GDG Modern Trio – Spazio 1918

Brutture Moderne

The mysterious GDG Modern Trio is a band about which I knew nothing and the album that arrived with its Soviet-influenced modernist cover art sits there on the desk looking inscrutable. It transpires that the album was recorded in Ravenna and consists of three members of Italy’s burgeoning alternative music scene: Bruno Dorella (also of Sigillum S), Francesco Giampaoli and Stefano Ghittoni. Between their other bands, a lot of musical ground is covered and they bring this expansive palette to bear in the Modern Trio.

“Interferenza 1” opens the album with a brief peep through the door of a bustling European bar. The cheery crowd gives a kind of bierkeller vibe that could mean anything for the following half hour. The trio, however, have no agenda. Walking bass and weaving jazz guitar join forces with vibes for the first track, “Spazio 1918”. The tempo of the guitar is somehow more upbeat than the bass and it nods to jazz, but almost in the way that you might nod to a stranger in the street, while at random intervals piercing notes of distorted guitar remind you not to assume too much.

Giampaoli is listed as playing classical guitar and its Spanish influences, drifting in desert winds, sit at odds with the industrial synth beat of “Retrophuturo”. The bass is smooth and syrupy, and there is a touch of post-punk in its feel; but not in the end result, and that is the story of this album — the merging of styles and influences that you just wouldn’t quite expect.

There is a baggy drumbeat on “Audrey’s Blues” and what sounds like bongos, a three-note clarinet loop, distorted guitar and barrelly piano. It has a rolling, funky groove that somehow envelopes all these odd elements and delivers something sweet that is over in three minutes. The album is succinct and to the point, but crammed with detail. The use of cymbal on “X-rated” is lovely and there is a romantic, distant feel that is slightly soothing. “Spirit” introduces the vocals of Ghittoni and to be honest, he sounds like a reggae singer. This is the only track with vocals, and his delivery is cool and has a certain groove that sits well with the bongos and glutinous bass. It has a dreamy feel, with a bleached guitar solo that smacks of deserted sandy beaches.

It is impossible to put a finger on them as they drift imperceptibly from track to track. They touch on Americana on “Astro Blue” and the setting of noisy texture against sturdy rhythm brings to mind Tortoise on “See The Stars”. After another “Interferenza”, which involves whistling and static, the final track “Micronesia” with its sedate Latin piano and woodblocks and bells sees the album out in yet another change of mood. The languid early morning feel is a perfect finale and then it is all over.

I must say that Spazio 1918 is a delight. There is nothing overbearing or jarring about the album and it flits from style to style in a way that does not detract from your enjoyment of each piece. Nothing outstays its welcome and if anything, some could be a little longer, and that can only be a good thing.

-Mr Olivetti-