Summer in warm-as-hell dusty Mediterranean landscapes; the immensity of vast olive groves; ancient rituals, traditions, superstitions… That is where potential listeners should be transported to when listening to “Canicola”. This work is the last and adventurous creation of Italian duo Heroin In Tahiti, and has been released in cassette-only format by No=Fi Recordings. The two members this act consists of, i.e. Valerio Mattioli and Francesco de Figuereido, have given birth to a purely psychedelic sound sculpture that incorporates the essence of the Mezzogiorno region. Based on Ernesto De Martino’s anthropological essays “South and Magic” and “The Land of Remorse”, “Canicola” represents a step forward for these two artists after their remarkable “Death Surf”.
Heroin In Tahiti offers a traditional Southern Italian atmosphere that may recall Sergio Leone’s westerns (no cowboys thought), but incorporating an undoubtedly avant-garde and futuristic perspective. The duo manages to combine reality and illusion in seven tracks that not only share the same arid environment, but a killer manipulation of waves, filters, effects and psychedelic guitars. Side A consists of a single 18 minute-long piece also entitled “Canicola”. The song is a mind journey in itself. Kaleidoscopic and psychotropic, it is built upon sound crafting and as they state, “[“Canicola”] is a long, hallucinatory track which evokes the tyrannic heath and the mourning chants of a Mediterranean summer among ruins, olive trees and abandoned churches”. Side B consists of five short tracks which are wrapped around Italian folklore and include vocal samples of Alan Lomax and Diego Carpitella's field recordings in Southern Italy during the 50s. “C'è La Morte Che Ti Cerca E Tu Sei In Giro” suggests a tedious passage of time, maybe obscure, or ironically claustrophobic, but always under the perpetual presence of the Sun. “La Madonna” is truly powerful and cyclical, with clockwork ritualistic rhythms and backwards guitars, as well as an explicit criticism to Catholic myths and superstitions. Also, “Agri Deserti” and “Atlantropa (Panorama)” share the spirit of the seven tracks: the Sun, limitless oceans of golden wheat fields and the mysterious and dark myriad of traditions. “Granaglia”, which is the magnificent last track on the tape, combines traditional percussions and chants with distorted guitars and synth layers. This combination underlines the interest Heroin In Tahiti show for giving voice to De Martino’s perspective on the Southern Italian society of the 50s through a cultural movement they themselves describe as “neorealist psychedelia”.
“Canicola” uses psychedelic and experimental genres, languishing guitars and countless effects as a springboard to dive deep into the fascinating culture of Southern Italy. In line with other acts included in the Italian Occult Psychedelia, such as Father Murphy and Cannibal Movie, or even Americans Savage Republic, the duo paints summer Mediterranean landscapes and intermingle them with ancestral local beliefs and customs. Thanks to their completely boundless composition process, Heroin In Tahiti have managed to create a highly evocative and unique sound. Do not miss it.
