Rekombinant A Bridge Between Us
Vinyl Catalogue Number: SUBEX00132
Download Catalogue Number: SUBEX00133
General Release Date: 11/08/2023
Rekombinant is Italian composer/producer Alfonso Montagnese.
The album 'A Bridge Between Us' is a collaborative dialogue between Alfonso and a selection of guest artists from across Europe. _____________________________________________________
This is a project I care deeply about, both for artistic and personal reasons.
Even though I have been involved in music production since 2002 and have taken part in several music projects, this is my very first solo album.
But, at the same time, this is not actually a solo album in the literal sense of the term.
It is an extensive work of collaboration, involving numerous musicians I have come to know, in various ways, over time.
The album title is in fact "A Bridge Between Us", where the bridge is to be understood in a metaphorical sense: it is music (and art in a broader sense) that is a powerful means of connecting and sharing emotions and sensations between people with different sensibilities and backgrounds.
Especially now, in this divisive era we are experiencing (due to the pandemic, war, economic crisis, etc.).
Nineteen different European musicians, from different places, are involved in the project as guests. Each track of the album is a dialogue between me and one or more of them.
The album has two souls, opposed and complementary, for a total number of 24 pieces!
The first soul, named "Ethereal", is oriented towards ambient territories, with lo-fi piano parts, obscure soundscapes and almost no rhythmic parts.
The second one, called "Concrete", is characterized by the constant presence of rhythmic elements and influenced by cinematic and Bristolian sounds.
Most of the gear I used for this album are instruments and equipment from the past. Machines from late ‘70s and early ’80s (just to mention some: Rhodes MKV, Yamaha DX7, Kawai EP608, Korg Delta, Roland Juno6, Roland SH1000, Farfisa Gulliver, Korg SE500, Roland SRE555, Elk EM4, LEM DD1000, Dynacord DRP16, Hawk HR202, LEM Echo Chamber, Technics SL1200 MK2, etc.) and a reel to reel recorder from the mid ‘60s. I combined this old sonic arsenal with more modern gear: Moog Minitaur, Moog Mother32, DSI Tetra, DSI Mopho, Waldorf Streichfett, Waldorf Rocket, Arturia Minibrute, Pioneer AS1, Strymon Big Sky, Strymon Volante, Guru’s Echosex, Old Blood Noise Endeavors Rêver, Koma Elektronik Field Kit Fx, Korg Kaoss Pad 1, 2, 3, etc.
I want to thank all the musicians and friends involved in this project, mentioning them one by one:
Andrea Leva, for his enveloping cinematic interventions on Solar Flares.
Emanuele Bultrini, for his beautiful guitar phrasing on Dark Knight and dreamlike timbral choices on Sometimes It Happens.
Federico Procopio, for his screaming synthesizers and drum programming on Crazy Talking.
Francesco Maria Narcisi, for his dark electronic drums and entrancing voice samples on Echoing Empty Shadows.
Francesca Pizzo, for her seductive poetry on A Vivid Recollection of Past Emotions and her enchanting voice on Not Only Grey.
Giacomo “Jake” Rosapepe, for his slow but incisively sharp scratches on Project X.
Giorgio “GIN” Rampone, for his funky talking guitar on Living in a Snow Globe.
Giovanni Battagliola, for his experimental noises and sonic manipulations on A Vivid Recollection of Past Emotions.
Luca Longobardi, for his ghostly piano and beautiful crackling sound fragments on Wrong Directions.
Marco Lucchi, for his icy Mellowtronian textures on Over the Glass.
Michael “Mic” Facchini, for his Morriconian guitar solo on Not Only Grey.
Michele di Maio, for his nostalgic violin incursions on Phantom.
Mirka Valente, for her outer worldly voice and captivating lyrics on Count In or Not.
Nicola “Joe” Gallorini, for his dirty and rough bass lines on Not Only Grey and Living in a Snow Globe.
Paolo Pino, for his dreamy guitar parts on Contrast and Above.
PLUHM, for composing magnificent harmonies, full of digital crunchiness, accompanying the ambiguous melodic lines of Imaginary Journeys.
Raffael Seyfried, for his intimate pianistic parts on A Glimpse of Youth.
Ran Levari, for his gorgeously distorted and unpredictable drums on Erased Field.
Roberto Pentassuglia, for his jazzy melancholic guitar on Snow Puzzle.
I am proud and delighted of what we have created together. I am beyond grateful for this opportunity to create music and share emotions. This is an album I have been dreaming of making for years.
A massive thank you to Dan Seville and SubExotic records for supporting this project.
This album is dedicated to my father Franco.
releases August 11, 2023
Produced and mixed by Alfonso Montagnese.
Mastered by Dan Sevile.
Artwork by Dan Seville.
