Le Voci Del Buio — Le Voci Del Buio

Le Voci Del Buio (The Voices of The Dark) is the work of Maurizio and Roberto Opalio (from My Cat Is An Alien) and Ramona Ponzini (from Painting Petals On Planet Ghost and Praxinoscope).  Using an obscure group of folk musicians of the Western Alps and combining that with acoustic guitars and various homemade wooden string instruments, the trio creates something that is noisy, yet melodic and heartfelt.

Three songs are given to us; each has folk-ish melodies that are turned every which way with dissonant phrasing and chords.  Strings are detuned and struck to sound like cymbals, a glass is tapped to make a chime-like tone, all the while a gentle(and at times a not so gentle) guitar passage is played.  The aura they create flows from dreamy, to mysterious and somewhat disturbing.  Everything seems dreamlike, yet there is an undercurrent of noise that disrupts whatever sleepy trance we are immersed in.

The sweetness and familiarity of the guitars is offset by the sometimes jarring and chaotic sounds.  The harmonies they induce are dizzying and dramatic.  What seems and sounds very simple is a careful construction of layers of melodies and harmonies that are intricate and well timed.  It’s a unique and imaginative piece that combines the aesthetics of noise, folk, and classical