THE TAROT ALBUM

 

:: “IL MANIFESTO/ALIAS” - 28/12/2012 (ITALY)

 

“The unmissable Albums of the year!” Top 5  ALBUM 2012 by Luciano Del Sette

“A musical boat , in which acoustic and electronics give sails to surf on top of long waves, or simply to take a rest listening to the spicy wind of mediterranean sea”

 

 

 :: BLOGFOOLK (Italy)– 18/01/2013 –RECOMMENDED 

 

 […]”Between acoustic and psychedelia there are original sounds and unique melodies, allowing the listener to travel without borders  in the imaginative Univers of their music[…]If you enjoyed “OrangeTree” this new Elias Nardi Quartet Album will be surprising.”

 

 

:: MUSIC WAVES/PROGRESSIVE WAVES (France) -  Feb 2013 - RECOMMENDED- (8/10)

 

"Here it is an unique and surprising artist[…]Elias Nardi founded in 2010 the Elias Nardi Quartet[…]inventing the Ethno Jazz Progressive of the XXI Century. Totally original, the music of Elias Nardi Quartet is without comparison[…]A complete work of art, a complete world, a rare gem, a jewel. Ethnic? Classical? Experimental? Yes, of course. Innovative first of all, and mostly poetic. A surprising revelation”

 

 

:: FOLK BULLETIN (Italy), May 2013

 

 E allora, dove sta il pregio di questo album capace di piacerci dal primo contatto? Che è scritto e suonato con il cuore e con la testa, ma attenzione! La testa la trovi dove ti aspetteresti il cuore, e viceversa. Nessuno dei quattro musicisti si ferma al ruolo predestinato (e poi, da chi?), tutti (il leader per primo) si offrono all’ascolto in una veste impropria, traendo dai loro strumenti quelle vibrazioni sonore inattese e sorprendenti che fanno di un disco un disco speciale. Influsso magico del potere dei tarocchi? Può darsi, ma non ci crediamo più di tanto. Capacità di fare ottima musica con eleganza e spirito innovativo? Molto più credibile. Fatelo vostro e non vi pentirete"

 

 

NEW FOLK SOUNDS (NETHERLANDS), July 2013

 

"Elias Nardi plays the oud, and does it so more than excellent. He plays so in a special way, by failing to adhere to the traditional conventions. That alone makes the music of Nardi interesting and exciting[..]Fretless BassistLa Mannaknows how to play, capitvating[..] with the characteristic Glissando and rumbling notes[..]Roberto Segato is an excellent accompanist on piano, keyboards and synth[..]Zac Baker is perhaps the least prominent musician in the group sound, but that's just his strength again[..]The musicians complement each other very well, nowhere is an ego-laid egg[..] I am off with most of ethno-jazz, but The Tarot album is an album that I listen with pleasure in its entirety, without being moments of boredom or overfed. There are plenty of rests, fine introductions head and tail compositions, dynamics and excellent sound (recording) quality."

 

 

:: iO PAGES  Prog Rock Music Magazine (Netherlands) N.114 – April 2013

 

"Elias Nardi is an oud specialist and he is accompanied by a rock instrumentation.The main combination is with[…]fretless bass player and fellow composer Carlo La Manna,but the atmospheric sounds of roberto Segato's piano and synth are also important building blocks for this concept album[…]progressive and jazzy touches alongside classical and world music brands.This is Cinematic Ethno-Jazz for gourmets.”

 

 

:: KOID’9  Rock & Progressive Magazine (France) n.84 April 2013

 

"Jolie découverte cet album[...]Parfois Classique, Jazz, voire Ethnojazzy, quelquefois minimaliste, le disque regorge d'ambiances quelquefois psychédéliques, new age ou meme un brin...progressives (le magnifique duo piano/basse "The Temperance" ou les orgues majestueux de "The Devil"..à faire pâlir Rick Wakeman himself)! Un rafraichissant bol de fraicheur, de calme et de volupté dans un océan de sensualité...A découvrir!

 

 

:: ROCKERILLA (Italy) January 2013

 

“SPLENDID AND INEFFABLE!”

 

 

:: RSI Swiss Radio. (Switzerland) January 2013

 

Live INTERVIEW/REVIEW with Claudio Farinone

http://retedue.rsi.ch/home/networks/retedue/rete2-5/2013/01/28/elias-nardi.html - Audio

 

 

:: DRUMSET MAG (Italy) February 2013

 

“[…]After the succesful “OrangeTree” (2010) the musician from Tuscany comes back to the scene with an Excellent album that goes beyond the simple Ethno-Jazz, reaching new ages territories[…] but pointing the route to the joint with progressive music. The Tarot  Album is a fascinating work[…]”

 

 

:: EXTRA! MUSIC MAGAZINE (Italy) February 2013

 

“[,…]The only thing we still need to say is about The Tarot Album regards its general high quality level. This work is wonderfully played and arranged with extreme professionality.[…]

 

 

 

:: NORRAN (Sweden) February 2013 *** stars

 

ARTISTIC FOLK:

Elias Nardi  makes a very personal music, a kind of newly composed classical music with folk  in the background. He returns with his quartet and a record that has many similarities with the previous Orange Tree.[…]interesting.

 

 

:: CULTURALISMI (ITALY) January 2013

 

“The music of this quartet flows sometimes ethereal sometimes more energic, but always wonderfully arranged and composed through all of the precious and refined 18 tracks, between Folk ad Classical Music, but also with  modern Jazz sounds and many elements of research inside the compositions typical of the ‘60/70s Prog Rock.

 

 

:: ARTRIBUNE (Italy) #11 January/February 2013, pg.85

 

[…]The album is a mistical trip between ethnic, progressive and Psychedelic influences[…] in this work of art the relationship between music, visual arts, spirituality, sudies and research has been extremely close.

 

 

:: MAT 2020 (Italy) Special Number Christmas 2012,

 

“Elias Nardi seems really ingenious on Oud, Carlo La Manna (fretless bass)  has a beautiful touch, Roberto Segato (keyboards) and Zacahry J Baker are very elegant[…]”The Tarot Album”: a refined trip to a magical world.  RECOMMENDED.”

 

 

:: SALAD DAYS MAGAZINE (Italy) December 2012

 

”A Monumental Work”[…]Elias Nardi simply traces a more adventurous path than most of the others, but he knows very well where to go. Follow him!.”

 

 

:: ONDAROCK (Italy) Dicember 2012

 

 “The Tarot Album is a Kaleidoscope of genres and influences, hard to catalog and define; that’s why it is so exciting amd  intriguing[…]The Tarot Album will open to you the gates to a magnificent world.”

 

 

:: MENTELOCALE (Italy)

 

C’era una volta il Rock (Once upon a time, Rock) , by Riccardo Storti - November 2012

”A Symphonic Poem of our time”

 

 

:: CHOMETEMPORARY (Italy) “Ascoltati” by Lorenzo Mei - November2012

 

“[…]Listening to this music i thought that there are no missing notes, and , even more important, there is not even a single note wich is “too much”.”

 

 

:: ROCK IMPRESSIONS (Italy) November 2012

 

"The Tarot Album" is classy, refined, sensitive and poetic[…]an album that need attention and reflection.”

 

 

 

ORANGE TREE

 

- 3rd Prize/3° Premio Best Etno/Folk Album "Premio Italiano della Musica Popolare Indipendente 2011"

 

 

:: BLOGFOOLK July 2011 (Italy)

 

- http://www.blogfoolk.com/2011/07/elias-nardi-quartet-featuring-didier.html 

“... (il) progetto Elias Nardi Quartet nasce con l'intento di creare un ideale ponte sonoro tra diverse culture e tradizioni musicali, il tutto condito da rimandi alla musica antica, al jazz e al progressive.”

 

The Elias Nardi project creates an imaginary musical bridge between different cultures and musical traditions, with links to ancient music, jazz and progressive rock.

 

“OrangeTree è una raccolta di acquerelli sonori dai tratti tenui ed eleganti dove le atmosfere dell'Oriente si mescolano fino a confondersi con i paesaggi malinconici e solitari del Nord Europa... .L'ascolto rivela sin da subito una grande ricerca compositiva nella quale l'incontro tra le diverse tradizioni musicali e la sperimentazione jazz dà vita ad un linguaggio musicale affascinante ed originale. OrangeTree è dunque un disco prezioso, che coniuga la ricerca sonora sulle tradizioni musicali e la sperimentazione.”

 

Orange Tree is a collection of delicate and elegant water colours where oriental atmospheres touch and merge with the melancholy of northern European lonely landscapes... . Listening to this work reveals the depth of the compositional labour in which different musical traditions and jazz experimentation produce a fascinating and original musical language. Orange Tree is therefore a precious album, which synthesises the sounds of tradition and experimentation.

 

 

:: AZIONE 31 (Switzerland) June 2011

 

- http://epaper.azione.ch/ee/azion/_main_/2011/06/27/026/article/7 

 “… qualche anno fa Elias Nardi, si è appropriato  di una tradizione strumentale non propriamente sua (ma dei suoi dirimpettai di mare) facendone qualcosa di nuovo e di originale.”

 

... In the last few years Elias Nardi has mastered an instrumental tradition that is not strictly his own (rather, his neighbours of the opposite shore of the Med) turning it into something new and original.

 

“ […] ha saputo articolare le scelte melodiche, di arrangiamento e di timbrica in modo non scontato: accanto all’oud emergono quindi con grande effetto la nyckelharpa di Didier François (uno strumento ad arco tutto da scoprire) e il basso fretless di Carlo La Manna, che compie il decisivo allontanamento della percezione da un ambito di sola musica sacralmente acustica.”

 

He has succeeded in weaving melody, arrangements and timbre inventively; other than the oud we find Didier François’ impressive nickelharpa and Carlo La Manna’s fretless bass which decisively distances the sound from the arena of traditional acoustic music.

 

 

:: FOLK RODDELS October 2011 (Belgium) 

 

- http://www.folkroddels.be/artikels/48133.html 

"Very expressive, boundless lustre music with a high carat quality in which the instrumental, compositional elements allow innumerable influences, ranging from oriental and Scandinavian timbres, concerning medieval, contemporary traditional music and jazz, and even a pinch of minimalism and progrock influences with an instrument palette of which you would not suspect that they could find each other."

 

 

:: BABELMED - the mediterranean cultures site - October 2011

 

-http://www.babelmed.net/

"Ascoltando e riascoltando questo disco … non posso fare a meno di pensare a Babelmed, tentativo di integrazione culturale dei paesi del Mediterraneo. La musica di Orange Tree potrebbe esserne la colonna sonora, così come una fetta di pane con olio e pomodoro fresco, il nutrimento condiviso."

 

Listening and re-listening to this album … I couldn’t help but think of BabelMed, striving to culturally integrate the countries of the Mediterrenean. Orange Tree could be its soundtrack, just as much as a slice of bread with oil and fresh tomato, shared nutrients.

 

 

:: LIRA Musikmagazin (Sweden)

 

- http://www.lira.se/article.asp?articleId=5487 

"A kind of art music with a folk sound, sometimes a bit intellectual, but mostly really interesting and very personal"

 

 

:: RSI Swiss Radio by Paolo Scarnecchia (Switzerland) - Orange Tree Review- December 2010 

 

- http://retedue.rsi.ch/home/networks/retedue/larecensione/2010/12/27/gennaio-2011.html?selectedAudio=3#Audio

 

 

:: fROOTS (Great Britain) - June 2011 N.336

 

Elias Nardi Quartet feat. Didier François - OrangeTree

[…] Belgian nyckelharpa player Didier François' provides the bowed strings with italian Elias Nardi's oud, joined by fretless bass and percussion […] an elegant listen.

 

 

:: LE CANARD FOLK (Belgium) March 2011

 

“Elias Nardi (oud) rencontre Didier François (nyckelharpa). Neuf compositions du sud, avec un instrument du nord qui s'intègre parfaitement, le tout supporté par la basse fretless de Carlo La Manna et les percussions d'Emmanuele Le Pera. Il s'agit en fait d'un enregsitrement en public, dans la région de Trento en Italie (www.eliasnardi.it ,www.zonedimusica.com). Marc Bauduin”

 

Elias Nardi (oud) meets Didier François (nickelharpa). Nine compositions from the south, with an instrument from the north which integrate each other perfectly, supported by Carlo la Manna’s fretless bass and Emanuele Le Pera’s percussions.  It’s actually a live recording in the italian Trentino region (www.eliasnardi.it , www.zonedimusica.com). Marc Bauduin