Includes guest appearance by Colin Edwin of iconic UK prog-rockers Porcupine Tree
Armonite, the instrumental rock collective led by composer Paolo Fosso and violinist Jacopo Bigi, signed with LA-based indie label Cleopatra Records for the release of their new album, “And the Stars Above”.
Armonite’s instrumental music is perfectly in line with the spirit of the label, especially now that Cleopatra expanded in the movie industry.
With the film division Cleopatra Entertainment, the company has distributed, developed, and produced several films most of which have a strong horror and/or music component, including The Devil’s Domain (starring Michael Madsen), The Black Room (starring Lin Shaye), Halloween Pussy Trap Kill! Kill! (featuring the voice of Dave Mustaine from Megadeth), The 27 Club (featuring Todd Rundgren), England Is Mine (Steven Morrissey bio-pic), A Street Cat Named Bob. “Working with Cleopatra has been great”, says Fosso, “They’re skilled and competent, I’m sure they will take Armonite to the next level. I’ve always been a great lover of movies and videogames, I was just moving forward to the composition of soundtrack music, so this collaboration comes right on cue”.
As with the previous album, “And the Stars Above” is an instrumental mix of electric violin, keyboards, bass, and drums with focus on the amazing and powerful electric violin, performed by Jacopo Bigi. Interpreting the music composed by keyboardist Paolo Fosso, Armonite also performs with bassists Colin Edwin (Porcupine Tree) and Alberto Fiorani, along with drummers Corrado Bertonazzi, Emiliano Cava, and Jasper Barendregt.
The sound of the album is more oriented to soundtrack music with textures that feel very immediate. “We consume tons of music every day, we can’t just stick to one genre”, says Fosso, “generally speaking, the album is rock, but with this idea of soundtrack music”.
Throughout the album, lingers a ghostly female voice, appearing and disappearing here and there before fully emerging in the band’s first song with lyrics, “Clouds Collide”. The track tells the story of a girl between time and memories.
“And the Stars Above” is a journey through 12 tracks, starting with “The March of the Stars” inspired by Dante’s Paradise and ending with “Ghosts”. The album also features two bonus tracks: a polyrhythmic piece for piano solo, “The Fire Dancer”, and the String Quartet “A Playful Day”.
Armonite have been awarded an Honorable Mention both in the Instrumental and Performance categories at the International Songwriting Competition 2017 from a top level jury including Tom Waits, Lorde, Bastille, Billy Cobham, Ziggy Marley, Don Omar, and Keane. With over 16,000 entries from 140 countries, this is a remarkable achievement of which they are extremely proud.
«We’re confident this is going to be a great release, with a rather peculiar view», says Fosso, «”The Sun is New Each Day” had a heavy compact sound… And the Stars Above is groovy, with different vibes across a bunch of genres. There’s something indie in this new sound that we’ve never explored before and it’s kind of sexy for us!»…”And the Stars above” is available on CD through the Cleopatra Records online store.
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