Review: Blak Saagan - A Personal Voyage

Sometimes, just sometimes, I read snippets of press and internet buzz about an album and I just know that I'm gonna dig it, purely just on what I've read. Case in point is 'A Personal Voyage' by Blak Saagan (out on the veritable Maple Death Records)...in fact I would go so far as to say that I read the press release and thought that it was an album that had been recorded just for me, such was the number of boxes ticked: " Crazy mix of Italian library music, motorik beats, ambient/noise, slasher flicks and Italo psych"...yep, that's me sold! The inherent problem here, of course, is what happens if it does not live up to my, by now, stratospheric expectations? Dunno....it met them! Blak Saagan is an act about whom I'm I know precious little except it is the brainchild of Samuele Gottardello, the self-penned description "Ambient, drones and library music as soundtrack for science documentaries, space explorations and hypnagogic experiences" and the fact that 'A Personal Voyage' is a synth odyssey directly inspired by Carl Sagan. What I do know, however, is that this yet another album that is in he running for the best of the year thus far.

Kicking off with 'Oltre il Portale di Bowman' and its chiming homage to early seventies electronica that comes over as part soundtrack and part library music. The magic within those basic chords and melodies is transfixing...it has a hauntological vibe that is charming and evocative. 'Cavalcando la Cometa 67P' sees Gottardello channeling the early kosmische innovators with an irresistible motorik rhythm over which lay buzzing drones and retro synths...it has the same vibrancy and personality that made Neu! the legends that they are. 'È tutto calmo ora' is an initially more sombre affair that swaps the motorik rush for a more cosmic calmness - the drones are lush and deep and the comparisons to Tangerine Dream, Schulze etc are fairly inevitable...it has a depth and a richness that positively resonates....brilliant stuff! 'Atterraggio su Enceladus' could only have been produced by a Italian, it has the same spirit of experimentation and nods to past geniuses like Umiliani that makes the whole Italian Occult Psychedelia scene as vibrant and eclectic as it is...it is a melancholic exercise in atmosphere building. 'Miliardi di Galassie' sees things turn a bit yellow....it is a track that would fit nicely into any Giallo film of the seventies - strident synths over a pulsating beat all go to conjure an atmosphere of dread and suspense, but it still retains a delightful retro feel about it. So, halfway in and I'm waist deep into this album..to reiterate my point above, it feels like Gottardello made this album just for me.

'La fascia di Oort' is almost the point at which things turn distinctly synthwave, a much aligned 'genre' in some peoples' eyes, but something that, if done well, is quite excellent (think Carpenter Brut, Com Truise or Perturbator). However, this retains enough of the authentic seventies charm to stand it apart from this...if anything, it sounds like something from the excellent 'Cosmic Machine' compilations. '100,000 anni fa' goes back to that intersection between library music and soundtrack, but as with much great music, the sum is greater than the parts....another distinctly Italian foray that takes bits of Fabio Frizzi, the aforementioned Umiliani and even flashes of Stelvio Cipriani and moulds them into a track again deep in suspense and dread. 'La scoperta della Propulsione Solare' benefits from a Kraftwerkian motorik rhythm that underscores a little kosmische gem which leads on nicely to the Cluster stylings of 'Astronave Enzmann'....the manner in which Gottardello manages to combine influences from two musical heritages - those of the German krautrock pioneers and the Italian soundtrack/library giants is ingenious...nothing sounds incongruous or dissonent but rather they mould and weave together to form a whole new magical entity. The album is closed by the huge 'Da qualche parte, qualcosa attende di essere scoperto' which opens like undiscovered outtake from Vangelis' 'Bladerunner' score but evolves into another stellar soundscape full of deep drones and analogue synth loveliness...it is immersive as hell.

This is a staggeringly good album and one that takes aspects of many of the forms of music that I love and seamlessly melds them into a piece of work that has to heard to be believed. This is Blak Saagan's debut release and I can only assume that up until this point he has been immersing himself fully into obscure Italian soundtracks and albums of library music as well the krautrock/kosmische greats.....he sure as hell knows his music but rather than just recreate he re-invents and transmogrifys his influences into something..well..genius. 'A Personal Voyage' can be bought via the Maple Death Bandcamp page here and comes as download and in tape form.