Hrudja is the new album from Massimo Silverio, an Italian songwriter who sings in his native language of ‘carnic’ which is spoken in the Carnic Alps in Italy’s Friuli Venezia Giulia region. He says “I have always had a strong attraction to the sound and meaning of the words I used to hear from my grandparents and parents. Timbres, melodies and nuances of senses that I have no longer found in those of my peers. So for my music I’ve used the language of my heart, the metrics and the taste of the Friulian “villotta” combined with a raw, evocative and contrasting sound.”
I was first aware of Massimo when he collaborated with Joyzine favourites Adwaith on the beautiful and haunting double A-sided ‘Yn Y Sŵn (Nijo)/ Nijo (Yn Y Sŵn)’ where both acts interpreted versions of Massimo’s song ‘Nijò’, the original version of which is included on this album.
Hrudja is expansive and creates a widescreen image for your mind’s eye. Massimo’s voice is often delivered in a soft falsetto which floats like mist around the songs. It often sits as a counterpoint to the instrumentation which features scuffed up beats and clarion call synth sounds as well as sensitive arrangements which can lift Massimo’s voice as if on clouds. Just looking at the musicians gives you an idea of what sonic delights await: Massimo Silverio (Voice, Guitars, Bass, Cello, Organ, Guzla), Nicholas Remondino (Drums, Percussions, Voice, Synthesizers, Sampler), Manuel Volpe (Bass, Organ, Keyboards), Luca Sguera (Piano) and Michele Anelli (Double Bass).
The range of moods this album invokes is impressive. It can go from the gritty fanfare of opening track ‘Šchena’ which reverberates throughout the neo-classical feel, or there is the subtle mechanical tick of ‘Criure’ where we feel like we are inside a pocket watch as the guitar and voice float through the cogs and wheels. ‘Jevâ’ has a haunting processional feel and ‘Colâ’ sees Massimo drop from falsetto to his natural register for the verses; his voice barely skimming the surface of the track which clatters and rolls with beats, bass and other-worldly guitar and arpeggios. ‘Šcune’ allows Massimo’s voice to swim through a galaxy of reverb and synth-washes lightly tethered to Earth by the light touch of a bass, whereas ‘Piel’ and ‘Algò’ offer the woozy feeling you get in those moments between being awake and asleep. The final track ‘(Grim)’ leaves us with the simple perfection of a home recording of Massimo and his Spanish guitar accompanied only by the faint chirrup of crickets.
A translation of the lyrics was included with the PR information (sadly not on Bandcamp) but they make for beautiful poetry in both languages. For example, here is are the original lyrics, and the translation, of opening track ‘Šchena’ (the title of which means “the back. It is the father, the severity”):
“Gramula in piera e tàle
Gramula arint
Muscul di gnerf e nàre
Muscul e vint
La fera sua la plena
Bagna il vint
La fera romp la schena
Plea l’arint”
“Jawbone of stone and dandelion
Silver jawbone Muscle of nerve and nostril
Muscle and wind
The fever dries up the food
Wet is the wind
The fever crashes his back
Bends the Silver”
From my first listen to Hrudja I felt it had been in my life for a long time. If you listened to, and enjoyed, LOW’s last album HEY WHAT or love Radiohead’s A Moon Shaped Pool then Hrudja will surely find a happy place in your heart. These songs create a beautiful world to spend time in and the unconventional but sensitive arrangements combined with Massimo Silverio’s heavenly voice makes this a likely contender for one of my albums of 2023.
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Review by Paul F Cook
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