Bucolica

Hiram Salsano’s debut album firmly establishes her as a remarkable artist, wielding a commanding and expressive voice rooted in Campania’s Cilento area.

In the opener, ‘Otreviva’, a rural atmosphere is conjured with cowbells, cattle calls, and a looped voice mimicking the zampogna (Italian bagpipes). It weaves verses of love and friendship into a lively Cilento-Basilicata tarantella, brought to life by the zampogna a chiave, accordion, and tamburo a cornice (frame drum). ‘Angiolina’ follows, where the drum’s slow pulsation blends with the accordion, presenting a traditional serenade from a female perspective. Salsano’s distinctive, passionate and flexible voice shines over the crystalline arpeggios of the chitarra battente. The jaw harp-led ‘Tarantà’ adds an unexpected bluesy twist to a nursery rhyme. On ‘Padrone’, Salsano’s singing transitions from a dark to an uplifting tone, supported by drums, with harmonic flute and accordion improvising over the melodic profile. Peppe Frana’s oud introduces a contrasting ambiance on ‘Mare e Arena’, a love-themed tammurriata, whereas ‘Tradere’ sees Catello Gargiulo’s voice harmonising captivatingly with his partner in life, Salsano’s, offering a melismatic counterpoint. ‘Vulesse’ combines Salsano’s voice with accordion and drone, leading to a dynamic tarantella led by Gianluca Zammarelli’s zampogna. Finally, album closer ‘Nonna Nonna’ starts intimately, sustained by vocal drones, before transitioning into an accelerated vocal and rhythmic finale embellished by plucked strings.

Bucolica seamlessly offers research, reinterpretation and cultural memory, a must-listen.