He came out at May on all digital platforms the soundtrack of the video game Wibzel, by the composer born in 1996 Alvise Carraro. This is his attempt to unite ambient music with the English and French suites of Johann Sebastian Bach. For a couple of years the idea of merging these two (very) distant musical genres had been floating around in his head, and the arrival of this type of commission was the fertile ground for the realization of this idea.
“Wibzel” is a very simple mobile game, a puzzle in which the player must manage to build the correct path to be able to travel it through a terrain made in the shape of a chessboard (or tiles) which can be rotated, destroyed, recomposed and moved. They are those relaxing games within which we can listen to, for the most part, ambient music, or lo-fi or precisely that which evokes a relaxing mood. And as can be deduced from the titles of the songs, each single piece is dedicated to one of the dances that Bach wrote for his English and French suites.
We definitely wanted to get to know him better, but it seemed reductive to reduce his entire world and imagination to a playlist of five songs, so, this time, we asked him for five musical influences, in the broadest sense of the term.
1- Film Soundtracks – Princess Mononoke: Joe Hisaishi
I think I was 10 years old when my uncle showed me, my brother and my cousin my first Hayao Miyazaki film. The film was Spirited Away and I remember well the feeling that watching that film gave me. It was a mix of distressing trauma (due above all to the sight of my parents turning into pigs) and incredible amazement regarding the emblematic and symbolic storytelling and the music written by Joe Hisaishi. Over the years I also recovered the other films of the same name. Studio Ghibli with the music signed by Joe, and I must admit that the one composed for Princess Mononoke has captured me deeply. Hisaishi's style is that mix of influences of minimalist music, classical music, modern music from the early 1900s, folkloric and a little electronic and experimental that fascinates me enormously and is still with me among my main influences.
Just listen to the track The Demon God to enjoy delicate influences of Stravinsky origin, or Lady Eboshi (or even San Ashitaka in the Forest of the Deer God) if you want to savor synths that emulate the sound of the harp surrounded by a synthetic environment that gradually merges with the acoustic orchestra. Or Kodamas if you love listening to foley fused with music under a percussive but at the same time elegant minimalism. Or experimental electronic music at the beginning of The World of The Dead. All completely blended and univocal, without the feeling of listening to something disconnected. In short, with Joe Hisaishi there is something for everyone.
2- Classical Music – Tchaikovsky’s 6th Symphony called “Pathetique”
There are so many pieces in the vast repertoire of classical music that I love. It was very difficult to choose, but the entire 6th symphony (called Pathétique) by Tchaikovsky probably takes first place in my best of classical.
Epic, sad, overwhelming, melancholic, emotional, intelligent, moving, spiritual, simple, complex. The charm of this symphony for me is enclosed in this simple and continuous recycling of scales, it is a simple symphony built by “pathetic” scales. Then Tchaikovsky for me will remain an undisputed genius of constructions of musical forms, the entrances of each musical element are theatrically and dramaturgically speaking perfect. 45 minutes of music that seem to flow like 5 minutes because it overwhelms in its beauty and spontaneity. There is no movement that I prefer, they are all brilliant and impeccable. A sure must for those who are addicted to instrumental music and Symphonies in general.
3- Video Game Music – Far Horizon Skyrim
I don't think this video game needs much introduction. One of those video games that has undoubtedly left its mark on the gaming world and with one of the most iconic and memorable soundtracks of all time. I have to admit that when it came out in 2011 and I played it, I wasn't really enthralled by the gameplay, I found that there was too little of an element of real challenge. But the music. That really enthralled me and still amazes me.
I think I went crazy at some point, because I think I spent more than a month listening to Far Horizon on loop every day like a mantra. A song to listen to when you close your eyes or look at large and immense green panoramas. A song that relaxes the senses and calls to the sky. There is not much else to say, except that the entire soundtrack composed by Jeremy Soule is a masterpiece of orchestration and sound design in the world of video games. I love the mix that often occurs in orchestral music dungeons with electronic synthesis interspersed with these large orchestral and choral atmospheres present in the open spaces of the game. The level of musical immersion is totally OP (Over Powered). Favorite tracks by the undersigned: Far Horizon, Silent Footsteps, Secunda, Sky Above Voice Within, Tundra.
4- Progressive Metal Music – Language : The Contortionist
Language was released in 2014, one of the most iconic albums, if not my favorite, in the history of progressive metal, or progressive in general. What has always captured me about this genre, ever since I listened to the old progressive rock of the 60s/70s, is definitely the courage of experimentation (timbre, harmonic, etc.) and the non-dissatisfaction with rhythms and musical forms.
The Contortionist have definitely been the band that I followed (and follow) the most in my journey as a drummer and that have inevitably influenced my way of listening and composing music. Language I: Intuition is definitely the most iconic track on the album and my favorite, but the entire album for me will remain an evergreen masterpiece of the genre. Language contains in the lyrics of the various songs this concept of music as a language that contains all languages, composing a mixture of technically complex music that only they have been able to make it fluid to listen to. This is what drove me crazy from the first listen. It's not that progressive all technicality just for the sake of making things complex. They have truly managed to create extremely accurate rhythms and shapes that are both simple and complex at the same time. Listening to those rhythmic syncopations that gradually transform into the new beat between one section and another of the song is everything my ear wants to listen to on loop. The harmonies, the guitar delay, the lyrics, the unexpected grooves, rhythmic patterns studied down to the smallest detail are for me a small musical miracle.
Tracks not to be missed: Language I and II, Primordial Sound, Thrive.
5- Avant-garde Music – Cold Front Evgueni Galperine
In the panorama of avant-garde music and soundtracks, among all the composers who have influenced the evolution of my style, one of the first places is occupied by the young composer Evgueni Galperine, composer of the recent successful series “Baby Reindeer”. I discovered him recently during my studies at the Department of Applied Music to Images. The musical language of these free repetitions played by brass instruments and mixed with electronics immediately magnetized my interest. Also interesting is this type of composition made like Lego bricks (as the composer himself defines it), or like terraces, where a musical gesture is repeated but varied by electronics depending on the evolution of the piece. An unmissable masterpiece of electroacoustic music that I have been listening to and re-listening to for 2 years now. I even had the honor of meeting the composer in person in Venice recently during the concert of the album I am talking about. As usual, great minds like that of Evgueni Galperine are always those of simple, kind and humble people. Tracks not to be missed: Cold Front, Oumuamua Space Wanderings, Kaddish, The Wheel has Come Full Circle, La Lettre d'un Disparu.
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
