Various - Ologenesi mp3 album

This tape comes in an A5 plastic packet with a loose-leaf info pack included. This pack consists of an A4-folded-to-A5 sheet on each group involved (10) all with a similar front appearance, but with various bits & pieces - lyrics, art, group photos, line-ups etc - making each individual. It's a neat concept, written mostly in Italian, which really adds something to the tape.Side "Lato Olo" open with four pieces from GLOMMING GEEK - "Mad Butcher" which wears it's Gothic colours behind a ragged facade of off-key organ & whining guitar over a churning rhythm. "Under The Stone" has elements of BIRTHDAY PARTY to it - a barely restrained chaos, an ever-impendng violence, a staying off of pain. Indeed SPARTACO CORTESI's slightly sluggish delay gives the piece character. "Breathless" opens on a quirky fairground rhythm with the ragged guitar & drums smashed to a mindless concept. With an about-turn it becomes "So Hard", another medium-paced thing which could almost be NICK CAVE's old group! It has a certain compulsive something which gets you moving to it. All the lyrics for the GG tracks are in English. CIRCO BRAILLE offer the next two, starting with "Festa", a sort of Psychobilly version of the above group - an interesting development in a sound which never really wanted to advance. "Parte Vela" is a slower, more laid back piece, moody and reminding me strangely enough of GILBERT/LEWIS's "Ends With The Sea" a little, although the music is 'normal' - deep, echoing voice follows the skeletal, subtle drum/bass rhythm while the guitar enters occasionally, scrawling distant shapes onto the darkness. A superb piece of mood music. VELENI TEDESCHI bring us "Black From White", a gentle piece of Indie/Rock reminding me a little of early SIMPLE MINDS - a straightforward although spatial number with an Eastern-flavoured guitar flying overhead - it then nods more towards Punk than anything, with elements of METAL URBAINE, BUZZCOCKS in there somewhere - a simplistic track, but effective - bright & colourful. ROUTINE polish off this side for us with three tracks, first of which is "L'arma A Doppio Taglio" - thumpingly intense drums, bright washes of guitar and ... A Singer! This guy reminds me of sort of NEIL DIAMOND / TOM JONES with his strength & reach. The question is - is this what people want? This I cannot answer, but maybe you can. "L'Ultima Chance" again shows a strength to the voice over another medium-paced Rock number which is proficient enough not to be obvious. And on this you start to think 'is this guy gonna be the Italian Morrison?' - I cannot think of anyone else whose voice is quite this rich & strong. And it's a catchy song to boot. "Orizzonti" closes this side of the album, showing once more the strength of this group.Side 'Lato Genesi' opens with "After The Rage", the first of two from SOUL'S EMOTIONS - an Indie track with IAN CURTIS-like vocals. It has a 'local band' feel to it, blended with a JOY DIVISION moodiness. "Beyond The Wall Of Glass" builds a dark, almost stifling tune on a bright-but-cold drum machine beat which seems to add an atmosphere to the sound, rather than simply replace a drummer. Again it has the above mentioned group's sound while keeping their own identity. The next two are from VOXZEMA - "Koma" opening on a passive organ sound with a deep-voiced male singing over the top. After a while this accelerates into a fast Electronic Pop song nodding as much to, say, SOFT CELL, OMD, BLANCMANGE etc as to anyone else. It has some quirky moments, especially an odd little solo section. It's a catchy, physically-moving track which positively powers along. "Sex And Body" has a more EBM/Electro/Cyberpunk feel to it, like a hybrid CASSANDRA COMPLEX/OMD doing a radical cover version of "Body To Body". Next up comes a single track "Lost" by THANATOU MELOS (nice name) which is another Electronic Pop thing, this one even closer to SOFT CELL with leanings towards early ULTRAVOX. A nice track in a light 'n' poppy way. LE LOUP GAROU lopes in with the next two - the first, a sort of self-referring "Le Lycanthrope" begins on accordian then turns into a sort of passive Folk/Jazz thing which might have gone down well in the Twenties (?) - I'm not sure what you call this type of music, but it ain't modern, that's for sure! "Wait" is along similar lines - dance hall stuff with sax/horns sleazing along, acting as a foil for the strained PETE MURPHY voice which nods towards ROBERT SMITH towards it's conclusion. TERRAPIN offer just one - "Mentre Il Cigno Danza", opening on timpani and organ before being joined by 'normal drums and a NICO-like vocalist (only one letter out - NINO!). It's a strange little thing - the kind of quirkiness ATTRITION are capable of. The album closes with "Research" by WELTANSCHAUUNG - starting on sample/hold synth, gradually growing through melodic/harmonic, warm, pacifying waves of music, this sounds like an escapee from 4AD - this track would fit onto a COCTEAU TWINS or THIS MORTAL COIL album with no difficulty - a beautiful, sparkling thing, like a spring shower or sunlight playing on water - the voice of DANIELA MASTROLILLI combining perfectly with the cycling sparks of sound - New Age? Possibly, but with a certain sense of identity - not just faceless pastel sound.All in all a brief look into a label who's sound is varied and interesting - a god starting point for finding out what else they have on offer. Not every track will be to everyone's taste, but there are some gems here - worth getting into. While it doesn't really cater for the Industrial scene, those with open minds will find much to enjoy.Originally reviewed for Soft Watch.