Art Fleury was born in Brescia, Northern Italy, in the mid-seventies. They were still in their teens when they had the opportunity to open the concert of the group Area at the famous Parco Lambro Festival in Milan (1976), in front of fifty thousands people. In the following years they extensively toured and played with Henry Cow, and in 1980 they were finally able to produce and release their first record, “I luoghi del potere” (The places of power), which they started recording in 1977.
Superficially (or intentionally) included in the “Prog” genre, “I luoghi del potere” (originally conceived as the soundtrack of an imaginary movie), is a very personal and radical experience, at times recalling Faust's free-form kraut riffing, or the industrial sound collages of Nurse With Wound. The music is articulated through an outstanding dynamic juxtaposition of instrumental parts, with frequent structural and harmonic fragmentations, and a diverse array of unusual sound elements: from a sort of brass-band progression to radio frequencies, from cacophonic intermezzos to expressionist tape-collage techniques. Through this free flow of sounds, only apparently casual, the group wanted to expose the alienation, the folly, the hopes and fears of their times, through a creative act that pushed to the limits their expressive means. they were still in their teens when they had the opportunity to open the concert of the group area at the famous parco lambro festival in milan (1976), in front of fifty thousands people.
very soon they joined the cooperativa l’orchestra, a milan-based collective enterprise of underground artists and musicians, very active and well known in italy during the seventies. In the following years they toured and played with henry cow, and in 1977 they changed their name to art fleury. in 1980, in bologna, they were finally able to produce and release their first record, "i luoghi del potere" (the places of power).
their affiliation with revolutionary groups of the radical left wing (they were part of lotta continua, a group of radical activists), gave their music a dimension that went beyond the artistic act, or the sheer provocation. their music, and the history of the group, is charged with the hopes and fears of the intense and somewhat dramatic season of the revolutionary ideal. In "i luoghi del potere", art fleury offer their hallucinated interpretation of that idea. the music is articulated through an outstanding dynamic juxtaposition of instrumental parts, with frequent structural and harmonic fragmentations, and a surprising range of unusual sound elements: from a sort of brass-band progression to radio frequencies, from cacophonic intermezzos to expressionist tapecollage techniques. through this free flows of sounds, only apparently casual, the group put on stage and exposed the alienation, the folly, the hopes and fears of the modern times, through a creative act that pushed to the limits their expressive means. Their uncompromising attitude towards the "music system" (the market, the establishment), was an additional way to remark the constant presence of power, which controls and pre-determines our individual choices: in this sense the "places of power" are not only the traditional places of social oppression (the factory, the city, the school, the politics), but also all the actions and mechanisms of the capitalistic system which controls music and art. Superficially (or intentionally) ascribed to the "progressive" genre, "i luoghi del potere" (originally conceived as the soundtrack of an imaginary movie), is in fact a very personal and radical experience, through which music becomes once again the vehicle for the re-appropriation of our personal sphere, and at the same time a chance to rethink the way we listen to music, out of any pre-ordered cultural, social or political context. in other words, out of the "places of power" which are still alive and active.
Augusto Ferrari (keyboards)
Maurizio Tomasoni (soprano sax, flute, clarinet)
Giangi Frugoni (guitars, bass)
Art Fleury on Myspace
Tracklisting:
A L'Overdose Part 1 2 3
B L'Overdose Part 4 5
Italian Records EXIT 705
Download
Superficially (or intentionally) included in the “Prog” genre, “I luoghi del potere” (originally conceived as the soundtrack of an imaginary movie), is a very personal and radical experience, at times recalling Faust's free-form kraut riffing, or the industrial sound collages of Nurse With Wound. The music is articulated through an outstanding dynamic juxtaposition of instrumental parts, with frequent structural and harmonic fragmentations, and a diverse array of unusual sound elements: from a sort of brass-band progression to radio frequencies, from cacophonic intermezzos to expressionist tape-collage techniques. Through this free flow of sounds, only apparently casual, the group wanted to expose the alienation, the folly, the hopes and fears of their times, through a creative act that pushed to the limits their expressive means. they were still in their teens when they had the opportunity to open the concert of the group area at the famous parco lambro festival in milan (1976), in front of fifty thousands people.
very soon they joined the cooperativa l’orchestra, a milan-based collective enterprise of underground artists and musicians, very active and well known in italy during the seventies. In the following years they toured and played with henry cow, and in 1977 they changed their name to art fleury. in 1980, in bologna, they were finally able to produce and release their first record, "i luoghi del potere" (the places of power).
their affiliation with revolutionary groups of the radical left wing (they were part of lotta continua, a group of radical activists), gave their music a dimension that went beyond the artistic act, or the sheer provocation. their music, and the history of the group, is charged with the hopes and fears of the intense and somewhat dramatic season of the revolutionary ideal. In "i luoghi del potere", art fleury offer their hallucinated interpretation of that idea. the music is articulated through an outstanding dynamic juxtaposition of instrumental parts, with frequent structural and harmonic fragmentations, and a surprising range of unusual sound elements: from a sort of brass-band progression to radio frequencies, from cacophonic intermezzos to expressionist tapecollage techniques. through this free flows of sounds, only apparently casual, the group put on stage and exposed the alienation, the folly, the hopes and fears of the modern times, through a creative act that pushed to the limits their expressive means. Their uncompromising attitude towards the "music system" (the market, the establishment), was an additional way to remark the constant presence of power, which controls and pre-determines our individual choices: in this sense the "places of power" are not only the traditional places of social oppression (the factory, the city, the school, the politics), but also all the actions and mechanisms of the capitalistic system which controls music and art. Superficially (or intentionally) ascribed to the "progressive" genre, "i luoghi del potere" (originally conceived as the soundtrack of an imaginary movie), is in fact a very personal and radical experience, through which music becomes once again the vehicle for the re-appropriation of our personal sphere, and at the same time a chance to rethink the way we listen to music, out of any pre-ordered cultural, social or political context. in other words, out of the "places of power" which are still alive and active.
Augusto Ferrari (keyboards)
Maurizio Tomasoni (soprano sax, flute, clarinet)
Giangi Frugoni (guitars, bass)
Art Fleury on Myspace
Tracklisting:
A L'Overdose Part 1 2 3
B L'Overdose Part 4 5
Italian Records EXIT 705
Download
4 commenti:
A quando la pubblicazione dei luoghi del potere?
Great music I was unfamiliar with. I love the Battiato soundalike on side A. Thank you. Same question as above: where can we find "dei luoghi del potere"?
I have 'I Luoghi del Potere' but i would not post it cause you can simply buy the reissue on CD BOX
hello awesome spot here so many good finds to check out..thank you
please have a look at sanitymuffins as i have posted a bunch of rare 7 inches and i am new to the blogosphere....
peace
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