Egonon

A new band from Venice, EGONON combines the best of the Italian progressive tradition with modern sensibilities and eclectic influences. The band is comprised of Fabio Calo' (songwriter, lyricist, vocals, piano, guitars, oud, sitar, sarangi, mellotron, percussion), Roberto Parolin (drums), Andrea Ghion (bass), David Boato (trumpet, flugelhorn), Luigi Sella (sax, clarinet), and Alvise Stiffoni (cello). Their first album was released in 2011, Risveglio, surprisingly self-produced, partly recorded in Libya. As noted by the variety of the instruments listed above, the band continues in the grand Italian tradition of incorporating Mediterranean (including Middle Eastern) influences, sounds, melodies, and instruments into their songs. The result is a wonderful blend of old and new, exotic and familiar, melodic and jarring--in short an excellent Rock Progressivo Italiano adventure. Fabio Calo' lists musical influences as quite diverse, including Ornette Coleman, Frank Zappa, Igor Stravinsky, King Crimson, and Middle Eastern music.

According to Fabio Calo', the album is intended to be part of a "quadrilogy that sets a whole initiation process through Music; a different way to see spirituality, more of a Solar Hero's ultimate fight rather than a monk making Om on a solitary hill. . . . It hits your darkest parts soundly and lifts them up to the sky sublimated." They have begun work on the second album, entitled "7 Exusiai."