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April 7th, 2009

11:07 pm

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ATARAXIA
OIL ON CANVAS
Ultramail Prod

“This opus is a tribute to photographic art, far-off places and landscapes that so deeply inspired our creative journey and music.”

I find it hard to think of a band who so consistently make truly beguiling music, rich in beauty, mystery, interchangeable moods between serenity and threat. Theirs has been a long and richly textured existence, offering timeless rewards, a huge archive of sumptuous sound. I even have a wooden cupboard designated The Ataraxia Cupboard, where all their records, dvds, bootlegs and unusual items live, and part of this limited edition release already relaxes in there, cosseted and in good company, for they have inspired various companies through the years to produce luxurious items.

This time around a company from Hong Kong has put together a mind-bendingly stunning package, in which we find a superb quality book and gatefold CD, both with what I hope people regard as delightful cover imagery (as they are photographs taken by myself, and I assure you I feel honoured to be part of it), which fit into a sombre slipcase, so that every time you take them out it goes from darkness to light, revealing intriguing matters.

There are only 800 copies of this release, and along with the book and CD (with a small black strip of soft rubber to ensure the CD fits into the slipcase alongside the slightly larger book) you get three postcards. 700 sets have been created in this manner, but if you really search you may also find one of the 100 special sets. This is a larger box, and when you open it a flap lifts to reveal the book and CD inside a special deep tray, along with a signed paper, a folded poster and 12 extra card prints, with the first 48 boxes containing one extra print, and I was lucky enough to get one of those. Straight into the cupboard with you, I said, after photographing its contents for you (which will be shown in THE MICK 49, due up this week). I shall play the more conventional version, because I am a clumsy oaf, and have already bent one of the cards in that!

The whole thing is gorgeous, and the 96 page full colour book adds to the experience immeasurably, as the words and sounds waltz slowly around one another. Previous sleeves, and videos, have revealed their love of atmospheric places, just as the music is always evoking endless landscapes into which you can drift or run, mesmerised or scared, and the same mixture emerges here.

The book has three sections. The first bearing the title ‘I am a tear the sun let fall’ with the photos of Raffaella Graziosi. The words and lyrics of Francesca Nicoli accompany the images, linking visuals to content and these words have been translated into various languages: English by Giovanni Pagliari and Francesca Nicoli, French by Nicolas Ramain (who also handled the impressive design), Spanish by Araceli Cabrero Castel, German by Daisy Steinert and Portuguese/Brasilian by Pedro Georges Eleftheriou.

It makes for a thoughtful experience first time around when you listen as you contemplate the book, with the Graziosi images showing once grand buildings now dilapidated, their every surface pockmarked by time, encrusted with desolation, their fine furnishings now artistic curios; rusted chandeliers, geometric staircases no-one needs, a sullen piano that will play no more, with internal and external shots like something from a horror film yet to be written.

In the second section, ‘Le Souffle Animé’ you will find my photos of Philip Jackson statues as seen at various locations around West Sussex, with dark religious imagery forced out into daylight and still able to unnerve or attract; sinister monks and abstract ladies, Venetian inspiration mixed with English gardens and churches, where daintiness and fear walk hand in hand.

I think the third is called ‘Oro’ and here we see Livio Bedeschi’s Mediterranean photos, showing nature, fishes and flowers, rocks and houses, fields and coastlines, with water, earth and airiness, finishing quite rightly with individual portraits.

The words are haunting and demanding, the photos inviting. It is a wonderful item. If you were simply to read it while studying photos it’s a whispering delight, a book of hints and its own secrecy, but when you then turn to the music it fills your mind and you enter the maze.

Musically the compilation offers 14 tracks, with 12 from the band (including one rare track, and one exclusive) through the years, and two from Vittorio Vandelli’s solo album. It opens sweetly with ‘Fengari’, lifting upwards with Vittorio’s ‘The Bay Is White In Silent Light’ and then becomes starker with ‘Pastorale’, although still resolutely pretty. Murk and magic rises through ‘Zelia’, while the rosy ‘Mon Ame Sorcière’ cajoles lazily, the deceptively simple journey masking the depth in their compositions.

‘La Reine Des Hommes Aux Yeux Verts’ is muted swirling and eventual strangeness, the brilliant ‘Blood Of Cherries’ timid but shimmering weirdly, ‘Daytia’ firmer but equally shifty. ‘Dulcamara’ is an unexpected old song so small and modest, then the comparatively ancient ‘Flée et Fabian’ spins slowly, fluttering. ‘Eaudelamer’ is flightier with another little surprise when it skips lightly in its mischievous way. ‘Temenos’ is a rare track, starting contemplative then rolling forward imperiously, bracing and doing the oddly uplifting thing, followed by Vittorio’s elegantly dappled ‘The Ocean Green’ and then the exclusive and dangerous, humming ‘Rashan’ makes for a majestic closer.

Do you need it? Of course you do if you’re into them, and if not just take my word for it, this is a work of art capable of transporting you somewhere special. A total work of art.

http://www.ataraxia.net
http://www.myspace.com/atarassia

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