Experimental instrumentals from the passionate Italian duo...
'Our project started,' explain the Citriniti brothers, 'from out of our need to bring to life our experience and studies done during the past years. Therefore we decided to create this project based overall on drums and bass.'
Now, read that last bit carefully, that's NOT drum'n'bass, but drum AND bass, and a chance for the Italian Citriniti brothers, drummer Danilo and bass player Domenico to show off their talents. Having started in the late eighties, and grown up closely following the career of their musician father, Danilo and Domenico take an extremely experimental approach to music, with most of their songs starting life as improvised jam sessions during rehearsals. Their roots are firmly in the metal genre, yet listening to their music you might not instantly think so; while the ethereal qualities of progressive rock and a hint of metal aggression are still present, recent years have seen their sound morphing into an energetic and eclectic melting-pot of jazz, funk and fusion.
'Between the music and the Latitude' is the band's first release on Shrapnel Records, and the follow-up to 2002's self-produced 'Hydra'. 'Between the Music and the Latitude' sees their experimental style pushed to exciting new limits by enlisting the various talents of Italian guitarist and veteran session musician Fabrizio Leo, as well as guest soloists, guitarists Salvatore Ciambrini and Francesco Fareri, as well as keyboard virtuosos, Mistheria and Alex Argento.
Despite being built around the drums and bass, it's quite often the breath-taking guitar work that catches your attention, and whilst I could attempt to tell you about the almost robotic metallic groove that's merged with funky late-night jazz in the album's opener 'Naked Words', or the sparkling world-music twist and rippling bass lines of Inferno, in reality it would be pointless to try to pick out individual moments of brilliance, because 'Between the Music and the Latitude' is rife with them. This album fuses styles not only from track to track, but within them, seamlessly blending all of their influences and in turn showing off the advanced skill and technical precision of each musician; at times brash and frantic, and at others a more chilled-out groove. One minute funky fusion beats, but in the blink of an eye it's warps into soaring cosmic prog.
But while anyone can appreciate the level of musicianship and passion that Citriniti embodies, the experimental instrumental style won't be for everybody. That said, their eclectic style will certainly reach a wide range of music fans, from prog, to metal, jazz, chill-out and fusion, not to mention, fans of guitar heroes like Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and Yngwie Malmsteen; an inspiration to aspiring musicians everywhere.