Santa Cecilia & Semionauta are back on Strange Therapy with their follow-up record after last year’s arresting debut on the label, “Trascendenze Artificiali: Act I” is an ambitious and monumental transmedial art piece. Composed during an intensive two weeks of work, “Trascendenze Artificiali: Act I” is the result of the homonym site-specific durational performance, first presented by the duo at Manifattura Tabacchi, Florence for Fabbrica Europa Festival 2023 and further developed during an Art Residency at Nub Project Space, Pistoia. Developed by Santa Cecilia & Semionauta, the album reworks and extends the sonic material from the original performance, crafting an immersive auditory landscape that exists both as a standalone work and as an echo of the live experience. “Trascendenze Artificiali: Act I” delves into the fragmentation of identity, the dissolution of meaning, and the tension between organic and synthetic realities. The album navigates these themes through a hybrid soundscape, blending guttural vocalizations with layers of noise, doom-influenced atmospheres, and experimental electronic compositions. Visceral chants emerge and dissolve within industrial beats, drawing inspiration from Gregorian singing while being amplified through a compositional approach that oscillates between orchestral arrangements and freeform structures. The soundscape is further shaped by custom-built instruments, layers of feedback, and abstract sonic textures, resulting in an experience that is both intimate and monolithic. The performance was an arena where sound, body, architecture, and technology collided—a living ecosystem of disorientation and raw emotion. This same energy pervades the recording, where hypnotic repetitions, extended durations, and physical exhaustion translate into a sonic language that defies categorization. “Trascendenze Artificiali: Act I” is not a collection of songs; it is a process. A sequence of rituals that evolve, mutate, and implode, refusing resolution. In its shifting forms, it speaks of thresholds, altered states, and the dissolution of the self within a shared experience.
Tracklist:
1. Violini Stonati Atto I (4:53) 2. Impro (2:13) 3. Banjo Noise (4:56) 4. Banjo Ballad (3:12) 5. Violini Stonati Atto II (2:59) 6. Madre for Voice and Harmonium (Live) (5:50) 7. Muro di Noise (3:10) 8. Kyrie (5:14) 9. Cello Funebre (4:13)
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