Canzoni della Cupa

Vinicio Capossela's new double album contains songs that have emerged slowly over a decade. These 23 tracks are divided into two parts entitled, in a dualist, elemental fashion, Dust and Shadow. The former refers to hard work and exploitation, the latter is made of nocturnal reveries and lore. Dust pays homage to Matteo Salvatore, the late extraordinary Apulian peasant singer, while Capossela's songwriting takes the lead more on Shadow, seeking inspiration in the folk narratives of Irpinia, Capossela's father's home. His songs are permeated with the epic and the mythological – dusky, intimate and sometimes grotesque imagery. Quite a collection of renowned artists join him. There are international stars such as Los Lobos, Calexico, Howe Gelb and Flaco Jiménez, but also Italian folk revival legends Antonio Infantino and Giovanna Marini, the poignant Salentine vocalist Enza Pagliara and local veterans of the Banda della Posta.
Capossela metaphorically intertwines his Italian territory, the land of the wolf, with the land of the coyote – there are Tex-Mex hints, mariachi flavours and elements of the blues. ‘L’Acqua Chiara Alla Fontana' is a powerful ballad, while ‘L’Angelo della Luce' evokes devotional pilgrimages and the closing number, ‘Il Treno’, is a spaghetti western number. Adventurous listeners owe it to themselves to follow this Italian storyteller on his restless and unconventional quest.