Review: IL MAGO DEL GELATO - "Maledetta quell Notte" (Track by track)

There were many ice cream magicians in the Italian music scene. Unfortunately the equation quality music + experimentation + constant research + played music does not always result in success.

Perhaps our Ice Cream Wizard, in the end, doesn’t even care that much about the massification of their product, the mainstream and large-scale distribution.
They are interested in making a product of controlled origin, an excellent musical ice cream, composed of sounds and instruments, immediately recognizable and above all of great quality.

“Maledetta Nella Notte” is the first EP of the Milanese collective. A true sonic jewel which, starting from a Mediterranean background, crosses musical territories such as funk, Afrobeat, bossa and jazz.

A very talented and well thought out project. The atmospheres of the Magician are something cinematic (between Calibro 35, Pellegrino and Nu Genea and with a thought towards enlightened collectives like Snazzback or in the past like Working Week) that envelop you and make you enter a predominantly vintage, summery and Mediterranean where stories, loves, passions and intrigues come together under the sun.

The glue and the sound cream that is the secret ingredient of the Magician is a strictly instrumental mixture made of hints of vocoder, percussion, 80s synthesizers, roots guitars and a rhythm section of bass and drums that drags you into this fascinating atmosphere.

This alchemy is born by playing, playing and more playing. A continuous experimentation that originates in the most differentiated Milan, that of Via Padova, where more than fifty different ethnic groups and cultures coexist and mix; and then extended across the entire Mediterranean, embracing apparently unapproachable musical traditions.

Once tasted it will surely become your favorite sound ice cream… and you will never do without it again!!!

TRACK BY TRACK

GINGER

The song that opens the EP is a true identity manifesto. All the influences and different souls of the band are there: percussions drawn from a distant world, sounds with a Mediterranean flavor and rough vocoders accompanied by soft choral voices, all in a fresh blend, like a limoncello at the end of a dinner on the terrace with friends.

The rhythmic exoskeleton of the song aligns with the heartbeat and drags you into an irresistible dance. With its exotic grooves it is intertwined with a sound texture that ranges between roots guitars, 80s-flavored keyboards and moments of introspective psychedelia. The distorted organs refer to the tradition of the Italian soundtrack, and with Zenzero they begin the sound story of one of the most multicultural and characteristic streets of Milan: Via Padova, where everything begins and expands.

Hypnotic and ostinato bass, vigorous wind instruments and colorful percussion close the expressive palette of the piece, giving life to a fusion between funk and Afrobeat with an Italian disco aftertaste, a collective work full of ideas that does not preclude any rhythmic and sonic possibilities and manifests the desire to experiment by putting yourself out there and questioning yourself.

The text is a real mantra repeated throughout the song. Ginger is what I like, Ginger for me. Simple, direct and effective.

SARACEN

Rough and pressing groove overlaid by energizing melodies. Dance, sweat, bandana, burning skin. The words arrive as a sort of distant echo, they mix and yes

they confuse with the notes as well as with the thoughts of the listener, bringing back an almost dreamlike and at the same time erotic dimension. Bodies that stick together in the hottest hours of the day, silhouettes that get lost in the crowd of a market that could be that of a square in southern Italy, a French or Spanish port or an Arab souk.
Listening to this piece it is impossible to stay still, your feet move and so does something inside.

CURSED THAT NIGHT

The track that gives its name to the EP opens with a voice recorded as if from a message left on the answering machine which immediately places the song among the most intimate ones. In this piece the textual and therefore sung part becomes slightly more present, telling the chronicles of a troubled night, full of contrasting emotions and a romantic and melancholy atmosphere. We are enveloped by the warmth of the Fender Rhodes electric piano, enchanted by a gentle flute and carried away by a fluid rhythm that draws our curiosity from the beginning of the story to the epilogue.

The sound describes a foggy scenario, an old railing house on Via Padova from which a message can be heard on the answering machine. The nostalgic scent of the melodies is accompanied by choral voices and vocoders that embody the restlessness of the imaginary protagonist.

CHOCOLATE CHIP

Contrast and synthesis: crunchy, delirious and brazen. Unpredictable like what happens on stage at every concert. The song is a bold blend of elements: guitar riffs, whimsical keyboards and synths, vigorous horns and dreamy vocals. An energetic discharge that passes through the entire body. Intriguing and shocking, Stracciatella is one of the most identifying songs of Il Mago Del Gelato, which also shaped his sound around this composition.

ELIXIR

Pick a flower, the summer will end, dance in the street, the city disappears so Il Mago Del Gelato invites us in a collective ritual to leave the urban routine behind, overwhelmed by an electrifying and Mediterranean rush of disco music. The sound of the synthesizers is accompanied by accordion and mandolin, transporting the listener to the Italian coasts where the wind caresses us like the notes of a saxophone.

The percussion as always acts as a sonic biography of the project.

PLEASE CALL ME BACK

The EP ends with this song, a delirious and dreamlike epilogue. This conclusion recalls the flavors of the entire repertoire, intertwining sounds in a plot that places no limits on experimentation. The moments and sensations of this song are many, a journey through atmospheres and feelings that passes through a marked emotional climax.