// SaffronKeira "Tourette" (Italian)

Well, here we are. About a half year after the superb "A New Life" double disc release from SaffronKeira on the Denovali Label we have a brand new album. "Tourette" follows the same overall soundscape of the debut release but pushes it in a new direction. When I first heard the works from SaffronKeira (Eugenio Caria), I was reminded of the artists who inspired me to write my own music. Eugenio manages to wrap all these various artists styles and production techniques up in own way, add in some of his own ideas, throw them up in the air and see what lands. Its an incredible emotional journey through quite a familiar yet also slightly disturbing soundscape that moves you.

With the debut release Eugenio wanted to tell of the story of life, from the beginnings to the end from the joys of new life to the sadness of loss. With this new release, SaffronKeira instead takes you into the mind. As its name suggests, "Tourette" talks about mental disabilities and the difficulties of coming to terms with what this means. Also like the disease itself, the music can have spontaneous outbursts where it changes direction and hits you with something digital and harsh the next moment it could hit you with something very emotional. The best track that shows this is the frankly superb "1859-1904". 

There are many highlights on this album that must be heard to fully appreciate. If you are looking for a taster of these tracks, you can find videos on youtube.com. These are as follows:

Link 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhS7NITDyCA - "1859-1905"
Link 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHyguJZFXcI - "The Hope"
Link 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgYAO29369A - "The Disease"

This new album is a natural progression for SaffronKeira and its great to see that Eugenio Caria is kicking out new material at a great rate. For those who love music by Max Richter or the Mexican genius that is Murcof, this and his debut release are must buys.

Buy from:
Link 4: http://denovali.com/saffronkeira/

SaffronKeira will be performing at Störung Festival 8 on 17th April at TMB, Metro Universitat, 19:00h, and also on the 19th April at La Farinera del Clot, 20:00h.

@storungfestival8
#storungfestival8

// SaffronKeira (Italian)

As you may remember, I did a review of SaffronKeira's debut double album, A New Life. Half a year later and he's back with a brand new album, Tourette. The link at the end of this post will take you to SaffronKeira at Denovali records. It is well worth having a listen to the two sample tracks available on there, "1859-1904" and "The Hope". I look forward to doing a more in depth review at some point in the future, as it is only available for pre-order at the moment. 

It sounds as if SaffronKeira is back with interesting new soundscapes. Definitely one to watch out for with his future releases.

Link 1: http://denovali.com/saffronkeira/

// Denovali Swingfest 2012 Lineup Update

Denovali has announced the lineup for the dates on which the artists will be performing at Swingfest 2012.

This will be an awesome festival to go to if you are able to get to it. My highlights for anyone going would be:

Friday: A Dead Forest Index

Saturday: Moritz Von Oswald Trio, The Pirate Ship Quintet

Sunday: Murcof, Hidden Orchestra, SaffronKeira

If you go, be sure to make a special effort to see Murcof and SaffronKeira. Not to be missed.

// Review: SaffronKeira "A New Life: New Life" Part 2

Listening to SaffronKeira's album, part 2 is quite a revelation after listening to the first part. After the dense layers of low-end drones that power through the first half of the double album, you are confronted with a different sounding landscape in the second. Whereas the first half is slow and dark, almost reflective in sound, the second half aims to move you in a new direction. It is as though you are listening to an audible representation of a new beginning.

Thoughts that come to mind when listening to these new tracks are, "A sense of Wonder", "Excitement" and "Uplifting". Yes the low drones are still present and it has an overall slow pace but there are moments of absolute magic. Just as you start to disappear under a blanket of darkness, like being swallowed by water, you emerge into a lightness that creates a sense of relief. With blasts of noise and immaculately soundscaped drones and electronic rhythms, you are led down a path of discovery. A path of self-discovery. But, where the first part was mostly electronic synth work with manipulated acoustic instrumentation towards the end of its 1 hour run, the second part adds beautiful, clean, acoustic piano and guitar and other instrumentation. It is in this half of the double album, that you can hear the likeness to Murcof's work. It is most noticeable in tracks such as First Denti and 190305 where piano is blended with low drone synths and glitchy electronic beats, but can also be found in other tracks such as Acceptance of Mental Disorder and Endless Agony of Being Sick.

Complete track list:

    A New Life: Old Life (Part 1)

1. Soliga (9'17")

2. Symbiosi (10'06")

3. Intrepidation (9'11")

4. Ethan (8'55")

5. Pregnancy (8'01")

6. 8th Months (8'44")

7. Last Days (9'59")

    A New Life: New Life (Part 2)

1. 111208 (13'37")

2. First Denti (8'43")

3. Psychologically Destroying (12'02")

4. 190305 (9'24")

5. Acceptance of Mental Disorder (16'53")

6. Endless Agony of Being Sick (12'50")

My personal highlights are on "190305", where the piano and guitar are met with high notes and glitch rhythms. A nice experiment with distortion effects adds a new layer of intrigue to the track. The other highlight being on "Endless Agony of Being Sick", where the voices and string sections (that have a feeling of being taken from the "Sunshine" movie soundtrack) guide you through the last parts of this strong debut double album. 


Oder your copy of SaffronKeira "A New Life" at Link 1 below.


Visit Link1: http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=SaffronKeira

// Review: SaffronKeira "A New Life: Old Life" Part 1

Having just listened to the first part of SaffronKeira's new album, A New Life I though I had better add my own review of it. On pressing play for the first time you are confronted by low drones that echo  the power of an organ at full power within a considerably small cathedral space. These slow drones then proceed to build and dissipate in a ballet of careful choreography that leads you into the overall feel of this first CD.

From then on, leading from track to track, you are audibly assaulted by immense layers of drones and minimal electronic beats that lead you by the hand through an old landscape. The general feeling is that of slow powerfulness, a journey that has come to an end, which seems odd considering this is the first part of the double album. But fear not. As we are led into the final track of the 1st part of the double album we are handed an absolute gift in the form of track 7, Last Days. Still keeping with the feel of the rest of the tracks, (the low drones and general slow pace are still there), this track is accompanied by a slow, moody piano melody. A piano melody that seems to suggest a life that has seen all., knows all and has passed on its wisdom to the next generation.

Overall this first part of the album can be gloomy and sad, but at the same part leaves you with a feeling of accomplishment, of a person coming to terms with oneself and ready to journey on. A powerful first part to a debut by an exciting new artist. A definite addition for connoisseurs of experimental electronica.

SaffronKeira Review Part 2: "A New Life: New Life" Coming soon.

// Spot On: Artist - SaffronKeira (Italy)

SaffronKeira is the performance name of Eugenio Caria from the island of Sardinia. He has produced a stunning debut album, A New Life, which is a split double album. Part 1 is called A New Life: Old Life and Part 2 is called A New Life: New Life. The two parts are pointed towards different parts of  the journey of life, the old part describing the wisdom that comes with old age and in the new life, how we are in the beginning, fragile and a blank canvas, ever learning about our new environment. Often beautiful, sometimes dark and moody, A New Life is a spectacular audible journey and an incredible way for SaffronKeira to step out of the darkness. A debut that is this strong is where all aspiring artists strive for.

A must buy for fans of Murcof, Max Richter, Fennesz and Arvo Part etc.

Visit Link 1: http://saffronkeira.tumblr.com/
Visit Link 2: http://denovali.com/saffronkeira/
Visit Link 3: http://denovali.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=6598
Visit Link 4: http://www.amazon.co.uk/A-New-Life-Saffronkeira/dp/B0088MJOEA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343826443&sr=8-1

A further review will be available in a future post.