Apoteosi - Apoteosi (1975) [Reissue 2015]

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Apoteosi - Apoteosi (1975) [Reissue 2015]

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The Italian progressive rock of the seventies, lived as a moment of unparalleled artistic ferment, has been able to offer a series of records which are still unmatched today for freshness and originality of composition.On one hand, we have giants like Banco, Le Orme, Premiata Forneria Marconi, New Trolls, bands of professional musicians supported by solid record labels. On the other, we have the so-called 'meteors', with ambitious recording projects that collapsed mostly due to the closing of their record labels (such as Trident, Bla Bla, Grog and many others).What surprises the most is the presence of an almost amateur underground host of bands, who were able, however, to get to release a record, maybe only locally and without a real distribution behind.
This is the case of Apoteosi, a very rare, if not unique, progressive voice coming from the Calabria region. Their self-titled LP, released in 1975, therefore in a period of transition for the prog-rock genre, is undoubtedly one of the most emblematic LP's and shows how a young and geographically completely 'out of the loop' group has been able to create a small jewel. "Apoteosi" is a work deliciously poised between pastoral and refined moments and darker and 'crimson' moods, with an extremely original approach and that still deserves to be listened to carefully after exactly 40 years.
Apoteosi were well aware of being a white fly in a closed and hostile environment, and to prove this assumption there is a note written by Federico Ida (bassist and flutist) explaining how the apparent fragmentation of the band's music reflects that of Southern Italy; he also hopes that music can somehow contribute to the cultural revival of the Southern regions, whose miserable and static condition is vividly illustrated in the lyrics.No wonder the fact that almost every musician in the band will take off towards important careers in the music world, reflecting the talent of a group that even featured a 14-year old keyboardist Massimo Ida. There's a curious "Coro Alessandroni" presence in the credits: "Apotheosis" was recorded in Rome, therefore we're probably talking about the same Alessandro Alessandroni who at the time had already worked on many different soundtracks written by Ennio Morricone.
The remarkable rhythm section and the musical cohesion of the musicians are standout elements in this LP, since they were able to create a musical continuum that holds a qualitative tension along the whole work; moreover, there is a close proximity to certain models the English progressive underground, rather than the Italian one, the Canterbury scene in particular. "Apoteosi" stands still today among the hidden and precious gems delivered from a florid era of artistic ferment.

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Apoteosi - Apoteosi (1975) [Reissue 2015]

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Apoteosi - Apoteosi (1975) [Reissue 2015]

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