Savoldelli, Boris - BioCosmopolitan
SKU
MoonJune 037
"Boris Savoldelli’s new MoonJune Records release Biocosmopolitanis nothing short of a tour de force of vocal artistry. Listeners who are only familiar with the singer’s previous MoonJune CD – the edgy, shape-shifting Protoplasmicduets with legendary guitar innovator Elliott Sharp – will be little prepared for the euphonious aural feast that awaits them on Biocosmopolitan, which represents a new pinnacle for this unique and wholly engaging vocal performer. Biocosmopolitan would be a remarkable album even if it were performed by a large ensemble of singers and instrumentalists, but the fact that these intricately layered songs were performed in real time by a single vocalist – apart from the brilliant contributions of rising trumpet star Paolo Fresu
on two tracks, fusion bass acrobat Jimmy Haslip on another, Savoldelli’s own piano accompaniment on “Biocosmo,” and subtle use of sound-effects recordings – is difficult to believe. Using only a microphone and a compact, customized setup of looping and sound-processing devices, Savoldelli constructs exquisitely crafted, self-contained sound-worlds replete with elaborate multipart harmonies, complex interlocking rhythms, and a panoply of globe-spanning musical influences old and new, ranging from vintage jazz crooning and calypso to Renaissance polyphony, R&B, South African mbaqanga choral music, psychedelic rock, Beat poetry, his native Italian folk heritage, and a sort of mutant doo-wop. Seldom has vocal music been heard that conjures both the Beach Boys and Stockhausen in the same track. What unifies all of these wildly varied influences is Savoldelli’s inimitable, outgoing musical personality. Unlike Protoplasmic, an improvised outing that explored what Boris refers to as his “dark” side, Biocosmopolitanis a much more exuberant and accessible affair, and presents the most complete portrait of Savoldelli as singer, composer, arranger, and sound manipulator to date. Deft use of looping enables the singer to accompany himself with a rich tapestry of choral and ‘instrumental’ sounds, as in his amazing emulation of longtime hero Jimi Hendrix’s strangulated, wah-fried guitar cries on a version of “Crosstown Traffic”like no other. Likewise, all of the sophisticated and entirely convincing drum and percussion sounds on Biocosmopolitanare produced by vocal cords, mouth, and lips alone. While other singers have also emulated instrumental timbres using the human voice, none has taken this approach further or with such inventiveness as Savoldelli has on Biocosmopolitan. With lyrics in Italian, English, and a nonverbal vocalese syntax of his own invention, Biocosmopolitanis continually enlivened by Savoldelli’s warm-
hearted demeanor and infectious sense of humor, belying the worn-out stereotype that ‘avant-garde’ vocalizing is by definition strident and uninviting. Biocosmopolitanbrilliantly demonstrates why Savoldelli has won over audiences throughout Europe, Russia, Brazil and North America with his concerts of ‘one-man polyphony,’ while mapping out new frontiers for the human voice. In Italy, Savoldelli studied operatic vocal techniques with Simona Marcello and, more recently, in New York, he's refined his art with singers Jay Clayton and Mark Murphy. Savoldelli is also a member of the innovative avant jazz-rock combo SADO, and released the acclaimed solo album Insanology in 2008, a feast of inspired vocal-orchestral loop-layering, featuring a guest appearance by US guitarist Marc Ribot. His international record debut is on MoonJune Records, a duet album with Elliott Sharp, Proptoplasmic, released in 2009."