Tracklist
I. SCRAT Promenade I
II. Necessita'
III. SCRAT Promenade II
IV. Bituin Martino
V. Wait for Sleep
VI. Wandering about Levan Polka
VII. SCRAT Promenade III
VIII. Octopus
IX. Gitar
X. Monarch
XI. selfPortrait
XII. Maramures
XIII. Verde
XIV. Hidden Looks
The title has its origin from the concept of ‘pouring oil on troubled waters’, this phrase alludes to the calming effect of that oil has on wave action as it spreads over the surface of the sea. Very small quantities of oil can cover a surprisingly large area as it spreads into a layer just a few molecules in thickness. The surface tension of the oil layer has an effect similar to that of a thin skin and is highly effective at calming 'troubled' water. In this case the pouring of notes has a calming effect on the vibrations of the human soul.
The album is conceived as a ‘live concert’, for this reason the pieces are all on a single track on the cd. This concept has an influence also in the choice of the pauses between the different pieces.
The piano used for the recording session of the album is a rare Broadwood&Sons grandpiano, crafted in London, in 1893. It is very similar to the last grandpianos used by Beethoven himself. The choice of this instrument is due the colour of its sound, that is very difficult to find in modern granpianos.
This granpiano is tuned with the A3 at 432 Hz, because the use of the A3 at 440 Hz is not correct from an historical point of view. Moreover the tuning with the 432Hz is perceived by the human body in a way much more natural in comparison with the 440 Hz one.
The 3 ‘SCRAT Promenade’ carry the main theme of the album. It appears also in the intro of ‘Wait for Sleep’, in ‘Gitar’ and in ‘Hidden Looks’.
The flute appears in the SCRAT Promenade III, i.e. in the second part of the album. It is the ‘yang’ side of the music of this album.
There is a ghost track, ‘8 pieces of Brocades’. It is a piece divided into 8 sections, the title’s origin is from a series of 8 very important exercises of Qi Gong that usually are done before a session of Tai Qi.
The artwork is created by the artist Chiara Rovoletto, aka ROVOT. It is a A3 paper, bended in 5 parts aroung the cd.
This album arises from the experience of many live concerts and from the first 5 years development of the Nullo die sine nota project.