušajo kot celota ali del albuma, ki deluje kot nekakšen koncept. V tri ali štiri minutne kompozicije natlačijo toliko informacij in dobrot, da že analiza ene same pesmi vzame več časa, kot bi jim sprva pripisal.
V smislu zvokovne manipulacije nam fantje ne postrežejo s presežki kova Radiohead, ali tudi svojih avantgardnih vzornikov. A vseeno nekaj izumijo. Skladateljsko so zelo močni in v tem pogledu radijske glave odpihnejo kot za šalo (enako ne bi mogli sicer trditi za avantgardne vplive). Njihov napitek, kjer se deloma okusi alternatven rock (kratke pesmi in vokal), močna pa je doza tudi kompaktnega avantgardnega napihovanja (zapletene kompozicije), se venomer zdi pravi in osvežilen kot pomladanski vetrič.
Komur je torej všeč osnovna podoba Radiohead, z jokavim vokalom (čeprav manj kot pri Thomu Yorkeu) in zasanjanimi kitarskimi in klaviaturskimi motivi, a se jim občasno vseeno zdi, da jim manjka nekaj globljega in glasbeno bolj razvejanega, bi bili torej ti Italijani prava rešitev. Sleep Talking namreč postreže z ravno pravo mero post rock/alternative rock dostopnosti in hipnoze ter avantgardne glasbene razposajenosti.
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I first had the honour of being introduced to the music of Chance:Risiko at the Altrock festival in Milan, where I wrote them off as a Radiohead clone after hearing about 30 minutes of their set. But I did them and myself a great disservice. Chance are much more than that, but it’s hard to pick this up from one listen because the most obvious influences are the ones mentioned previously. With a more detailed analysis it can be determined that these are not imitators, but a band which wears certain influences on their sleeves, while the others are more in the background. It is this secret, infiltration element which makes them such a mouth-watering prospect.
The album starts in a very similar vein to Radiohead or even Muse at times. The turning point happens during Oompa Loompa, when the playing and atmosphere changes from a mostly alternative rock one to a much more diverse musical setting, including avant-garde, meditative influences(My Plastic Jaw), post rock and still of course alternative rock, which is always lurking around due to the vocals if nothing else. These Italians show a greater hunger for rhythmic diversity than post rockers and alternative rockers. They prefer to mix it up with some simpler passages and some more daring excursions.
The basic sound seems to be moulded around Radiohead. They enhance this with a wide choice from the catalogue of more experimental composition, together with some clever interweaving of melodies and lush arrangements. At first their efforts appear fairly boring, as the guitars and other instruments seem fairly basic, without any real solos or instrumental bravado. But this veil of fairly basic alternative rock hides immense depth of their musical expression. Once you immerse yourself into the sea of intermingled melodies and cleverly placed guest instruments (pay close attention to percussion like the vibraphone, glockenspiel, xylophone and also the violins, cellos and the woodwinds), it becomes clear how diverse and intelligent these compositions really are. Their great goals and ambitions generally come in a very small package. These short works with a great deal of activity within them can be listened to separately or as a part of the album, which functions as a sort of concept. They fill so much information and wonderful music into three or four minutes that an analysis of even one song takes a lot long than I would have given them credit for at first.
In terms of sonic manipulation we don’t hear any of the highlights that Radiohead or their avant-garde influences provide. But the guys still invent something. They are very strong composers and in that sense they blow Radiohead out of the water (although the same couldn’t be said for the avant-garde influences). They basically take the best of both worlds and create a compositionally challenging yet melodic broth, where we hear elements of alternative rock (short songs and vocals), with a heavy dose of compact experimental ideas (intricate compositions).
If you like the basic outline of Radiohead, with a whiny vocal (though much less so than with Thom Yorke) and dreamy guitar and keyboard motifs, but you feel that they’re missing something more intricate and musically demanding, these Italians just might do it for you. Sleep Talking serves up the right amount of post rock/alternative rock accessibility and hypnosis and the broader compositional scope of avant-garde music. This album satisfies both the experimental and alternative rock itches and we can certainly hope of much more from these youngsters.
Zasedba
Paolo D’ Alonzo – vokal/besedila, electrična kitara, ackustična kitara, Rhodes, sintetizator
Giacomo Di Paolo – bas, vibrafon, ksilofon, akustična kitara, electrična kitara, sintetizator, Rhodes, zvončki
Gregorio Salce – electrična kitara, spremljevalni vokal, sintetizator, vibrafon
Emilio Trevisani – bobni, vibrafon, tolkala, Rhodes
Gostje: Francesco Cassino – tolkala in električna kitara, Gianfrancesco Falbo – violina, Tommaso Tesini – violončelo, Alessandro Scagliarini – trobenta, Carlo Di Paolo – fagot, Elena Veronesi – klarinet, Francesco Zago – mellotron, Jo Marie Sison – violina
Produkcija
Chance:Risiko
Seznam skladb
1. Sleep Talking
2. Beating a Dead Horse
3. Monday Morning Motivation
4. Dead End
5. Oompa Loompa
6. What’s Wrong with Salamander
7. 30/03/07
8. Active Life
9. My Plastic Jaw
10. Radiations
11. Aus Tokio
