Nels Cline about Furore:
With his new record “Furore”, my good friend and über-talented guitarist Simone Massaron has drawn inspiration from the writings of John Steinbeck – specifically from his epic best-seller “The Grapes Of Wrath”. One can hear the heart-wrenching story of Depression-era America and the Dust Bowl has made an impact on this Milanese musician in a serious way. From the traditional folk forms of songs like “Tom’s Dust” to the stark modernist ruminations of “After Jim Casy” and Promised Land”, to the whimsical “Connie’s Thoughts” or to the haunting beauty of “I’ll Be Everywhere”, we listeners are treated to an array of compositional styles and guitar techniques/tones as vast as the American prairie. This is cinematic music; it endeavors to musically reflect a powerful, barely-fictional tale in a personal way, and it succeeds in being dramatic yet intimate, diverse yet unified. Simone explores acoustic guitar, Dobro, electric guitar, slide, prepared guitar, looping, feedback and distortion to elucidate his feelings for this American tale, and he does so with authority, occasionally adding strings or percussion or organ. But the main voice/vision here is that of Simone Massaron and his guitars, his language. I hope you get to listen.
Nels Cline
Credits:
releases April 24, 2018
All titles written and arranged by Simone Massaron (Ritmo&Blu Ed. Mus.)
Recorded at Studio Ritmo&Blu, Pozzolengo (BS) from 2nd to 7th march 2017 by Stefano Castagna
Mixed at Studio Ritmo&Blu, Pozzolengo (BS) from 25th to 28th march 2017 by Stefano Castagna and Simone Massaron
Producer: Stefano Castagna
Executive Producers: Francesco Borghi, Fabrizio Perissinotto
Front cover photo “A very blue eagle. Along California highway” by Dorothea Lange, 1936
Thanks to: Ralph Gibson, Nels Cline, Paolo Canevari, Massimiliano Spada, Elliott Sharp, Paolo Barbaro, Luigi Montali, Evelina Somenzi, Lucio Carbone, Enrico Mangione, Giuseppe Tota Ballardini, Stefania Esposito, Fratelli Bonvini Milano, Mutty Castiglione delle Stiviere, CSAC Centro Studi e Archivio della Comunicazione dell’Università di Parma.
Special Thanks to: Nelide Bandello, Giulio Corini, Eloisa Manera, Daniele Richiedei, Francesco Borghi, Fabrizio Perissinotto.
Very Special Thanks to: Stefano Castagna, Francesca Naibo.
