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 Delli-Bovi Profile
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Realm Two
Deane Delli-Bovi and Kudzu
Critic Reviews
Reviewed by Judy Markworth
Reprinted with Permission of Wind and Wire Magazine
Somewhere out there is another world which exists in the shadows between darkness and light and only in the eye of the mind. Welcome to Realm Two.
Deane Delli-Bovi and Kudzu have joined forces on a concept album which they describe as a quest that takes them into an otherworld of unseen beauty in search of the source of all creativity. Along the way they discover that "things need not be seen with the eye nor touched with the hand to be real."
"Shadow Crossing" opens the door to Realm Two with a wash of chords and enigmatic sound effects. The music whispers, "Follow me." I feel absolutely compelled to enter and willingly follow.
What lies beyond the door, I know not. But as I cross the threshold, I become dazed while wondrous sounds literally swirl around me. As exhilarating rhythms enter, I feel as though I'm being pulled into "Somewhere". But where?
My daze turns to wonder as dark chords whirl about me. Out of the darkness, I hear an eerie groan that cries out to me for help. I look up to see the dim light of "A Lost Star" and take comfort in knowing that I'm not the only one lost. The star's eerie groan audibly becomes a bright twinkle as its fear dissipates.
The light of the star guides me to a lone flute player sitting beside a rushing stream. His song, the pulsing drone and the wind chimes blowing in the breeze fill me with curiosity as I move to see what lies beyond the crest of the hill before me. Upon reaching the crest, an indescribable combination of sounds fill my senses to capacity. They lift me up and carry me into the inconceivable "Valley of Tirmir".
On my "Return to Zutaan", I am met by faceless creatures. They dance around me as their angelic choir and hypnotic beat force me into a deep sleep. I awaken to a breathtaking sight as I find myself traveling on a "River in the Sky". The creatures have gone but their angelic choirs remain and carry me into ecstasy. The star I met earlier joins his light with that of the moon and guides me on, leaving me amongst the oddest of creatures. They invite me to join their "Thicket Dance". I laugh as I listen to a most amusing clarinet melody and try desperately to dance with them to the off beats.
As the sun finally creeps over the horizon, the lilting piano melody of "Lightfall" lingers in my mind even as "Voyagers" begins and I hear wind rushing through the trees. I am somehow aware that my journey is about to end. I refuse to leave until the bitter end and the unearthly synth guitar melody begs me to come back. I will come back but will my journey be the same?
You've all heard music and more than likely have been emotionally affected by it. But have you seen music or even touched it? Sound crazy? You may not think so after you've heard, or shall I say, been to Realm Two. For many, the source of creativity is elusive. Does its source reside within the shadows of Realm Two? I'm not sure. I can only tell you there is something incredibly compelling in those shadows.
Reviewed by Brad Biondo
What do you get when you cross a musical portrait artist with a multi-instrumentalist? A "contemporary instrumental fantasy" (description from the album cover) entitled "Realm Two". Kudzu and Deane Delli-Bovi have joined forces to compose, perform, and produce a most enjoyable collection of nine tracks that shows off both artists' styles and talents.
I was surprised to read a statement from Kudzu that "Realm Two" is such a departure in styles for Deane and him. Owning a copy of three of Deane's previous efforts and Kudzu's lone prior, I feel qualified to say they've managed to find a perfect blend of their styles - a seamless intertwining of each of their strengths. I even jotted down my guesses about a "dominant" artist for most of the songs (of course, I'm not going to make this public and end up embarrassing myself). I would imagine that this blending might have been more difficult than the average listener may think. I'm sure we can get a discussion going in the AfterTouch Cafe involving the artists.
I had looked forward to hearing this CD, since I've enjoyed both of these artists in the past. I wasn't disappointed in the least. The opening track, "Shadow Crossing", uses some very interesting, different instrumentation. There's a great combination of tonal and percussive qualities to each voice in the song. I get a sense of travelling from here to there, with a haunting/haunted (shadow) underpinning. This is followed by "Somewhere", in which I can feel the same sense of travelling, but without the darkness of the prior tune. These two cuts serve as a wonderful contrast to the third, "A Lost Star", which is devoid of any strict tempo or percussive beats. This one can easily fit into the space music genre, and the song's title is very apt. The lost star seems to be searching for something. There are some gorgeous electronic embellishments supporting this track.
At a length of 14 minutes and 31 seconds, track 4 - "Valley of Tirmir" - promised to be an adventure. I expected each artist to have their say in this one, and my expectations were met. The first section of the song has the highly visual effect of running water backed with a base tone (base with an 'e', not a string bass), wind chimes, and a lone melody provided by keyboard. I'm not sure "tone" is the right word - it's a barely noticeable sound that still manages to permeate the water and melody to help frame the picture. This eventually evolves into an orchestrated, more structured (with tempo) section. After returning to a "tempoless" stretch, the water goes into a beautiful melody with bass and keyboard support, and finally returns to the beginnings of the journey with just the water. This is an absolutely gorgeous track.
"Return to Zutaan" is an intriguing number that starts off with a native beat and "ahhh" voices are built onto it. Then instrumentation is added so that it's like having a song superimposed on the structure provided by the drums. I found it very effective. Contrasting this is "River in the Sky", a song with another great title. This one drifts in and out while inserting splashes of musical color, painting the river. And then for something completely different, "Thicket Dance" could almost be called a jazz tune, but the instrumentation is wild. You have to hear it to believe it. Every once in a while, you can hear a "traditional" measure or two, and then they change the time signature. This one is one of my favorites.
"Lightfall" is a somewhat short interlude that leads into the finale, "Voyagers". This selection projects a deep sense of anticipation. That anticipation is resolved with what sounds like an electric guitar solo played on a keyboard. I look forward to hearing from Deane and Kudzu in the cafe to find out how this was accomplished. It's a great, great sound.
I interpret the title of the last cut to be a description of the artists in undertaking this project. I would venture to guess that putting this album together was felt to be an experiment at times, and in that sense, a voyage for each to stretch their musical beings into one, cohesive, coherent blend of music. "Realm Two" is all that and more. The variety and choice of instrumentation is masterful. I hope this serves as a great illustration of what collaborative efforts can produce, and that it spurs on more such projects, both by these two and by other CMC members. Bravo, gentlemen, it is well worth the time and energy you spent.
Follow-Up from Kudzu
Thanks for the nice review of "Realm Two" from a music connoiseur's (in the most literal meaning of the word) point of view.
>I was surprised to read a statement from Kudzu that "Realm Two" is such a
>departure in styles for Deane and him.
Maybe it felt like a bigger departure to us than it actually was, and that is exactly why input from people like you is so important to us ... especially given the fact that you ARE so familiar with each of our previous works.
When Deane and I first started discussing the collaboration, we both agreed that we wanted to use each of our strengths to the fullest advantage to create an album of music unlike anything either of us had ever done before. However, at the same time I had no desire to produce another "Evolutions" ... and Deane was itching to experiment with something a little more "new agey" than his previous cds.To that end, we deliberately "departed".
But I simply can not work on a cd that is not a concept album. (That's what an "album" is to me -- a collection of compositions with a common theme and storyline running through it ... not ten or twelve arbitrarily chosen and unrelated pieces of music. I have to have the album's concept (what is it about? where is it going?) planted firmly in my mind before I can even begin to write the music for it. (Seemslogical to me.) Then, since I rely so heavily on imagery for inspiration, I imagine the visual equivalent of the concept and translate those visual images into music.
The concept of "Realm Two" (two voyagers in search of the source of all creation) seemed like the perfect premise through which both Deane and I could pursue our common goal.
>I feel qualified to say they've
>managed to find a perfect blend of their styles - a seamless intertwining of
>each of their strengths.
That, of course, WAS our common goal (and the ultimate goal of any successful collaboration, by the way.) There were no compromises. We BOTH had to like everything that made it to the final version of the album. Much more music was written for this project than was used.
>I even jotted down my guesses about a "dominant"
>artist for most of the songs (of course, I'm not going to make this public
>and end up embarrassing myself <g>).
Ahh, come on ... you wouldn't be the first. And it shouldn't be embarrassing anyway. I think we did a helluva job "disguising" ourselves.<VBG> Remember, I was familiar with Deane's work, too, before starting this project .. and he mine.
>"Voyagers". This selection projects a deep sense of anticipation. That
>anticipation is resolved with what sounds like an electric guitar solo
>played on a keyboard. I look forward to hearing from Deane and Kudzu in the
>cafe to find out how this was accomplished. It's a great, great sound.
Well, hell, okay then ... one comment: The "soaring guitar" to which you refer was indeed performed by Mr. Delli-Bovi right here at Treecastle on my Kawai K4 keyboard using a Korg Wavestation patch. Later, I doubled the part in the mix and transposed the clone an octave down, washed it in reverb, and then mixed it way to the back, providing a subtle harmonic effect more than anything else to the solo guitar part. That's all I'm giving away ... for now.
>I interpret the title of the last cut to be a description of the artists in
>undertaking this project.
You could not be more right. "Voyagers" is a microcosm of the entire album. Our biggest decision was whether to open with it ... or close with it. Eventually, the final "hanging" guitar note begged to end the adventure ...and the cd.
>I would venture to guess that putting this album
>together was felt to be an experiment at times, and in that sense, a voyage
>for each to stretch their musical beings into one, cohesive, coherent blend
>of music. "Realm Two" is all that and more. The variety and choice of
>instrumentation is masterful. I hope this serves as a great illustration of
>what collaborative efforts can produce, and that it spurs on more such
>projects, both by these two and by other CMC members. Bravo, gentlemen, it
>is well worth the time and energy you spent.
It is now, Brad! Thank you.
Response from Brad Biondo
>When Deane and I first started discussing the collaboration, we both agreed
>that we wanted to use each of our strengths to the fullest advantage to
>create an album of music unlike anything either of us had ever done before.
>However, at the same time I had no desire to produce another "Evolutions"
>... and Deane was itching to experiment with something a little more "new
>agey" than his previous cds.
>To that end, we deliberately "departed".
Now I feel like I've diminished the effort this project must have taken. The fact that you found such a great blend is really a departure in itself. Beyond that, I think you found the best of both worlds by keeping a hint of your own identities at the same time.
Back from Kudzu
>Now I feel like I've diminished the effort this project must have taken.
I think a composer's natural instincts will always creep into everything he does ... especially when working alone. Working with a partner, though, creates a great buffer and really "forces" you to another level of creativity ... perhaps even forces you out of your own habits. (You'll learn more about golf playing one round with Tiger Woods than you will learn in a lifetime of playing alone.)
For the sake of discussion, here are what I considered to be the biggest differences in mine and Deane's "natural" musical tendencies:
Deane uses a lot of improvisation. My music is deliberately calculated for effect. Deane's music is more melody based, mine more atmospheric. Deane's "jazzier" style is probably more immediately accessible to more people, while my surreal nature gets a lot of those, "What the hell was that?" looks.
These are all things that WE acknowledged and attempted to "blend" in the course of producing the "Realm Two" cd, and the inarguable fact is this: Neither Deane nor myself could have ever created "Realm Two" alone.
Some of you who are familiar with both Deane's and my own work prior to this collaboration might note other things, and your comments are more than welcome ... even if you disagree.
Hell, Deane might even disagree ... but it's too late now, bro! <VBG>
Reviewed by Holly Day, Flow Online 6/98
"CD, 58 minutes Beautiful, ambient instrumentals impeccably recorded and produced. The whole disc is incredibly peaceful to listen to, and will definitely suck an hour out of your day without you even being aware of it. The basic theme to the disc seems to be space travel or just space in general - this would make a wonderful soundtrack to some sort of animated feature about the same or a time-lapse photography piece about...things, you know, like flowers blooming or condensed traffic reports or the sort of stuff projected against the ceiling of a planetarium, that sort of stuff."
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