Sonata Islands Kommandoh – Quasar Burning Bright

L’album «Quasar Burning Bright» ricco di jazz e tocchi di elettronica

Math rock, modal, funky e free jazz: questi gli ingredienti sonori che si incontrano su layers di elettronica mistica e groovy, con un tocco di “metal”, nel senso più ampio del termine in Quasar Burning Bright.
È questa la sigla dell’ultimo album targato Sonata Islands Kommandoh il progetto che unisce Emilio Galante, Giovanni Venosta, Alberto Turra, Stefano Grasso e Stefano Greco.
«Questa versione dell’ensemble Sonata Islands – racconta Galante – ha il suffisso Kommandoh, epiteto che per gli appassionati richiama la poetica dei Magma, band francese di avant rock che da quasi quarant’anni influenza la scena della cosiddetta Zeuhl, una combinazione di rock, jazz e musica colta d’avanguardia». Il disco «Quasar Burning Bright» è da considerarsi un po’ come un ossimoro: «L’abbagliante luminescenza di un’invisibile stella lontana (alla stregua di molta musica fuori dai circuiti “mainstream”), vuoti spazi siderali improvvisamente colmati con luminose e inaspettate esplosioni».
Il progetto è costituito da diversi elementi: è partito dall’esistenza di brani pre-registrati di orientamento elettronico e elettro-acustico, realizzati da Stefano Greco sui quali si sono sovrascritti temi e armonie dal sapore jazzistico (si pensi al jazz-rock-funk anni ’70 di ispirazione modale: Davis, Hancock), minimalista (Nik Bärtsch) e cinematico, composti da Giovanni Venosta ed Emilio Galante e Stefano Greco che ha anche registrato e mixato il materiale.
Sottolinea Galante: «Riprende parte attivamente alla esecuzione, “triggerando” porzioni di basi pre-registrate insieme a improvvisazioni in live electronics (trattando i suoni di flauto e batteria) mentre gli altri 4 elementi della band entrano ed escono dalle parti scritte con assoli che cercano di inglobare diversi generi musicali anche piuttosto eterogenei cronologicamente, dal punto di vista armonico e timbrico».
Il principale veicolo di diffusione per questo lavoro è ormai naturalmente quello digitale (si trova su iTunes, Spotify e Bandcamp) ma esiste anche una versione in cd per l’etichetta milanese ADN Records con una copertina molto anni ’70.

Fabio De Santi (L’Adige) 18.01.2021

After their virtuoso tribute to After Dinner, Wha Ha Ha and the Haniwa Allstars. Giovanni Venosta and Sonata Islands offer a collection of 6 compositions of their own, with references – sometimes strong – to other music, but in their own way and with no concessions to musical fashion – or even genre – although, as the Kommandoh newly tacked to the end of the band name, indicates there are more than echoes of Magma (returning the compliment – back in the ‘80s Magma used to warm up their audiences with Roberto Musci and Giovanni Venosta’s classic Urban and Tribal Protraits). Elements of jazz, film music, and electronic noise here happily cohabit, and overlap, with occasional detours into the Twilight Zone.

ReR Megacorp

Every so often an album comes along that just hits the spot – it might be weird and diverse, but also strangely familiar. Quasar Burning Bright from Sonata Islands Kommandoh fits that bill. Led by Italian flutist and composer, Emilio Galante, the band consists of him along with Giovanni Venosta on keyboards and vocals, Alberto N. A. Turra on guitar, and Stefano Grasso on drums.
The group’s name invokes the French band Magma, and there certainly are some Zeuhl elements to be heard. In fact, the previous Sonata Islands Kommandoh release was a jazz take on Magma. But Galante mixes up the influences of Vander and company with electronics, glitch, improvisation, and experimentation. The writing is not overtly complex as much as it is unusual. The rhythmic structure comprises repeating themes that vary in pitch and angularity. Flutes take a leading role over these as well within tracks that are synth-driven and occasionally funky to the point of being almost danceable. There is no shortage of groove.
The album wraps up with a 12-minute piece, It Ain’t Necessarily So, that is perhaps the most experimental and Magma-influenced of the bunch. It features a choir, cosmic synths, and spacious orchestration of flute, keys, and drums. It puts a strange and beautiful ending on a compellingly oddball offering.

Mike (Avant Music News)  November 20, 2020

Tornano i guerriglieri da camera della Sonata Islands con una mezza dozzina di brani dal taglio obliquo e talvolta inquietante. Come ci racconta il chitarrista Alberto Turra il “motore principale, come già accaduto in passato per questa band, è stato Giovanni Venosta che insieme con Emilio Galante ha composto il tutto lasciandosi ispirare da un precedente lavoro di Stefano Greco (programmazione ed elettronica)”. Rispetto al passato (“Nippon Eldorado Kabarett” e “Zeuhl Jazz”) si registra un ulteriore mutamento nell’organico (oltre alla novità Greco, Stefano Grasso è alla batteria) e una maggiore propensione verso suoni più sintetici e allo stesso tempo duri e spaziali. Il sentimento jazz-rock alberga ancora consistente, però un po’ meno sovrano, e si notano curiose aperture verso il funk anni Settanta (le due versioni di Mod-D QBB), ovviamente destrutturato e assimilato alle altre sragionature del gruppo. E’ sempre istruttivo sottolineare il modo in cui uno strumento “debole” come il flauto di Galante possa coesistere con il resto della strumentazione, aprendosi a dialoghi propositivi e coerenti. Le tastiere di Venosta riescono a coprire un ampio territorio, promuovono inserti jazzistici quasi canonici oppure rinnovano a fondo l’art-rock d’epoca e interagiscono con la spessa elettronica di Greco nel creare trame granulari di elevata densità. L’esempio migliore della coesione raggiunta dal quintetto è la grandiosa ripresa della gerschwiniana It Ain’t Necessarily So, resa cosmica e ambient al massimo grado nonché provvista di un finale a sorpresa che trasforma il magma in lamento gospel.

(7/8)

Piercarlo Poggio (Blow Up) Marzo 2021

Sonata Islands Kommandoh – Quasar Burning Bright – weird & fantastic fusion from Italy

Sonata Islands Kommandoh is a hyper-eclectic ensemble founded by flutist and composer Emilio Galante in 1998. Switching genres, approaches and even core members with each project, the ensemble explores far-reaching territory from the worlds of jazz, classical, rock, experimental and – especially on their latest album “Quasar Burning Bright” – electronic music. Some of Sonata Islands Kommandoh’s ambitious past projects include “Torre Aquila”, a multimedia project with soloist Markus Stockhausen, “Sonata Islands goes RIO” with music by avant garde veteran Fred Frith, a jazz rewriting of “Das Lied von der Erde” by Gustav Mahler, and their first release for Chant Records, “Zeuhl Jazz”, dedicated to the spirit of legendary French progressive rock band Magma. “Quasar Burning Bright” finds the ensemble in top shape, seamless weaving modal sounds and free jazz with deep-groove funk, a touch of metal and a healthy dose of synthesizers and other electronics. The resulting sound is hinted at by the album’s title, the dazzling luminescence of an invisible and far distant star surrounded by both vast space and unexpected explosions.

Burl Veneer (Music)

SONATA ISLANDS KOMMANDOH bringt ein Wiederhören mit Giovanni Venosta an Keyboards. Seite an Seite und durch “Nippon Eldorado Kabaret” auch schon vertraut mit Emilio Galante als Hauptmächer an Flöte & Electronics, dem Gitarrenzwirbler Alberto Turra, William Nicastro am Zeuhl-Bass und Sergio Quagliarella an Drums bei “Zeuhl Jazz” (AD9 004), einer kobaïanisch verschlumpften, ansonsten vogelfreien Hommage an Magma und Christian Vander. Galante, der eklektische Spirit auch schon hinter “Sonata Islands meets Mahler” und “Relendo Villa Lobos“, versammelte das Kommandoh erneut für Quasar Burning Bright (DNN 019 C) unter der Parole: ‘Think Atomic‘, mit noch Stefano Grecos Electronics als phantastisch quarzendem Phantom. Phantasie und Aphasie werden mit Ach und Krach als ‘Aphantasia‘ unter einen Hut gebracht, alles, was der Fall ist, mit ‘Susac Casus‘ auf den Kopf gestellt, mit flötistischem Drive und Venosta als chick-corea’eskem Quirler. Turra lässt mit Freakgitarre die quasaren Energien überschießen, ‘Mod-D‘ treibt die Funkiness auf 115 bpm, ‘Mod-5‘ sogar auf 125 bpm. Gipfelnd in ‘It Ain’t Necessarily So‘, in atomisiertem Rausch und mit Chor, rudernd auf dem Nil aus Sonnenmilch da droben.

Rigobert Dittmann (Bad Alchemy 110)

Quasar Burning Bright is the fifth studio album by Italian band Sonata Islands Kommandoh, formed in 1998.
Led by classically trained flutist/composer Emilio Galante, the Sonata Islands Kommandoh (sometimes known by the shorter name Sonata Islands) is an unusual ensemble. In addition to their own music, Sonata Islands Kommandoh has released jazz interpretations of Gustav Mahler compositions, made a Rock In Opposition cover album on which they covered music by avant-progressive artists such as Fred Frith and Univers Zero, and on their previous album Zeuhl Jazz (2018) the band made music in the style of French Zeuhl giant Magma.
Although the compositions of Zeuhl Jazz were mostly Galante’s own (including one by John Coltrane), the style of the songs owed much to the style envisioned by Magma’s Christian Vander. On Quasar Burning Bright, Galante is for a change completely on his own. The compositions are his alone and do not directly imitate the style of any other composer.
Quasar Burning Bright’s music is far more electronic than Sonata Islands Kommandoh has ever been. And this doesn’t just mean the addition of synthesizers to the band’s earlier rock instrumentation, there are even influences from the experimental glitch movement.
The best example of this is the album’s stunning eight-minute opening track ”Aphantasia QBB”. Opening with electronic glitchy sounds, the track initially feels like German kosmische music with its hazy floating feeling, but then the synths start hitting sharply in a slightly Heldon-esque violent prog ambient style. The complex rhythms bring an avant-prog feel to the playing before returning to a more floaty abstract section where the flute paints impressionistic pictures together with the synths. At the end, the music is again made more rhythmic and Alberto N. A. Turra’s electric guitar is finally allowed to solo with a tortured quality. An absolutely stunning piece and an extremely interesting new direction for Sonata Islands Kommandoh.
After the electronic storm of the first song, the second track with its flutes sounds at first much more traditional Sonata Islands, but eventually ”Susac Casus” also gets some electronic buzz and clatter. The electronics and the often jazz-inspired flute (which is also often treated electronically) together form a fascinating juxtaposition. A combination that shouldn’t really work, but which, against all expectations, is far more than the sum of its parts. It’s also pleasing that Sonata Islands Kommandoh doesn’t leave the rhythm of the songs to stagnant sequences (at least not for long), but instead a real drummer keeps things lively.
Some of the songs also have a very jazzy feel to them, such as the tasty jazz-rock riffing of ”Mod-D QBB 115 bpm”, where the electric piano rattles sympathetically alongside the flute. Basically, Sonata Islands Kommandoh is an avant-garde jazz-rock band that takes a slightly new angle with each album. The companion track to the same song, ”Mod-D QBB 125 bpm”, features boisterous jazz guitar playing from the skilled Turra.
Quasar Burning Bright ends with the 12 minute cosmic anthem ”It Ain’t Necessarily So” where the band’s old Magma influences surface most. The song is the only one to feature vocals (without actual lyrics though) and it’s a fascinating combination of floating synthesised soundscapes, hypnotic repetition and an almost funky groove.
I’m not a big fan of pure electronic music, but this combination of a strong electronic touch with a more organic sound is often fertile ground, but rarely as successful as Quasar Burning Bright.
My feelings about Sonata Islands Kommandoh have been somewhat mixed in the past. I’ve liked their albums, but their music has previously relied so heavily on styles created by earlier composers that I haven’t really known what to think. With Quasar Burning Bright, Emilio Galante seems to be creating something all his own and it will be really interesting to see where Sonata Islands Kommandoh goes next.

Janne Yliruusi (Pienemmät Purot) 13.12.2020

De temps en temps, un album arrive et tombe à pic – il peut être bizarre et diversifié, mais aussi étrangement familier. Quasar Burning Bright de Sonata Islands Kommandoh répond à ce besoin. Dirigé par le flûtiste et compositeur italien Emilio Galante, le groupe est composé de lui, Giovanni Venosta aux claviers et au chant, Alberto N. A. Turra à la guitare et Stefano Grasso à la batterie.
Le nom du groupe évoque le groupe français Magma, et il y a certainement des éléments de Zeuhl à entendre. En fait, le précédent album de Sonata Islands Kommandoh était une version jazz de Magma. Mais Galante mélange les influences de Vander et compagnie avec l’électronique, les pépins, l’improvisation et l’expérimentation. En conséquence, l‘écriture n’est pas aussi complexe qu’inhabituelle.
La structure rythmique comprend des thèmes répétitifs qui varient en hauteur et en angularité. Les flûtes jouent un rôle prépondérant sur ces thèmes ainsi que sur les morceaux qui sont pilotés par un synthétiseur et parfois funky au point d’être presque dansantes et le groove n’y manquera pas.
L’album se termine par un morceau de 12 minutes, »It Ain’t Necessarily So», qui est peut-être le plus expérimental et le plus influencé par le Magma de la bande. Il comporte un chœur, des synthés cosmiques et une orchestration spacieuse de flûte, de touches et de batterie. Il se termine sur une étrange et belle offrande de bizarreries.

***1/2

No BS: Just Rock & Roll  21/11/2020