Gli anni 2000 sono cominciati per me il 14 maggio dello stesso anno, con lo scudetto della Lazio: ero a casa mia, quindici anni ancora da compiere, la tv sintonizzata come ogni domenica pomeriggio su Quelli che il Calcio. Conduceva Fabio Fazio. Il decennio si sarebbe poi concluso, almeno per me, il 13 maggio del 2009, con la vittoria della Coppa Italia ai rigori, per 6 a 5, da parte della Lazio contro una tenacissima Sampdoria: ero allo stadio, di anni nel frattempo ne avevo quasi ventiquattro e a Quelli che il Calcio la conduzione era da tempo passata a Simona Ventura.
The Declining Winter started out as the meanderings of Richard Vincent Adams, a musical project to keep him occupied whilst his band, Hood, was on hiatus (they’re still on prolonged hiatus, apparently). In 2008 their first 7″ The Future Sound of Hip Hop parts 1 and 2 was released, together with a bonus CD of remixes by Epic 45, Remote Viewer, Part Timer and Northstation and their first album, Goodbye, Minnesota came out on Ireland’s Rusted Rail Record. The next Declining Winter record was entitled Haunt the Upper Hallways and appeared on Home Assembly Music in 2009. In 2010 the band released their Official World Cup Theme 2010 again on Home Assembly Music and Scenes from the Back Bedroom Window, a very limited 3″ CDr release on Secret Furry Hole. In 2013 Fragment 5, a 10″ record a was released. The cassette only Lost Songs came out on the same year. 2015 was a busy year for The Declining Winter: they released Home For Lost Souls (Home Assembly),Endless Scenery (Sounds in Silence) and a split 12″ with Isnaj Dui on Rural Colours. Three years later the band released Belmont Slope. Recordings Of Weird Air, a collection of songs recorded onto iPad in late summer/autumn 2020 by Adams alone, was out in 2021, again on cassette only. Really Early ,Really Late, the first proper album since 2018, will be out March 31st and, believe us, it’s magnificent.
GNAC* is the pseudonym used by songwriter and music producer Mark Tranmer for most of his solo work. The name is derived from a short story by Italo Calvino in Marcovaldo titled Luna e GNAC (or “moon and gnac”). Tranmer’s music has been described as “imaginary film soundtracks”. After releasing several singles between 1998 and early 1999, his debut album, Friend Sleeping, was released in July 1999 on the Vespertine label. For his second studio album, Biscuit Barrel Fashion, he moved to Alan McGee’s Poptones label. From 2006 to 2021 GNAC* released six more albums (including a double album with Italian pianist Alessandra Celletti). Tranmer also recorded with the late great Roger Quigley under the name The Montgolfier Brothers, releasing three magnificent albums. Mark Tranmer is also a member of Vetchinsky Settings with James Hackett of Glasgow band The Orchids. GNAC*’s new album The Echoes On Departure will be out Friday, March 24th 2023.
Affrontare il pensiero della morte è sicuramente un atto difficile da compiere, trovare una chiave di lettura per ciò a cui ci si vorrebbe sottrarre pur conoscendone l’ineluttabilità è profondamente complesso. Forse proprio per questo, chi ne è capace, ricorre all’arte per farlo, provando a dare forma ai sentimenti attraverso un mezzo d’espressione congeniale. L’universo musicale è pieno di tali esempi, ciascuno mosso da un proprio moto interiore e realizzato in modo del tutto peculiare, anche se scaturente dalla medesima riflessione.
Indie Sunset in Rome 