Ritmia: Forse il mare (New Tone, 1986)

A half sardinian, half tuscanian quartet, Ritmia were an impressive "world music" acoustic ensemble which published just one album, "Forse il mare". Now the album's considered one of the great masterpieces of Italian folk revisitation.
The four tracks merge the most mediterranean spirit of Italian tradition and many other influences (jazz/improvisational, celtic, balkanic, African, Middle-Eastern...) in a very natural way, creating an extremely organic sound whose only parallel might be the French band Dédale. The music's most surprising for its exuberant stillness: though high-spirited and dynamic (rhythm intricacies being one of the most prominent elements), the instrumental lines keep on revolving round the same centers all along one track, creating an out-of-time sensation which is just occasionally broken by a sudden tempo shift.
Acoustic guitar, accordion, percussion, saxophones and flutes (with the unique, "distorted" sound of the double-reed piffero) are the key elements of their weightless sound alchemy, while the voice just bursts in here and there in the highest point of the climax. The first track, "La stella e la luna", oddly reminds me of Area's "Il bandito del deserto", though the whole album has almost no rock element at all.


Tracklist:

1. La stella e la luna (stream it!)
   
2. Serenata mare
3. Siscari
4. Adieu adieu/Moresca nuziale
   

Download (128 kbps)