The reissue of KIRA, the debut album by So Beast, originally released in 2016, is out on September 12th.
Listen to the streaming: https://orcd.co/kira-sobeast
Among the projects of Trovarobato’s editorial network is the intention to rediscover past music, even recent, from the bands the label has produced or collaborated with.
We decided to shed new light on the album with which the Italian-Croatian duo So Beast, based in Bologna, introduced themselves. They released their multifaceted album “Brilla” a year ago (Panico Dischi).
Kira is So Beast’s first work, composed during their first year of activity when their artistic language was heavily characterized by the use of free improvisation as both a performance practice and a compositional tool. Not only do the individual tracks’ structures allow for spontaneous creation, but the album itself was written with entirely improvised pieces recorded in the studio.
The core elements of the tracks are piano, drum machine, electric guitar, and voice, enriched by a multitude of other sounds, particularly metallic percussion and radio interference.
The album was recorded in Split, Croatia, in an underground studio housed within the spaces of an atomic shelter in the Split 3 district, a characteristic example of Balkan socialist architecture and a vast residential and social system.
So Beast envisioned this album as a flexible structure where free improvisation could flow into song form, which would, in turn, open up to spontaneous fluidity. Karmelo Marin played a crucial role in guiding and supporting this process, handling the technical aspects of the album, from recording to mixing, while also contributing artistically to the album’s production.
This album remains a faithful document of So Beast’s early days at the intersection of free improv, post-punk, no wave, and avant-garde.
credits:
Composed and played by So Beast
Recorded and mixed by Karmelo Marin in Split, Croatia
Mastered by Višeslav Laboš in Zagreb, Croatia
So Beast is Katarina Poklepović & Michele Quadri
Additional guitar on track 12: Karmelo Marin
Mix and bass guitar on track 12: Višeslav Laboš
tracklist:
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Intro Puntuale
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Dear Mother
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<
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The Lines Describing A Kone
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Deep Cracks
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Imagine
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The Room
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Divlja
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Nokturno
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Sleepy You
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Nevera
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Sex, Love and Cooking Oscillator
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Untitled
First released by the DIY label Time Released Sound from San Francisco, California, in December 2016, exclusively on the label’s Bandcamp and as a limited-edition CD. Now available on digital platforms.