snobb Modern experimental music is such a wide open term that often you can't imagine what to expect from each new release. Radiata 5tet's debut album is probably a bit more predictable for listeners familiar with Italian vocalist Claudio Milano's other works. For newcomers this music could sound as radical as the legendary Demetrio Stratos' incarnations supported by a free improvisation quartet.

Even if this is far from easy listening, from the very first moments this album's music catches the listener - it sounds like a soundtrack to a modern theatrical play (it is so full of emotions, action, noises and silence, that it doesn't need a video illustration). At the end of this album you will probably feel like watching a great Italian movie - one from the Michelangelo Antonioni collection, something that you saw decades ago, something almost forgotten, but in fact recorded in your memory for the ages.

There are no drums or percussion on this album, but it's really great to hear how deep the bass and cello (the only female and non-Italian band member - Argentinian cellist Cecilia Quinteros) build rhythmic structures for these complex free-form compositions. Claudio Milano's vocals act as one more musical instrument (a lot of lyrics are in Italian, so if you are like me and are not an Italian speaker, you are losing one more component of this artistic soundscape). Modern avant-garde music, free jazz, the legacy of Italian art rockers Demetrio Stratos/Area and colorful Italian cinema musical traditions all mix together in this modern, and in moments dark (noir) and nervous, but always beautiful album. Recommended listening for music fans with open ears.

octopus-4 Sounds from the jellyfish...

The band's name "radiata", is a word which describes a common symmetry in the Animal's Realm, and the fact that this album is entitled to a jellyfish famous for the quaterfoil on its top may indicate something.

First of all, the absence of symmetry.

This work is very experimental, as often happens when the vocalist Claudio Milano is involved. The vocal research is an important part of this album, and as another reviewer has underlined, it's not distant from the experiments that Demetrio Stratos was doing in the 70s, also because Claudio Milano is one of the very few vocalists in the world who has the possibility to sing in that way. Bass, Cello, Trumpet and Sax complete the quintet with the first two providing tempo and rhythm, when those two words have a sense, and trumpet, sax and voice providing a bit of structure in what appears to be a set of skillful improvisations.

Improvisations over lyrics written by the bassist. One thing for all, for Italian speakers, a title like "Bile dal Po" (Gall from the Po) hits like a hammer. The Po river is the longest and one of the most polluted rivers of Italy and it has always had an important place in the Country's history.

The music is anvant-jazz, experimental, but not too much challenging. It's basicly jazz and Claudio's vocals are the most avantgarde element, also because of his capacity to modulate his voice like an instrument. I've been surprised to hear what he does for just few seconds at minute 3 of "Planula Larvae", as I have heard that kind of vocals only from Stratos in "Concerto all'Elfo" before. From this album Planula Larvae is the track that I prefer, probably because it's the one closer to my tastes.

Listening to this album I can't not think to how a modern ballet based on it could be, or even a light show.

Diploblastic deserves a mention for the bass line on which the other instruments (except the cello in this case) to create an ideal atmosphere able to transport the listener in their world. Let's also mention the incredible vocal performance on "Echinoderms", the first minutes of "Radially Symmetrical Cnidarians" halfway between contemporary classics and a mantra and finally the closing track "(C)Tenophores" with bass and cello giving a "beat" to the other three high-pitched instruments for the first three minutes, then on a cello crescendo there's another impressive vocal part, then silence and another "movement" comes. This music is hard to describe, so I can just close this review saying that it's a kind of contemporary art that requires headphones and concentration. Take your time and give it repetitive listens so to catch all the shades brought in by the various instruments. "Technical" listeners will also appreciate the great skill of the band's members.

Enjoy.

vluxzuq Radiata 5tet is a project by tenor saxophonist Stefano Ferrian, cellist Cecilia Quinteros, vocalist Claudio Milano, trumpeter Vito Emanuelle Galante and double bassist Luca Pissavini. Pissavini wrote the lyrics and Ferrian came up with the concept. Ferrian, along with Pissavini and Galante act as conductors. This is great current avant-jazz music; basically composed but with a healthy dose of improvisation.

Claudio's vocals can sometimes be operatic, while other times can incorporate screeching, grunts and in short are just very diverse. He can make odd noises (sometimes even without his voice, like the paper in one track). There is no drums but the music can be rhythmic due to the combination of bass and cello. I love the sound of the bass here, which includes the occasional smacking of the body of the instrument. Generally the trumpet and saxophone are the most traditional jazzy sounding.

"Planula larvae" has the cello creating a drone-like atmosphere. "Diploblastic" contains a nice melodic build-up near the end which quickly turns into something else. "Spiralia" is hard to describe: it's just a whirlwind of sound. Mostly bass and cello creating a staccato hurricane to which Claudio and the brass breathe fire into. An incredible track, actually. "(c)tenophores" is probably the most interesting of the tracks. It starts off with hypnotic double bass thumping. After the other dissonant and atonal instruments and vocals join in, the music stops. After a brief silence a noisy crescendo builds up and Claudio sings; first melodically, then in a growling way. The music stops again and then returns again.

This is a great live-in-the-studio recording. Modern avant-jazz at its finest. This is a product of Italy, a country which has recently produced a lot of great music.