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WER045, March 2020

DALIA DONADIO Poem Pot Plays Pantano CD / Download Dalia Donadio - Voice Urs Müller - Guitar Raphael Walser - Bass

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Dalia Donadio is back: The new album Poem Pot Plays Pantano focuses on the work of Swiss-Sicilian poet Daniele Pantano. While poets of various origins romped about on the first album, the trio of singer Donadio, guitarist Urs Müller and bassist Raphael Walser now completely immerse themselves in Pantano's world: All texts come from the volume Dogs in Untended Fields / Hunde in verwahrlosten Feldern.

The way these poems come across ranges from subtly ironic to boldly grotesque. They address exile, translingualism and, in an un-Swiss manner, Switzerland. Although the red-and-white flag is flying and the almighty Alps provide inspiration, strong verbal imagery is also generated by games of chess, hot date markets and cold fjords.

The album presents itself as a heterogeneous aggregate: Casual jazz elements in Last Visit, free improvisations in Morning Walk and the singer-songwriter atmosphere of Writing the City create a broad array of temperatures. The coolly melancholic Mountain Life with bowed guitar makes way for the nervously fiery Vaudeville, full of improvisation. Thus, a finely woven triad is formed by Donadio's changeable voice, which sometimes quotes dreamily, like in Beyond the Stop Sign: Swiss Landscape, and sometimes insists resoundingly, like in Time, by Müller's electric guitar, which opens up expansive spaces, like in Eastern Village with Factory, and by Walser's double bass, which acoustically grounds, steers, brakes and drives, like in Late December.

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Dalia Donadio meldet sich zurück: Das neue Album Poem Pot Plays Pantano widmet sich dem Werk des Schweizerisch-Sizilianischen Poeten Daniele Pantano. Tummelten sich auf dem ersten Album noch Lyrikerinnen und Lyriker verschiedener Provenienz, taucht das Trio um die Sängerin Donadio, den Gitarristen Urs Müller und den Bassisten Raphael Walser nun ganz ein in Pantanos Welt: Sämtliche Texte stammen aus dem Band Dogs in Untended Fields / Hunde in verwahrlosten Feldern.

Fein-ironisch bis plakativ-grotesk klingen diese Gedichte, sie befassen sich mit Exil, mit Translingualismus, und auf unschweizerische Weise auch mit der Schweiz. Zwar weht die rot-weiss-rote Fahne, die allmächtigen Alpen inspirieren. Aber auch Schachspiele, heisse Dattelmärkte und kalte Fjorde sorgen für starke Sprachbilder.

Das Album präsentiert sich als heterogenes Aggregat: Lässige Jazz-Einschläge in Last visit, freie Improvisationen in Morning walk oder Singer-Songwriter-Atmosphäre in Writing the city sorgen für ein breites Temperaturspektrum. Das kühl-melancholische Mountain life mit gestrichener Gitarre wird abgelöst vom nervös-hitzigen Vaudeville voller Improvisation. So entsteht eine feingewobene Dreistimmigkeit aus Donadios wandelbarer Stimme, die mal träumerisch zitiert wie in Beyond the stop sign: Swiss Landscape, mal klangvoll insistiert wie in Time. Aus Müllers elektrischer Gitarre, die weite Räume öffnet wie in Eastern village with factory. Und aus Walsers Kontrabass, der akustisch erdet und lenkt, bremst und antreibt wie in Late December.

All Compositions by Dalia Donadio (SUISA)
Words by Daniele Pantano. www.pantano.ch
Published in Dogs in Untended Fields/Hunde in
verwahrlosten Feldern – Die Reihe Bd. 28,
2015 Wolfbach Verlag, Basel, Zürich, Rossdorf

Recorded and mixed by Hannes Kumke
from December 2017 to February 2018
Mastered by Manuel Egger (Suburban Sound
Recording Studio) in 2018
Pictures & Video Jela Hasler
Artwork by Studio Eusebio

With friendly support of
Wolfbach Verlag, Wide Ear Records
All rights reserved. + © 2020 Dalia Donadio

A warm thank you goes to all the people involved in
this production as well as to all the people who
inspire and support me in life like my dearest friends,
my family and Tobias Meier. You are the reason
– like the song.

Downloads coming soon.
> Dalia Donadio

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