Yo Yo Mundi - Munfrâ_ENG by Yo Yo Mundi

Yo Yo Mundi, “Munfrâ”
“A local album that is going very far”

This album is produced by the legendary record label Felmay and distributed by Egea – it is the result of four years’ research and compositions. Yo Yo Mundi take you on an exploratory journey through their Monferrato, a land to discover. This album is made of folk songs floating between “wild” music of the band from Acqui (a definition coined by Paolo Conte) and a variety of little stories discovered amid history’s events. Some tracks deal with chants in dialect; a very ancient language that has been heavily influenced and turned into sound itself.
Paolo Conte, native of the Monferrato, described Munfrâ as a brush stroke and said: “I am listening to my Monferrato […] this wonderful record by Yo Yo Mundi which is dedicated to this land (mine and theirs). I am appreciating the colourful sadness of these songs in which the frequent use of the minor tone (due to harmony reasons) does not create a feeling of sadness and abandonment, but a never ending dance between light and darkness. […] On these ancient two-four and three-four time rhythms Yo Yo Mundi have worked with excellent orchestrations which court and set this magic box that is the accordion, tower of Babe and queen of Saba, on fire.”
Have fun listening to it and enjoy the ride within Munfrâ-Monferrato by Yo Yo Mundi.

1. Carvé 1928 (Carnival 1928) | The lyrics of this song are about the carnival which was celebrated in Acqui Terme at the end of the 1920s. In particular about an allegorical wagon shaped like an airship. This is a playful hymn to festivities and company. The wind section of the Bandarotta Fraudolenta and the lap steel guitar enhance the edgy atmosphere of this song.
2. Sstéila (Star) | In this carol love, the stars that shine in the night sky and amusement interweave with the colours, the sounds and the scents of celebration. You can listen to Steve Wickham’s violin and the voice of Elisabetta Gagliardi in this song.
3. Il Grande Libro Dell’ombra (The Big Shadows’ Book) | Beyond life there is the big shadows’ book. Between its pages rest lost, unknown and forgotten stories. If you flip through these pages suddenly dreams become memory and they entwine with reality. The bagpipes of Hevia wrap this song in magic.
4. Na Bèla Còrba Ed Nìule (A good harvest of clouds) | Luigi Tenco is looking down on his homeland (the Monferrato) during a summer day. It is the time when all the inhabitants, motionless due to the heat, await the arrival of the wind of Monferrato. This wind will enable them to begin with the harvest celebration. We can listen again to Steve Wickham’s violin and the hurdy of Sergio Berardo (Lou Dalfin).
5. Léngua Ed Ssu (Sun’s tongue) | This song tells about the wait for the arrival of spring, the perturbations which precede this arrival – characterized by the accordion that torments us – and the suspicion that the feelings that pervade us are the same ones which change the world. The YYM are accompanied by the Banda Osiris.
6. Tè Chi T’éi? (Who are you?) | This track is about the Monferrato as a meeting point and a place of integration. Two men meet on a field which “seems like a sea”. One is an inhabitant of this place whereas the other is a stranger. They both ask in their own language “who are you?”, then break bread and drink wine. They recognize that they are the “same”. Nabil Salameh from Radioderwish lends his voice to the stranger.
7. Rataràura (Bat) | The introduction is made of rhymes which are dedicated to the creatures of the night. The song is a playful chant dedicated to diversity. Often diversity is perceived as irritating, seen as foolishness or even considered a danger. The bat’s dance is enjoyment turned into music. It compares the so called normality with weirdness and bizarre behaviours typical of everything that is “out of the ordinary”. Rataràura is one of the songs that Paolo Conte described as “masterpiece”.
8. Rabdomantiko | YYM wanted to dedicated this song, which tells the story of a romantic dowser, to the political movement called “Water as common good”. On this track we can hear Betty Zambruno’s female voice and the winds of Mario Arcari (collaborator amongst others of Fabrizio De André and Ivano Fossati)

Contact: impazienza@yoyomundi.com

Contains tracks

• Rataràura by Yo Yo Mundi
• Tè chi T'éi by Yo Yo Mundi
• Rabdomantiko by Yo Yo Mundi
• Na bèla còrba ed nìule by Yo Yo Mundi
• Il grande libro dell'ombra by Yo Yo Mundi