- Gabriele Filippi
- November 2020
- 5 min.
- 1137 views
Inspired by musicians such as Lucio Battisti, Lucio Dalla, Pino Daniele, Niccolò Fabi, and Riccardo Sinigalli – some of the most notable artists of the Italian songwriting chapter – Eduardo De Felice demonstrates that the secret is not in pushing the meter to the limit or struggling to invent something that does not exist yet.
Singer-songwriter born in Naples in 1981 and grew up listening to the records of Lucio Battisti and other renowned artists who made Italian music of the 70s and 80s a great act of musical poetry, Eduardo De Felice approached the piano at the age of 12.
Eduardo started his musical career playing as a keyboard player in several projects. He began writing his first songs in the early 2000s as a natural continuation of a series of demos and participation in some awards, including Castrocaro in 2006 and 2007, and SanRemoLab (2006 semifinalist).
After a hiatus that kept him away from the music scene for a few years, in 2014, the meeting with Luigi Libra, Italian singer-songwriter ambassador of the Neapolitan song in the world, spurs Eduardo to get back into the game. Their collaboration led them to produce “Viaggio di Ritorno,” debut EP for Eduardo he released with the Italian label Halidon.
In 2016 De Felice embarked on a crowdfunding campaign on Musicraiser that will lead him to record the single “Succede Così” and to prepare the next project, which arrived in 2018, with the release of the single “Cosa Posso Farci.”
Anticipation of the album “È Cosi,” the single came out with Apogeo Records label, as a collaboration with and under the artistic direction of Claudio Domestico, aka Gnut, a songwriter, guitarist, producer, and soundtracks composer with multiple inspirations, from blues to African music, up to that of Neapolitan tradition.
In 2019 Eduardo renewed the artistic partnership with Gnut, which led them to create a new album, “Ordine e Disordine,” released in autumn 2020 for Apogeo.
“Ordine e Disordine” is a ten-track album with a peculiar intimate soul, musically rich and imbued with an acoustic aura. Here, De Felice’s artistic sensibility allows the entire work to open up to the contamination of various genres while maintaining a personal and recognizable style.
Although at first listen you could relate to the disc as a release from the past, the expressive strength of “Ordine e Disordine” sojourns precisely in being free from the logic of today’s music market, placing the focus on music as a personal pleasure.
Rather than muddying the delivery in the loudness war or wanting to reinvent the song form at all costs, “Ordine e Disordine” captures and returns the genuineness of that pop songwriting matrix that allows the author to range towards other genres, without distorting or contaminate the imprint of the entire work.
Here at the center of everything is music and emotions even before the individual artist needs to emerge or be noticed. It is as if De Felice made himself an instrument at the service of his own music. The freedom to expand and reach you he grants to his notes and lyrics is an impeccable value.
Of course, it remains a reflective disc, born from the disorder of scattered thoughts accumulated over time. Still, the action of rearranging them offers an amazing dualism with the touch given by the artistic direction of Gnut.
In some ways, we could summarize the album by defining it as a folk journey, between that order and disorder of our days, with events happening between nostalgic mists and awakenings from dark depths.
An album made of perceptions, the ten tracks of this album are postcards that portray glimpses of shared journeys and landscapes, magically suspended between present and past. It is rich in the use of acoustic instruments. The electric and acoustic guitar and the double bass combine with percussion, drums, piano, and organ, corroborating the intelligent use of more classical instruments, typical of traditional music, namely mandolin, mandocello, violin, and viola.
Eduardo says he is inspired by musicians such as Lucio Battisti, Lucio Dalla, Pino Daniele, Niccolò Fabi, and Riccardo Sinigalli, known as some of the most notable artists of the Italian songwriting chapter.
That of “Ordine e Disordine” is an acoustic and intimate sound that presents multiple nuances. Indeed, it is a very different work than the previous ones released by De Felice.
The impression is that the artist has been capable of making a significant evolutionary leap, not only musically but also for the topics covered. Somehow he seems to have gotten closer to the world of Gnut, and the result is an outstanding work that suggests how this could be just the beginning of a new arousing creative cycle for Eduardo.
To seal this remarkable artistic sensibility, we wish to highlight the album’s title track as the perfect synthesis of the ultimate horizon to which De Felice has raised his creative caliber.
In reality, it is almost impossible to contain the full amplitude of this album in one song. However, the title track conveys that delicate balance between suggestion, emotion, and introspective delicacy that fuels the entire release.
Moreover, this track could be material for analysis, deserving study, and attention for days. Indeed, it is a formidable manifesto by itself, demonstrating how, even today, it is possible to dictate the line, even remaining faithful to the canons of more classical or traditional music.
As De Felice and Gnut show us, the secret is not in pushing the meter to the limit or struggling to invent something that does not exist yet. The secret is in getting naked, looking for innovation in the genuineness of one’s way of being. Starting from within the artist, not from means that are outside of himself.
Among the most interesting discoveries we’ve made in many months now, we can’t wait to hear the next work from this inspired artist.
Listen now to “Ordine e Disordine, the title track from the latest album by Eduardo De Felice, available in streaming on all major digital platforms. You can find your favorite via lnkfi.re/OrdineDisordine
To know more about Eduardo De Felice and his music, find and follow him all over the web by checking the links below:
You can also discover “Ordine e Disordine” by listening to our playlist NOVA ERA, a weekly rotation featuring an eclectic selection of artists covered by Nova MUSIC blog.
- .: Nova MUSIC blog // November 2020