MALATO

"Avant Pop Muzak"

Old Europa Cafe / Misty Circles - 2007

CDr - 180 copies

MALATO (Italian for "sick") is the new big hit coming from Rome's industrial scene and brought to us, as usual, by the combined forces of Old Europa Cafe and Misty Circles. If you've been following this unique environment of crazy experimentalists and noise-makers, you'll surely recognize most of the thugs standing on the cover in their elegant mod uniforms: all of them are or were previously active in bands like Ain Soph, The Sentinels, Circus Joy and NL4T. ClauDEDI, historical ex-member of Ain Soph, is the original promoter of this new band, originally born as a solo noise project, and then eventually extended with a full line-up.

"Avant Pop Muzak" is an EP of seven tracks, including a collaboration with Kenji Siratori and two illustrious remixes operated by the likes of Mz.412 and Folkstorm. The music of MALATO stays very true to the CD's title, it's a cross between industrial, electronic new wave, rhythmic noise and downtempo, with great use of percussions, Theremin, synths, kaos pad, and pissed off vocals declaiming sharp lyrics. Track titles such as "UNI", "VS", "VDC" or "B12" are cold and aseptic, yet the music sounds surprisingly warm, dancey and almost catchy. Pop? Avant pop for sure, or better MODernist pop, if you look at the guys' clothes and the scheme of a Lambretta scooter reproduced inside the record's sleeve.

Kenji Siratori's hallucinated spoken word, here sounding a lot like Skinny Puppy's Ogre, contributes to "Digital Vampire", which could have been an old-school EBM hit of the early 1990s' and shows how MALATO could easily break into European underground dancefloors if that was their intention. Mz.412 and Folkstorm, finally, put their personal touch on "UNI", the most industrial-friendly of the EP's tracks.

After more than 25 years, Rome's industrial scene keeps spawning new fascinating offsprings, and MALATO is surely one of the best seen in the last years. "Avant Pop Muzak" is a very tasty proof of their capacities, and surely a promise of other excellent forthcoming works. Highly recommended!

- Simon V.

Website: http://www.oldeuropacafe.com

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/malato0