By Sammy Stein
‘Minerals’ is Milan-born Maddalena Ghezzi’s ongoing project (since 2020) to create a continuous album in the form of music that tells of climate change. Ghezzi sees herself as a collector (and teller) of stories. Each Mineral is a chapter of an ongoing story. Minerals endure but we might not if we do not notice what is happening and become attuned with Nature and react collectively. Dolomite is the awaited fifth release in the series – preceded by Amethyst, Halite, Opal, and Emerald. Each mineral is recorded in a different space, chosen by each collaborator, and released whenever the time feels right. On Dolomite, Ghezzi collaborates with bassist and vocalist Ruth Goller. Both Ghezzi and Goller composed the tracks and Ghezzi is the lyricist.
The concept of the EP is water traveling through the Dolomites, a majestic range of mountains in Europe, the water droplet passes through the water cycle and every time it returns, notices a change in the landscape. Ghezzi and Goller found inspiration in Nature and the environment. Ghezzi and Goller experienced the Dolomites when they were growing up. These lofty mountains were once part of the ocean floor yet now tower as some of the highest mountains in Europe. What feels permanent is in fact in constant flux. So our human experience is one of transience compared to the natural world and we, like it, balance between stability and movement. Ghezzi has spent days during the past decade at different altitudes, in seclusion as a pilgrimage to her father. Immersion in Nature allowed Ghezzi to heal and deal with the concept of death, as well as contemplate the essence of healing. She asks the question. As women, how do access remote places? If Nature is destroyed, forests are screaming, and freshwater is scarce, can we heal? Aren’t we just killing ourselves? How do we reckon with this? The EP is in four languages – Ghezzi wrote a poem in English and Italian and Goller translated it into German and Ladino. Italian, Ladino, and German are the languages spoken in South Tyrol. After WW1 South Tyrol, previously part of the Austrian Empire, was annexed to Italy and a ruthless Italianization of the area began under the Italian fascist government. In the area, these communities are intertwined not without friction, yet engulfed in the incredible nature that surrounds them.
Singing the same poem in different languages makes it resonate in more directions providing moments of reflection around similarities and differences. The fluidity of languages coupled with the communication that is possible even though we speak differently appealed to both musicians. Throughout the EP Goller experiments both with tuning and different bass sounds. In ‘Jole’ Goller explores unconventional bass tuning to create melodies with harmonics over a different harmonic backdrop. The result is an ethereal, atmospheric track with distinctive vocals from Ghezzi, backed by the equally distinctive musings of Goller. On ‘Flex and Float’ the music varies in tone and texture from light, transient whispers to deep, gutsy rivulets of sound, created by Goller behind the achingly beautiful vocals of Ghezzi, the title aptly reflecting the changing nature of the music, which is based on the concept of motion and the changeable aspect of water. In “I Fliag” Goller experiments with a short delay that crates a semi-staccato effect which works well under Ghezzi’s gentle vocals. Ghezzi creates breathy, immersive sounds that make it feel as if briefly, the listener is plunged beneath the cool depths of water. ‘Vole’ is a harmonious track with intermittent and arrhythmic knocks – which is hail falling, recorded in a storm in Milan.
‘Volo,’ ‘I Fliag’ and ‘Jole’ all mean ‘to fly’ while the track in English ‘Flex and Float’ brings into reflection the concept of motion and the changeable aspect of water. A beautiful EP that allows the listener to immerse in natural wonder and the concept of Nature as an ever-changing, yet constant presence.
Maddalena is writing a diary of each collaboration and is set to release an anthology of writings and a compilation when the 'Minerals' project is concluded.
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