Best of 2019 #38: Massimiliano Milesi – “Oofth”

 

There’s a lot going on in Massimiliano Milesi’s debut album,” is how I began my write-up of this album for The Bandcamp Daily.  It’s true.  And considering it was released on the Auand Music label, it’s no surprise that the music swims in the cross-currents of modern post-bop, indie rock, electronic music, avant-folk, and a few unidentifiable influences that may or may not originate on this planet.  My conclusion was that while the “influences inspire a cryptic dance with a curious synchronicity, the complexities are a simple course to navigate when you lead with melodies as embraceable as these.

The theme of the 2019 release by Massimiliano Milesi is the sci-fi story by Walter Tevis “The Ifth of Oofth.”  The elasticity of tempos, the boozy motions, the electronics and organic instruments folding back upon themselves, they are all qualities of the music that pay homage to the story.  But this music is more than a tally of its inspiration’s characteristics.  The grooves springing from the electro-acoustic back and and forth, the melodies that chart the fastest course to the listener’s heart, the harmonies that separate and return to a state of unison like rapids curling around rocks in a lively river, it all adds up to one of the more straight-forwardly strange recordings of the year, a rare accomplishment of the unusual as something easily accessible.

Your album personnel:  Massimiliano Milesi (tenor sax), Emanuele Maniscalco (wurlitzer piano, synthesizers), Giacomo Papetti (bass VI, electric bass) and Filippo Sala (drums).

Released on Auand Records.

Music from Bergamo, Italy.

I wrote about the album for The Bandcamp Daily.

Listen | Read more | Available at:  BandcampAmazon