Anatrofobia: Tesa Musica Marginale

When Anatrofobia banded in 1990, these players set out to play what they describe as "angry crossover." Four years later the entrance of bassist Luco Cartolari turned their concentration towards a greater degree of improvisation. By the time '99 came along they were off in yet another direction: pop music.

Anatrofobia mixes all the elements that have triggered their music and these players do it in an oddball but charming way. They jump from one impulse to another, cavorting and upbeat one moment, sombre and melancholy the next. As they manipulate sound, they create textures on the saxophone and the bassoon and then restructure the melodic body with the scalpels of electronics and samplers. What makes it interesting is the smooth segue.

They start on a romp with the first tune, the band in happy unison before that mood is split on the burr of free improvisation given its edge by Alessandro Cartolari on the sax and electronics, the latter an intense buzz saw that takes the tune to a logical climax. There is a wispy air blown in on "frammenti di durata" by Cartolari on synthesizer and Alessio Pisani on his bassoon. The disparate pulse is brought in albeit briefly and they stay long enough on a melodic plain which is the happy hunting ground for the sax and the growl of the electric bass of Luca Cartolari.

"silence" and "senza il tuo perdono posso vivere lo stesso" capture the beautifully structured playing of Pisani on the bassoon. The latter is an extended piece that opens for a wider vista, giving Andrea Biondello the room to accent on drums and percussion, sparseness being his trump card. The pace is unhurried and compelling.