THE HOUSEBOAT AND THE MOON REWORKED [LP|DIGITAL]
FEDERICO ALBANESE is a composer born in Milan, Italy in 1982, and currently based in Berlin. His musical versatility is a natural gift that pushes him to explore music in all its facets. Albanese's compositions are airy and cinematic, blending classical music, electronics and psychedelia. Federico started studying piano and clarinet as a child before becoming fascinated by rock music. As a teenager he studied bass and became a self-taught guitarist and soon became one of the leading figures of Milan's underground scene, performing in several bands. Influenced by black music, folk, electronic, modern and contemporary classical music his skills as a composer soon emerged.
In February 2014, Federico Albanese released his debut album entitled "THE HOUSEBOAT AND THE MOON" on Denovali Records. He recorded all of the piano parts with a 1969 German tape recorder, the Uher Royal Deluxe, which allowed him to catch all of the tiny hidden shades, the imperfections, the noises of the piano and its surrounding space. Federico melted this rarefied sound with electronics, live recordings, strings, and homemade instruments. The result was a combination of contrasts and colors with a variety of atmospheres that wonderfully represented Federico's musical universe.
The idea to release an EP with reworks of songs from "The Houseboat and the Moon" took shape in Federico's mind already while he was recording the album. He was fascinated by the idea of re-exploring the pieces, to put them in a different context, to give them to artists he loves and to see what would emerge from this. The result is a striking compilation of four reworks by Albanese's fellow labelmates JOHN LEMKE, FRANZ KIRMANN of PIANO INTERRUPTED, SAFFRONKEIRA as well as by subliminal techno masterminds CASSEGRAIN, exploring a wide range of the spectrum of electronic music.
"Through Denovali I had the chance to discover lots of very good artists and producers, with whom I thought it would have been great to collaborate.", Federico states and continues "I really appreciate JOHN LEMKE's work and I knew right away he would have been a good choice. John gave to my piece "Disclosed" a new light, keeping the flow of the original track and opening doors for other worlds. I had the chance to play with PIANO INTERRUPTED a few times and I always loved how FRANZ KIRMANN of Piano Interrupted "interrupts" the piano sound, creating amazing layouts. He put his touch on the song "Queen and Wonder", exploring its depth, bringing out a completely new vibe. CASSEGRAIN is a fantastic project I discovered in Berlin a while ago. They reworked the piece "Carousel 3#", giving new space to it, running the piano sound through pedals and fx and creating a slow techno rarefied atmosphere, which outs the piece into a completely new context." Finally, Federico states "I've really enjoyed SAFFRONKEIRA's music, especially his last work with MARIO MASSA, a lot and I immediately thought it would have been great to see what he could do with my piano sound. He reworked the opening track "Beyond the milk wood", digging into the shades of the sounds and creating a new, darker structure. It's been an honor to collaborate with all these great artists."