VARIABILE / NATURALE by BEV (BONIFICA EMILIANA VENETA)

In this follow-up to their remarkable debut album Apotropaica, BEV (a reincarnation of the much-appreciated La Piva dal Carner) have come up with another excellent record that is sure to delight their fans.
Continuing their investigation of the musical turf of Padania and the Appenine region of Emilia, with this work BEV attain new levels of originality with their contemporary reworkings of tunes that have gradually faded from the collective memory of the regions they come from.
Clear on this new album is the musicians' familiarity with the material. Through a combination of intense study and hands-on experience they have made these songs their own, allowing the listener to sink into the folds of a rural past which is still very much alive and creatively kicking.
Variabile/Naturale features twelve tracks that old-world charm with a modern sensibility, ranging from traditional songs of the Brescian plains to the dances of Veneto (polesana and furlana), from the melodies in quatrain of Reggio that are sung in May to Parmesan lullabies, and from the rediscovery of an ulterior version - hailing from the Pavese Appenines - of the well-known Cecillia to traditional Bolognese dances (Monghidoro).
In Variabile/Naturale the beauty of the interweaving vocals is knowingly fused with a particularly gritty instrumental accompaniment fashioned from pipes, guitars and clarinets. The magazine Dirty Linen were not wrong in saying that "Though purely acoustic, (BEV's) music explodes with the energy of rock".
This new album is the latest confirmation, an innovative and extremely lucid take on Italian folk music that at the same time captures its essential features which are projected into the realm of the modern world, revealing a capacity to reveal and describe the present. Roots music takes on vibrancy and energy, evolving into a supple, mobile instrument that soars into the air and flits lightly between its different time zones: music that is variable but also natural.

ww.felmay.it