About This Project
Giovanotti Mondani Meccanici – GMM (Materiali Sonori, 1985)
Unsettling electro-lounge music, cold and detached despite its jazzy and bossa shades. The decadent mood of these mainly instrumental tracks is a combination of breathy (but hardly human-sounding) synthetizers, programmed drumming, saxophone and subdued spoken-word roamings. There are a couple of cover versions, quite faithful as for the score, but totally transfigurated as for the final result: Duke Ellington’s “Caravan”, Gato Barbieri “Ultimo tango a Parigi”, Gilbert Bécaud’s “Et maintenant”.
The most direct comparisons is easily Tuxedomoon, but “GMM” might also remind Confusional Quartet and some “mutant disco” artists (Material for example).
The music of “GMM” wasn’t originally conceived to be released as an album. It’s actually just a collection/reworking of the soundtracks which the multimedia art open collective Giovanotti Mondani Meccanici conceived for their installations with the support of a bunch of collaborators. Maurizio Dami (Alexander Robotnick, a renown italo-disco artist) is the man behind the mixer, synths and drum pads of “GMM” and he co-wrote all of the tracks with Andrea Zingoni and Antonio Glessi, the core members of Giovanotti Mondani Meccanici.
The collective was founded in Florence in 1984 and is still active (though it officially disbanded in 1998), mainly in the field of visual art and videoclips.
Marco Sgrignoli (ilgolpeeluva, Ondarock)
GMM
A1 Love Supreme – Soprano Saxophone: Stefano Cantini 3:24
A2 Caravan (Ellington*, Mills*, Tizol*) Alto Saxophone: Diego Carraresi – Vocals: Victor Beard 4:43
A3 Au Jour De La Seperation – Vocals: Claude Guyot 1:40
A4 Last Tango in Paris (Barbieri*) – Tenor Saxophone: Stefano Cantini 3:26
A5 Flashman Swing – Alto Saxophone: Diego Carraresi – Piano: Maurizio Chigurni – Trumpet: Fabio Morgera) 2:48
A6 Back And Forth (Voice [Lead]: Marco Paoli – Voice [Second]: Maurizio Dami) 2:50
B1 Don’t Ask Me Why – Backing Vocals: Barbara De Stefani & Isabelle De Marchi, Guitar: Maurizio Dami, Lead Vocals: Irene N’Jie, Trumpet: Fabio Morgera 3:08
B2 Petite Soeur – Trumpet: Fabio Morgera, Vocals: Frederica Luti & Marina Bianchi, Voice: Claude Guyot, Martine Michellod 3:43
B3 No Fear Nor Destination – Vocals: Irene N’Jie, Victor Beard 2:46
B4 Ghimm’ Alid’l Benzin – Chorus: Barbara De Stefani & Isabelle De Marchi – Vocals: Marco Paoli, Maurizio Dami) 2:32
B5 Et Maintenant (Becaud*, Delanoe*) Vocals – Maurizio Dami 3:37
Recorded At – Emme Studio (Marzio Benelli)
Mixed At – Emme Studio
Design [Album Design], Artwork [Computer Portraits], Design Concept [Cover Concept] – Antonio
Glessi
Design Concept [Cover Concept] – Loretta Mugnai
Keyboards, Drum Programming, Recorded By, Mixed By – Maurizio Dami
Original release: Materiali Sonori 1985
MORE FROM GMM:
Music for Installations – In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida – GMM Suite – Movimenti Sul Fondo – Love Supreme