Arpaderba - L'aleph (1981)

The one and only album from this Italian band.

The band was a quartet with a lineup of guitars, bass, violin, synths, electric piano, piano, organ, vibraphone, xylophone, tabla and mandolin.

This band is a very one-off a kind band even in the very flowery and inventive Italian scene. This album is really unique.

The music is still very Italian though. They just approach it from a different direction.....

Take some flamenco and Spanish folk music, add in Italian folk music, add in some chamber rock, add in a lot of fusion and add in some RPI. On the top of that, add a lot of Canterbury and eclectic prog.

All of this is instrumental and the compositions are rather quirky. Very much quirky as in Canterbury prog, in fact.

Forty minutes of weird and quirky melodies is what we get here. Most of it is done with acoustic instruments and the music is at times chamber rock.

This album has a lot to offer and it is a shame that it has not got that much attention. It is indeed a good album and well worth checking out on Youtube and other places.

3 points