Like a hazy distorted message from a distant planet, the voice of Giovanni Orecchia singing When I Fall In Love is the first thing that greets you. The second is his son João Orecchia twisting and tweaking, updating this 1960s recording for 2009’s digital age.
Orecchia received his father’s recordings only after his death and used them to book-end his new album Hands & Feet (Other Electricities).
Born to an Italian father and a Peruvian mother in New York City, Orecchia has been living in South Africa for five years now.
”My father immigrated to New York in his mid-20s, dreaming of becoming a singer,” says Orecchia. ”One of his prized possessions was a photo of him as a young man singing with Bing Crosby in the streets of Rome, his home town.”
Hands & Feet, Orecchia’s first album produced in Africa, is a sonic wonderland littered with layers of looped instruments and phat grooves.
”The title Hands & Feet refers to a kind of simplicity that I find nearly impossible to explain in words,” says Orecchia.
”Like the simplicity of starting over from nothing and trying to build something up. Ageing, the death of a parent, identity, nationality; when things central to the way you define yourself change, you feel stripped in a way, almost like you have to reapply your skin layer by layer.”
Sonically that is exactly what Orecchia has done — built an aural masterpiece layer by layer, using the skills and talent of some of South Africa’s finest musicians.
Spoek Mathambo helps out on album highlight Play Pretend, fronting some mellower, more soulful vocals than he is known for, bringing the disco romp home in style.
Also key to Hands & Feet’s groove is the fact that BLK JKS drummer Tshepang Ramoba and rhythm guitarist Mpumi Mcata feature on a handful of the album tracks, and Swiss artist Mario Marchisella, who has been in South Africa for the past month for a residency, also features on drums. Other guests include bassist Carlo Mombelli and trombonist Siya Makazeni, who both ply their trade with the Prisoners of Strange.
Gold to Green, which features Orecchia on vocals, comes on all Peter Gabriel-meets-Berlin-era-Bowie, before it gets down and dirty with some African-inspired rhythms.
Beginnings, which kicks off with some bell sounds, soon builds to an epic post-rock conclusion, a cacophony of sound with some jazz inflections peering through the haze.
We Don’t Know is a stomping dance tune that is all motorik groove, which then breaks down into a banjo-led mid-section, before funking it all back up again.
Orecchia, who toyed with the idea of having the album released on a local label, says he just couldn’t find the right fit and ended up in discussions with Other Electricities.
Orecchia sees this album as a new chapter in his career and believes the experience of living in South Africa has deeply affected his music. In his opinion the beat-laden nature of the album belies his art roots.
By the time the album bids goodnight with Giovanni Orecchia crooning Arrivederci Roma, you are likely to feel as though you have been on a epic journey. Electronica this good should be illegal.