The 15th track on our free download compilation “Face The Beat: Session 4” (featuring 92 tracks) is by the Italian minimal dark wave act Colloquio. The track itself is a minimalistic pearl which reminds us of a young Paolo Conte mixed with cold electronics.

Gianni Pedretti founded Colloquio at the beginning of the 90s, with the intention to explore music territories where electronic/new-wave sounds melt with the Italian songwriting tradition. Following the production of several self-released tapes, Colloquio started a fruitful collaboration with Eibon Records, through which all the official albums have been released so far. Over the years Gianni Pedretti contributions can be heard on several albums of bands such as Atrax Morgue, Menarca, Alma Mater, Canaan, Neronoia, Detour Doom Project, Albireon. Check the band’s webpage for more info.

Splendid work!

Listen to “Sogno” below and download it right here.

Check our “Face The Beat: Session 4” page on Bandcamp to discover the other 91 bands. All donations will go to charity.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

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Genre/Influences: Dark-ambient, cinematographic.

Background/Info: Mauro Berchi (Canaan and Eibon Records owner) and Gianni Pedretti (Collquio ao) are back on track unleashing the 4^th opus of Neronoia. This new opus has been introduced as being ‘the diary of a madman singing his songs of love and despair’.

Content: We can’t say that this album sounds like ‘classical’ dark-ambient music and this for one good reason: it’s not that usual to hear dark-ambient music featuring vocals! The vocals sung by Gianni Pedretti clearly seem to be an important item of this work. All the lyrics have been sung – or should I say spoken, in Italian. So you really have to be Italian speaking to understand the deeper meaning behind the vocals, but the somewhat shimmering and desperate way of ‘acting’ clearly reveals feelings of sorrow.

There’s no real trace of joy running through the work and that’s one of the reasons why we can speak about dark-ambient elements. I get the impression to ‘watch music’. This is the kind of production with an interesting visual appeal. The dark and anguishing atmospheres reinforce the sensation of despair. The vocals are sterile. Some female guest vocals are quite similar to the solitude hanging over this composition.

The music remains pretty minimal. The work has been composed with a few guest musicians, but it all remains pretty desperate although a few more wafting passages can be heard right in the beginning part.

+ + + : The main strength of this record clearly is the poignant, but minimal-like sound atmosphere supporting the composition. Music and vocals together create a frightening match, which feels more like despair then love.

Another essential element of the work is the artistic digipak featuring two impressive booklets.

– – – : The minimal aspect of the composition makes it less accessible for a wider audience and not exactly meant to please dark-ambient die-hard freaks. It’s a pity for non-Italian music lovers not to understand the content of the lyrics, which clearly are an essential element of the work.

Conclusion: Solitude and despair clearly remains the muse for dark music souls. This work perfectly reflects the most obscure feelings and thoughts of the poor mortal souls that we are.

Best songs: “Un Lampo D’Acciaio”, “Regali Di Carne”, “Muri Bianchi”.

Rate: (7).

Band: https://myspace.com/neronoia

Label: www.eibonrecords.com / www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Eibon–Records/113898028620718

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

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