Talea

This enormous, virtuosic set is a collage from Paolo Angeli's solo dates – over 60 of them – performed across the world between 2015 and 2016. The Sardinian prepared guitar is like no other instrument you're likely to have ever seen, and it's this crazy looking thing that's at the centre of this tour de force. Part nylon-string guitar, part cello and part percussion, this dramatically spliced, sonically omnivorous creation gives the listener the impression of an orchestra and defies logic throughout.
The material across the discs collides, caresses, jars and plays off of itself continually throughout.
The beautiful bowed sound of ‘Due Tempi’, for example, offsets the urgent percussion of ‘Barrio Sur’. Angeli's sound is one that dodges pigeonholes and challenges to the last note. The quieter moments of pretty melodies, demonstrated wonderfully on ‘S’û' before the pedal is pressed and the tune shifts into an electric burst, is but one highlight on an album of many.
This project is a labour of love and high art that quietly demands attention and commitment but its electronic textures, disparate sounds, tribal rhythms and melodic hooks grant rewards throughout. An extraordinary, mammoth document.