Italian musician Attilio Novellino released his rst album in 2009. Since
then he has been focused on the use of sound as a psycho-acoustic tool
throughout his solo albums and collaborative projects. (See bio for more
info). June 2020 sees Attilio’s rst release on Forwind with four tracks of
piano variants, electronics and electroacoustics.

The somewhat blunt and remote title ‘Strängar’ (meaning Strings)
was an intentional choice made to avoid going down the route of
‘conceptronica’. While this approach works perfectly for some releases and
adds convenience for listeners and reviewers when trying to decipher or
add meaning to abstract and instrumental music, on occasion it can feel
somewhat forced and a bit of an afterthought.

“Contemporary electronic music seems to need extra-musical meanings
and a specic concept to be listened to. This can be claustrophobic at
times. For this record I was direct, talking only about the sound aspect
and describing the process I followed. In this way I believe I pulled out
from the matter all the implicit conceptual potential, without further
denotation. The title ‘Strängar’ has a strong connection to the matter,
steel of the strings, as well as the sculptures to gypsum in the cover
art, both showing that praxis and contemplation cannot be separated.
Practical life and contemplative life are coexistent, in the modern era at
least”.

Recorded in Stockholm at EMS Elektronmusikstudion, and in Catanzaro,
Italy, Attilio used a wide range of sound sources including; piano
soundboard with strings, grand piano, prepared piano, Buchla 200 modular
synthesizer, Serge modular, Prophet 5, harmonium, organ, percussions
and electronics. There are varied approaches and results across the four
pieces as it moves from some beautifully recorded grand piano sections via
ambience and carefully crafted abrasiveness.
Visiting Sweden was a big inuence on Attilio’s thinking and along
with some other subtle cues like the artwork, adds another clue as to
the geographical and cultural inuences. While always tempting to dig
for these things as part of a species who are constantly trying to make
connections and spot patterns, it is probably best to heed the artist’s
direction and enjoy it as a piece of work working within its own framework,
wherever the pieces might take you.
The cover art gypsum heads was created by sculptor Alessandro Badolato.
Photographs by Attilio.
Strängar will be available as a limited edition Digipak and digital release.

Other critical text:

Press Release	Il radicalismo metafisico di monsieurs Jeunot	Il viaggio di Attilio Novellino	Strängar
[sdm_download id=”4163″ fancy=”0″]	[sdm_download id=”4157″ fancy=”0″]	[sdm_download id=”4162″ fancy=”0″]	[sdm_download id=”4164″ fancy=”0″]

Attilio Novellino was born in Catanzaro in Southern Italy in 1983. Since his first release in 2009, Attilio’s approach to sound has focused on its use as a psycho-acoustic tool.
He has released several albums, solo works; “Through glass” (Valeot, 2012), “A conscious effort“ (Midira, 2018) and collaborative works with Collin McKelvey, Rob Mazurek, Tim Barnes, Saverio Rosi and The Great Saunites.
In the early 2010s’ Attilio featured on collective works and compilations focused on field recording and soundscape composition (Crònica, Oak, Dragon’s eye recordings). Attilio was part of the trio who received the Sonic Arts Award in 2013. The jury of PIARS composed of David Toop, Gunter Muller, Rhodri Davies awarded the first prize to Novellino/Panico/Rosi for the experimental music composition “Black sand“.
Novellino has performed live sets at festivals across Italy, Europe and occasionally the US. He was invited to perform at San Francisco Electronic Music Festival (SFEMF) in 2018. He is a member of the Luton duo with Roberto P. Siguera. Their debut album Black Box Animals was released by Lost Tribe Sound, 2018. They performed at Dni Muzyki Nowej Festival 2019 in Gdańsk. June 2020 sees Attilio make his debut on Forwind with an attentively produced album of electronics and electro-acoustics, featuring a wide range of sound sources from grand piano to modular synths. Attilio is currently conducting research on anarchism and power during his PhD in philosophy of law.

Links & Contact
⁃ https://forwind.bandcamp.com/album/str-ngar
⁃ www.forwind.net
⁃ https://www.forwind.net/releases/fwd28
⁃ attilio.novellino@gmail.com
⁃ pr@forwind.net