Milan-based label Die Schachtel is digging into the archives of Italian ensemble Alter Ego for its next two releases.
In 2004 and 2005, the six-member group – comprised of Manuel Zurria, Paolo Ravaglia, Aldo Campagnari, Francesco Dillon, Oscar Pizzo, and Eugenio Vatta – made a collection of recordings in collaboration with Matmos and Pan Sonic, which have remained unreleased until now. Both collaborations will now be given a first-time release across vinyl and digital formats.
Pranam – A(Round) Giacinto Scelsi sees Alter Ego and Matmos interpret the works of the Italian composer Giacinto Scelsi. The collaboration was commissioned by The Fondazione Isabella Scelsi, which holds Giacinto Scelsi’s archives, and was performed at the Festival Roma Europa and the Festival Aeterforum during May of 2005. You can listen to ‘Side B’ from the release just above.
The second of the releases, Microwaves, sees Alter Ego and Pan Sonic’s Mika Vainio and Ilpo Väisänen perform works composed by Atli Ingólfsson, Giovanni Verrando, Yan Maresz and Riccardo Nova. In a statement, Die Schachtel explains that the collaboration was "initially conceived with Fausto Romitelli in 2004 before being sidelined by the composer’s untimely passing the following year." The two acts subsequently worked with his friends – Ingólfsson, Verrando, Maresz and Nova – performing their works as a form of remembrance during a collective tour later in 2004. Listen to ‘Side B’ from the release just below.
Die Schachtel will release Pranam – A(Round) Giacinto Scelsi and Microwaves on November 12, 2021.
