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Swunk — Soundscapes
(Italy Sound Labs, 2017, CD)

by Henry Schneider, Published 2018-01-28

Soundscapes Cover art

Neapolitan quartet Swunk has released their second album on Italy Sound Lab. Their name can take on several meainings. From Old English, it means hard work, and it also is the conjunction of swing, funk, and fusion. No matter how you think of their name, the meaning is apropos of the eight instrumental tracks on Soundscapes. The first three tracks “Standing on the Shoulders of the Giant,” “Savmarine,” and “Preambolo Primaverile,” are gritty jazz funk fusion tunes with Saverio Giugliano’s skillful saxophone riffing front and center. It is not until we reach the fourth track, “Solaium,” that the music gets very interesting. This track starts out with a funky staccato guitar and saxophone riff and then turns dark and sinister with some fuzzy synths. Towards the end, energetic synths and Antonio Cece’s dissonant improvised guitar take over for the best track on the disc. Another interesting track is “118” with its dark progressive atmosphere, becoming quite catchy as you move through the piece. “Ore 22:00,” which I believe is 10 PM in Italian, is a laid back late night walk through an urban landscape with some cavernous sax. And the final two tracks, “Buddha” and “Travel,” revert back to the R&B funky jazz fusion of the first three tracks. Soundscapes may not exactly fit in with our Exposé readership, but there are moments of brilliance worth investigating.

Filed under: New releases, 2017 releases

Related artist(s): Swunk

 

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