Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Drive! - Drive! (AUAND RECORDS 2018)

Solid connections, caustic sounds

and meticulous post-production

on the road to Drive!


Auand Records releases the debut album of Drive!

with Giovanni Guidi, Joe Rehmer, Federico Scettri,

and Niccolò Tramontana’s signature on sounds


Electric and sharp, Drive! (out in June under Auand Records) proudly reveals dirty, rough, and almost dismembered sounds. Most of all, this recording witnesses the lively exchange started several years ago among three musicians: Giovanni Guidi (Fender Rhodes, keyboards), Joe Rehmer (double bass, electric bass) and Federico Scettri (drums), joined by Niccolò Tramontana’s touch on sounds. 

«This band’s main feature is a complete role equality – Guidi, now actively involved in a new adventure with Auand after his successful ECM albums, says –. No instrument prevails. If I listen to the music we’ve recorded, I can clearly hear the product of everyone’s inclinations.» «This project was born a couple years ago – Federico Scettri adds – We had met each other in several other bands, and this has allowed us to find a good chemistry. We have played very much and very often, which is quite unusual nowadays. Our approach has immediately been spontaneous – we barely talked, but we were always pleased by the final result. Plus, Tramontana’s work is very interesting.»

The inner engine of Drive!, Niccolò Tramontana has been assisting the whole process since the beginning, playing various roles, and helping to give the recording its final shape: «He was with us both in the studio and in post-production – Scettri tells – He managed to edit and mix very different sections, thus creating a steady balance between acoustic and electric, as well as synth sounds and electronics.»

Far from being just the picture of a trio, Drive! is something more complex and unusual, with a rich pre and post-production, as shown by ‘Serpentine Method’, a track that invites the listener to step in a labyrinth of percussion, keyboard lines, synth sounds and voices reflected in a mirror.

01 High Voltage
02 Pyramid
03 Upright Spiral
04 Don't be a Square
05 The Fire Swamp
06 Scorpions
07 Serpentine Method
08 Moonraker
09 Nocturne
10 Blue Dream
11 Wheelhouse

Giovanni Guidi fender rhodes, keyboards
Joe Rehmer double bass, electric bass
Federico Scettri drums

Produced by Drive!
Executive Producer: Marco Valente
Recorded at Marchiselli, Foligno (PG) – Italy
Engineer: Niccolò Tramontana
Cover Photo: Michele Palazzo