Gabrio Baldacci - Nina – Solo, Pt. 1 (2020)

One album is never enough to fit the multiple music identities of Italian guitar player and composer Gabrio Baldacci. This is why Auand Records has collected his major works in “NINA”, a triple album that unveils a big part of his world, split in 3 chapters: Solo (2017), Tambrio (2019), and Mr Rencore (2014). Besides the triple-CD version, “NINA” will also be available as a 3-part digital pack, each part being released in the first Friday of the month – “Solo” (out October 2nd), “Tambrio” (out November 6th) and “Mr Rencore” (out December 4th).

Mr. Rencore features Daniele Paoletti (drums and electronics) and Beppe Scardino (baritone and alto saxes). «This band includes my best friends – Baldacci says – and I love writing for them. It’s always been a kind of lab: we experiment new solutions. If we consider the three parts, this one conveys the most violent sound».

The Solo album is all about exploring his many skills: guitars, loop station, drum machine, baritone guitar, a bow, and multiple effects are just a few of his tools of the trade, and he also composed each track. «it’s a mix of music inputs that well describe those years of my life. It helped me a lot with coming to terms with myself».

He adopts the opposite approach when working with Stefano Tamborrino, the second half of the duo called Tambrio. No compositions, no planning. «This is the only album – Baldacci reveals – where I wanted music to flow from our subconscious. An afternoon of free improvisations, which were then put under control by Francesco Ponticelli’s skilled hands and ears – he recorded us and selected the parts. It’s yet another case of an album filled with anything you can think of: ballads, heavy metal, noise and quiet. There’s even a track sung by Stefano!»

This anthology – ten years after “Intollerant”, featuring Tim Berne, now out of print – is held together by memories and love: the main title, “NINA”, recalls his 9-year-old daughter, but there are also many tokens scattered in the long tracklist. «For example – Baldacci says – in the duet album some tunes are dedicated to someone I was super lucky to work with: Stefano Bartolini, extraordinary sax player and wonderful human being. Unfortunately, he passed away some years ago. Some moods reminded me of the music we used to play together. One of the track is the anagram of his name».

Listeners will have to crack the code in many titles, following hints and tips coming from the music. Their quest will be accompanied by almost a decade of powerful, ever-changing music and by countless genres, apparently too distant to be mixed.