Written by: Mike Dimitriou
Sometimes when I listen to new releases I need an alternative to these amplified and electronic sonic walls that I’m chained to, and one melodic, acoustic release may comfort my mood quite easily as long as it holds interesting arrangements.
Claudio Conti released his new Garnet Dusk album back in November, 2017 via Seahorse Recordings and his psych acoustic pop is inspired mostly by the records of Nick Drake, The Trashcan Sinatras and Tim Buckley. Garnet Dusk is filled with 14 tracks of soft winter’s day music that sounds like a conversation between two old friends at a bar talking about their latest life experiences.
The album is in a folk ballad mood but it also reveals some interesting sonic touches, like the use of a band in a handful of songs and the 60’s inspired psych pop feel that some of the numbers have. The official video for “Old Clouds Fell”–filmed entirely in San Francisco and Bodega Head Beach–is a dreamy sample from the album, though there are groovier tunes to be found, like my favorite “Of Nylon” or “Enter The Door of The Daughter.”
And one piece of information that may explain better Claudio Conti’s style is that the Italian musician has spent a lot of time in London, L.A., Chicago and most recently San Francisco–all cities that put their signature on psych pop since the 60’s, and if you put Italy’s old psych trademark style in, then the puzzle starts showing its picture more clearly…
Lovely work!
Keep Up With Claudio Conti
