Oteme - 2018 - Il Corpo Nel Sogno

(57:00; Ma.Ra.Cash Records)

Track list:
1. Rubidor #1 5:10
2. Il Corpo Nel Sogno 4:42
3. Neglibor 7:01
4. Blu Marrone 2:51
5. Sono Invisibile (Bolero Terzo) 7:22
6. Strippale 3:10
7. Un Paradiso Con Il Mal Di Testa 3:50
8. Il Cimitero Delle Fate 3:52
9. Di Passaggio 3:10
10. Prato Fiorito 6:34
11. Orfeo e Moira 5:52
12. Rubidor #2 3:26

Line-up:
Stefano Giannotti - vocals, guitars, bass, percussion
Valeria Marzocchi - flute, vocals
Lorenzo Del Pecchia - clarinet
Maicol Pucci - trumpet, flugelhorn
Marco Fagioli - tuba, trombone, siphon, harmonica, synth, electronics
Emanuela Lari - piano, keyboards, vocals
Valentina Cinquin - harp, vocals
Riccardo Ienna - percussion
Gabriele Stefani - vocals
Edgar Gomez - vocals
with:
Antonio Caggiano - vibraphone


Prolusion.
Italian project Oteme (short for Osservatorio delle Terre Emerse) have been around in one form or another since 2010, and revolve around the compositions made by band leader Stefano Giannotti. As of 2024 there have been four studio albums released under the Oteme moniker, of which the most recent appeared back in 2020.  The album "Il Corpo nel Sogno" was released through Italian label Ma.Ra.Cash Records and dates back to 2018, and this is the third of Oteme's four studio albums.

Analysis.
Oteme is a project that explore one of the more challenging aspects of progressive rock. Perhaps not challenging in a conventional manner, as intricate instrument manoeuvres and hard to grasp arrangements isn't at all what we are talking about here. Instead this is a form and variety of music that is distinctly different from what many other artists explore, music where there is space and room for the unconventional and the experimental.

On one hand this leads to some songs being minimalist and stripped down affairs, like the plucked harp and vocals dominated title track of the album, that draw upon impulses from folk music and classical music alike. We also get a more minimalist and unusual take on forays into more experimental waters, with a drone like accordion like texture as a dominant display in another composition with gentle reed instrument overlays and a metallic sound effect added towards the end. On a similar note, having a song featuring a slow moving electronic rhythm effect on top of a slightly distanced, traditional sounding and melancholic instrumental jazz tune is another example of what may be described as a bit of a minimalist approach to stripped down forays into an experimental landscape that probably will be deemed as progressive by default.

We also get more expressive creations, sometimes compositions with expressive elements all along and on other occasions with a more restrained use of a more expressive attitude and execution being used in recurring surges. In these cases we get impulses from folk music, classical music and jazz combining in different manners, and often with a bit of seasoning or flavoring from the field of electronic music as well as rock music. With quite a few instances of what one might describe as chamber rock, while on other occasions we may get gentler and more accessible affairs that if not in full then at least in part does come with sensibilities that might make these landscapes accessible also beyond a niche audience. That many of these more expressive constructions also has a tendency to include some whimsical displays probably merits a mention too: While not a light-hearted album, this isn't an album without light-hearted moments.

Conclusion.
For me, the landscapes explored by Oteme on this production reside inside of a very specific niche in the progressive rock universe. Whether one should describe it as experimental or avant-garde or make use of other expressions of a similar note, this is music that for many will come across as challenging. This is also an accessible example of this form of music, and while I can't ever see this as an album that will ever have a widespread appeal, it is the kind of production that may draw in more and new listeners to this variety of progressive rock. If accessible but still challenging forays into a world made up of experimental minimalism and whimsical expressive attitudes sounds like your kind of music, and you enjoy music of this kind to make use of impulses from folk music, classical music and jazz, then this is an album you probably should become more familiar with.

Olav "Progmessor" Björnsen, July 2024

Links:
https://oteme.com/
https://www.facebook.com/MaRaCashRecords/