A vision of hope and beauty with contributions, among others, by Paolo Fresu, Franco Mussida, Davide Van de Sfroos, Max Brigante, and many other Sardinian and international musicians and singers.
The different souls of Beppe Dettori and Raoul Moretti meet and support each other again in this new recording project. On the one hand Sardinia, its traditions, its language, and its words, on the other hand, the harp strings of an artist with more homes and Italian-Swiss origins, in a borderland. In “Animas” this union takes a new form and is enriched with friends and sounds. 11 songs, in Italian, Sardinian, inserts in English, Latin and Lagheee dialect, as well as numerous guests: Paolo Fresu, Franco Mussida, Davide Van de Sfroos, Gavino Murgia, Cordas et Cannas, Max Brigante, FantaFolk, Lorenzo Pierobon, Stefano Agostinelli , Daniela Pes, Cuncordu and Tenores from Orosei, Massimo Cossu, Massimino Canu, Andrea Pinna, Giovannino Porcheddu, Federico Canu, Flavio Ibba and Tenores from Bitti Remunnu ‘e Locu.
Each of them brought to this project, in addition to the voice and the sound of their instrument, also an interconnection between genres, between folk, ethno-rock, songwriting, progressive, experimentation, and electronics.
In “Animas” there is also the reinterpretation of a piece by Peter Gabriel translated into Sardinian language.
The album “Animas”, preceded by the single “Sardus Pater”, is the natural culmination of the increasingly intense collaboration between Beppe Dettori, the historical voice of Tazenda, and Raoul Moretti, Italian-Swiss harpist recent winner of “L’artista che nonwax”. The two artists have been playing together since 2012 sharing a path of artistic evolution and personal change that united them in a strong friendship and growing musical harmony. From this synergy was born, in 2019, the live album “S’incantu e sas cordas” (Best Sardinian album of the year, winner of the Mario Cervo Archive Award) and in 2020 “Incanto Rituale, an homage to Maria Carta” (finalist at the Targhe Tenco, as best performers).
«The album“ Animas ”, written by four hands, was born from a continuous dialogue and stimulus on musical themes, the arrangements, the themes of the lyrics, their form, represent what we are, resulting in heterogeneous and not confined to cataloging. Continuing to experience a fruitful “artistic exchange” made up of interconnections between genres such as folk, ethno-rock and songwriting, progressive, experimentation, and electronics, the album maintains our typical stylistic code, based on vocal research, electric harp with electronics and guitar, but in addition, we had the enormous privilege of welcoming wonderful traveling companions, fantastic Sardinian, and international musicians ». Dettori and Moretti
Track by track
Gold and diamond
Oro e diamante opens the project for a number of reasons: it was the first song written for this project, during the pandemic and is dedicated, even if not explicitly, to the artistic and human figure of Maria Carta, on which the lucky one was a focused previous project, Incanto Ritual.
An energetic piece was written almost straight away, in Italian and Sardinian-Logudorese that opens up to rock harmonic solutions that develop on the sound and rhythmic basis of the electric harp and acoustic guitars. The host of this song is a historical group of the island and international world music, the Cordas et Cannas, and seals the friendship and esteem shared on the stages last summer.
Continuum (serpens qui caudam devorat)
The Cuncordu and Tenores of Orosei open the piece with their Kyrie Eleison, a prologue that introduces a minimal lyric in English, resting on the hypnotic gait of the harp, almost a spin-off of Raoul’s solo work born in the first lockdown. In the central part, Massimo Cossu’s guitar is added to support the choir of Federico Canu, Giovannino Porcheddu, and Beppe in the Gregorian atmosphere in Latin, before returning to the initial hypnosis of Raoul’s harp. The contents of the text are of profound unease and resignation in the English part and of strong hope for humanity in the central part, as a sort of awareness of such unstable and timeless existence where every moment remains a precious gift: a present!
Confused souls
The confused and disappointed human soul seeks, through poetry and beauty, encouragement and awareness to overcome the restlessness of everyday life. The Sassari poet Leonardo Omar Onida collaborates in drafting the text in Italian. A song with a strong emotional impact, based on the sound drones and the rhythmic and obstinate patterns of the electric harp on which Aperture and traditional sounds are inserted come from the guitar riffs of Massimo Cossu and Beppe. The melody, almost lyrical and simple in expression, dialogues with the unmistakable and precious trumpet of the great Paolo Fresu.