Il Bene Comune

Literally translated from Italian, il bene comune means "the common good." Ineffable and ambiguous, the term in itself offers no intrinsic clues as to what its application should entail, although we generally view it in a positive light. Engaging in acts we perceive as furthering the common good can give us immense personal satisfaction, while participating in collective actions moved by this desire can be among the most rewarding experiences available to us as humans. But the very malleability of the term makes it a powerful tool to be used by the imaginative and the ambitious to further their own agendas. Those able to offer an appealing vision of the common good can wield enormous power, profoundly influencing individual behavior on a global scale since the concept functions as both the carrot and the stick, a tool with which to reward obedience and discourage dissent through massive and diffuse social pressure.
 
Governments, media organizations and opinion leaders vie to manipulate mainstream perception of the common good, and skillful use of comunication and propaganda can shift mainstream ideas in such a way as to radically transform acceptable behaviours into taboo, and vice versa. Of course, dissidents as well generally rally around an alternative vision of the common good, and the effectiveness of such movements hinges in part on their ability to spread this vision among the greater populace, infiltrating and undermining the mainstream narrative until such time as the alternative vision achieves mainstream acceptance.
 
Composed during Italy's second Covid lockdown in the winter of 2020-21 through digital correspondence and illicit face-to-face meetings, the underlying structure of this music hinges on shared familiarity with the basic modules, predominantly simple, repeating motifs. This simplicity allows for significant individual freedom for each member of the sextet, however this freedom must be exercised responsibly in order to maintain balance within the greater structure and avoid total collapse or loss of the central message. Individual actions undertaken without due attention and consideration for the common good will cause unforeseen consequences, difficult to predict and manage.
 
Beginning with the furious energy of 'Fulfillment Center' and the percussive violence of 'Idea', the album gradually navigates toward calmer waters, passing through the surreal lament of Stand Stan and the raucous finale of Warsaw until we are drawn into the cyclical, recursive loop of the eponymous final track, a sort of musical fractal, composed of countless layers of the generative seed played at shifting tempos by each instrument. Here, each voice finds its place in the choir: personal ambitions have been exhausted or forgotten, their fires quenched at last in the quiet acceptance of the final, definitive union.

Release date: June 24, 2022