Fabio Zuffanti's "Ghiaccio"

"The Beauty is in the Details"

Fabio Zuffanti does it again. He is quickly becoming one of the new masters of music, with his extensive range of styles and techniques in the studio. His new album "Ghiaccio" translated as Ice is a wonderful work of art. The beauty here lies in the details. This is not an album you put on and rock out to one you put on the headphones and relax to after a long hard day at work. Let the music envelop and wash over you like the smooth waters of a gentle flowing river on a warm summer’s day. Lay back and bask in the beauty of this music.

Take note of the many layers, vocal treatments, percussion, beats, and orchestrations. Zuffanti is quickly becoming the master of many styles. His band Mashera di Cera is a wonderful exploration and continuation of the rich lush Italian symphonic progressive music. It harkens back to the 70's and the golden days of Progressive Music...yet it takes off from there and continues on into the new millennium.

But we are talking about his solo work here. Ghiaccio is a beautiful work of art that starts out simple and subtle and slowly progresses through the song list. As the album works its way into your mind you really start to understand its purpose. The lyrics here all sung in Italian and I am at a loss for what he is singing about but I don't even need to know. Each song takes on a beautiful life of its own yet the entire album works together as a cohesive unit. The way each cut starts out subtle, grows and flows and decays in rhythmic beats and electronics and voicings. There are some wondrous layers to this music and more will be discovered on the 2nd and 3rd listening, this I am sure of.

His multifaceted percussive beats know when to be bold and when to be tame. In ways it is similar to Hostsonaten another one of his other band projects. There are many beautiful works in that catalog to check out. However this music here delves more into the experimental micro ambient, electronic, beat genres and yet he tosses in some orchestrations for added flavor. This reminds me of the things that some of my favorites over the years have done to keep the music sounding fresh, new and transcend genres and cultural barriers.

I have only a slight criticism as a fan who is disconnected from the creation of this work. From the outside looking into the world of Ghiaccio my only desire was to hear a little more live percussion and some tasteful guitar. That would have given it the other .25 to be a ***** 5 Star for me....but with that said I give this a solid **** 4.75 and strongly suggest adding this work to your collection.
You can purchase it here. Directly from the artist himself!

Or if you are in the USA and are concerned about overseas shipping you should get it here:

Peace and Music in 2010! Michael A. Inman