domenica 19 aprile 2015

URNA "Devours me" finally out on Mask of the Slave Records



Ritual acoustic mysticism, kosmikian wave, archaic percussion. URNA is Italian post-apocalyptic composer Gianluca Martucci. Using a wide variety of folk instruments, atmospheric recording environments and electronic manipulations, he has truly stretched the microverse of URNA to reflect the vacuous psychedelia of an ancient mind casting spells in a modern world. URNA explores these mysterious territories among tenebrous, misty and dilated sounds, primordial dances and mystical songs. New album, full length tape release, limited to 50 copies!

Limited edition tape 5 € + shipping

For order your copy write to: martucci79@gmail.com

For digital download please visit the Bandcamp page:

URNA "Cauchemar" review on African Paper

Hinter dem Namen Urna versteckt sich der italienische Ritualdröhner Gianluca Martucci, der neben der Musik auch als Maler und Tattoo Artist aktiv ist und bereits Artwork für Kinit Her gestaltet hat. Dass seine bisherigen Alben hierzulande, trotz Signings bei Slaughter Productions oder den rührigen Brave Mysteries, etwas untergegangen sind, mag eventuell auch dem unscheinbaren Namen geschuldet sein. Dem sollte man allerdings abhelfen, und sein neues Tape könnte da einen guten Einstieg bieten.
Laut Label verfolgt das 4 Track-Tape inhaltlich ein klar umrissenes Konzept und ist dem Dokumentieren und Exorzieren von Alpträumen gewidmet. Falls es um Martuccis eigene Nachtbesichte geht, so scheint er sie vor allem an seine Hörer weitergeben zu wollen, doch das macht gar nichts, denn m. E. hält sich der Schrecken auf „Couchemar“ ohnehin in Grenzen. Der Opener ist von der doomigen Schwere einer basslastigen Noisewand geprägt, die ein ordentliches Pathos aufbietet, um die Schicksalsschwere bestmöglich zu ästhetisieren. Durch jede Menge Unvorhergesehenes wird das Stück zwar spannender, wirkt daher aber auch weniger bedrückend: Melodieansätze lockern das Drone auf, das Klingeln einer Triangel (?) lässt kleine Lichtungen entstehen, Beckenrasseln nährt die Erwartung, dass hinter der nächsten Ecke sicher nichts Unspannendes lauert. Das Rasseln und Rauschen der Becken leitet dann auch über in das nächste, wesentlich ruhigere und subtilere Stück. Dezente Riffs, hintergründiges Rumoren und verfremdete Schreie dominieren auch den Rest, der die Schönheit des Angstraumes langsam in meditative Ruhe überführt.

Eine faszinierende, hypnotische Auszeit bietet „Couchemar“, so alptraumhaft wie ein besserer Gruselfilm, und ob das Ganze eher exorziert oder unterhält, ist vielleicht Neigungssache. Schon bald kann man sich in unseren Breiten davon auch live ein eigenes Bild machen, u.a. tritt Urna am 03.02. zusammen mit Human Larvae und anderen im Berliner Loophole auf. 

URNA "Liber Lelle" review on Metal RuleZ



Kolejna kaseta z Black Death prod. zawierająca dźwięki odległe o całe eony od metalu. Włoski projekt Urna tworzy bowiem utwory, którym najbliżej do ambientu. Co ciekawe, twórca tej muzyki(?) użył do nagrania tego materiału całej masy takich instrumentów jak dzwonki i masa innych przeszkadzajek, mandolina, gitara akustyczna, nawet akordeon… – ogólnie „akustyczne” klimaty. Przy czym oczywiście nie znajdziemy tutaj melodii, refrenów, riffów itd. Poszczególne dźwięki wyłaniają się z ciszy i szumu taśmy, tworząc ciekawe aczkolwiek bardzo minimalistyczne plamy, często pozostające na granicy słyszalności. Przez to słuchanie tego materiału wymaga niemałego skupienia – jeśli taśma leci sobie po prostu w tle wiele rzeczy zwyczajnie umyka! Wprawdzie nie ma tu przesadnego mroku czy przytłaczającej atmosfery, to jednak jest w tych dźwiękach coś niepokojącego; album na pierwszy rzut ucha może się wydawać po prostu nudny, ale jednak coś w tym jest i to „coś” sprawia, że jednak brnie się w te dźwięki głębiej i głębiej. Może nie jest to rzecz, do której wraca się często, jednak od czasu do czasu można sobie seans z tą Urną urządzić.

URNA "Cauchemar" review on Psychotropic Zone

Urna is an esoteric and psychedelic ambient drone solo project by Gianluca Martucci from Italy. He has been releasing limited edition CD-R's and tapes since the turn of the millennium. I have not heard anything by him before, but this tape limited to 100 copies sounds very intriguing. It includes four rather long tracks played with bass, voice, zither, tubular bells, tibetan bells, gong, cymbal, flute, drum, pungi, whisper and shruti box.


The first track "Umbra" is very tranquil, droney, deep and meditative, and I love it when the slow, echoed, and sacred sounding vocals are added later on. I'm in trance already! "A Worm in My Bed" is a bit more minimal and experimental and doesn't exactly do the same for my soul. On "Alp" the dark, ritualistic side of Martucci's atmospheric soundscapes comes forth even more. If you close your eyes and concentrate enough, you might be able to see visions of some weird, ancient pagan rituals... The title track "Cauchemar" gets maybe a bit closer to noise, but it's still a very enjoyable, although dark and perhaps somewhat scary trip into the subconscious. Try this out if you dare!

URNA "Cauchemar" review on Santa Sangre Magazine

Urna contains the musical diaries of an Italian sound-exorcist under the name of Gianluca Martucci, who seeks to “reflect the vacuous psychedelia of an ancient mind casting spells in a modern world”. Manifold and multiform sound sources configure a pantheistic musical tableau, carefully drawn on nuances of thoughts otherwise inaccessible to ordinary perception. His choice of materials range from various folk instruments combined and accessorized with field recordings to electronic manipulations. Although little known, Matucci is considerably experienced in the ambient genre and has been releasing his works since late 2000.
Simple, but proficiently enjoyable in their output, the formats of his discs show off the unadulterated nature of his musical development.
“Cauchemar” is being released in the now vestigial format of a cassette tape by Yerevan Tapes. The author is omnipresent within his work, delighting his audience with a variety of instruments like bass, voice, zither, tubular bells, tibetan bells, gong, cymbals, flute, drums, pungi, whispers, a shruti box…
The grey tape reveals four songs, each one favoring a sparkling, lively musical countenance. Martucci considers the notes as being immediate magical sigils against a mysterious flow of frequencies. First the spirit is delved into the “Urna” and wandered about on a futile bass line soothed by drops of evanescent percussions.
The abused ear of the underground music lover fails sometimes to ponder enough on works like this one: a comfortable lassitude and déjà-vu redundancy deafens the ear. What reawakens the numbed sense of hearing is a certain power of suggestion that, when wildly effective, tears asunder the wall of sufficiency. Once you have overcome such an obstacle, “A Worm In My Bed” enters your brain and stays there: it crawls gently and inoffensively, gradually attaining an uncomfortable radiance that makes one wonder where the shivers upon their skin are coming from.
On “Alp” the register is extended to loud soundscapes, thick drones that build a ziggurat of barely discernible dimensions in a centrifugal, slow movement. Innocuous twinkling notes appear out of nowhere and fissure this grey monolith, which now seems to be shifting shapes at the chants of a musical spell.

Martucci has strong connections with the black ambient and ritual folk scene. Lately he has contributed to J. Stillings (Steel Hook Prostheses) and Bathory Legion’s works and appeared in venues with In Gowan Ring or Sangre de Muerdago. The closing song, “Cauchemar”, is set up in the dark ritual musical territory with elements of magic and tribal acoustics. With hissing vigour the frequencies descend down to a bleak level and rest there at right angles within the world of haunted sleep. Entangled in this hallucinatory web of noises, the only hope is to know you are only dreaming.

Written by Iaha Crax

URNA "Cauchemar" review on The New Noise


Del partenopeo Gianluca Martucci ci siamo occupati varie volte, è in giro da una decina d’anni, e con all’attivo pure un paio di lavori per l’etichetta del mai dimenticato Marco Corbelli (Atrax Morgue, Kranivm), la Slaughter Productions. Questa nuova cassetta per la bolognese Yerevan Tapes si divide equamente in due pezzi per lato, tutti dall’afflato funereo e dall’incedere strettamente ritualistico. Chi si muove in certi territori sa che stiamo parlando di composizioni eteree ma allo stesso tempo porose e “pesanti”, quindi è preparato alla messa in pratica da parte di un officiante silenzioso e poco incline alla comunicazione, gli strumenti utilizzati sono i soliti: zither, percussioni varie, flauto, shruti box, e via elencando. L’interessante “A Worm In My Bed” è emblematica: parte trasognata, poi d’incanto il suono s’ispessisce e minaccia di tagliare contemporaneamente gole e sinapsi. “Alp” invece, che apre il secondo lato, è più sacrale, ha dalla sua quelle che sembrano delle strane, e spettrali, presenze che si aggirano in un’enorme chiesa abbandonata, alternate a lancinanti note acute che sono come aghi infilati nella testa. L’apertura di “Umbra” e la chiusura della title-track sono invece il classico suggello di una pubblicazione mirata agli appassionati del “genere” (ai quali consigliamo in maniera particolare questo Cauchemar).

Written by Maurizio Inchingoli