Born in 1959 on the Venetian mainland to Italian and half-Austrian parents, Alessandro Pizzin has always had a close relationship with music thanks to the passion shared between parents and siblings - themselves musicians at various levels. Since his first significant musical experiences, his curiosity towards the possible frontiers of sound has been the guiding star of his approach to the art of sound. Starting with the situational improvisations in the second half of the '70s with the collective "FUNGUS", followed by the foundations of the "RUINS" band (in 1978), up to the complex multimedia realizations of the end of the '90s and subsequent work as Alieno de Bootes - his research path has always evolved in the awareness of the infinite combinations that sounds and noises can organize to tell, in turn, new and ever changing creative illusions.
Alessandro Pizzin - "In loving memory". Video from Street Dance (1997), Tableau 5 by OMO Dance Company. Choreography by Debbie Wilson.
Though Pizzin’s sonic fingerprint is present throughout many landmark recordings of the minimalist and experimental Venetian music scene, his groundbreaking works as a solo producer were only quietly released on his own EXPLORA label in the early 1990s - until now.
Received: Selected Works 1981-1993, compiled by Incidental Music in collaboration with the artist, provides a valuable retrospective overview of Pizzin's solo material - from some of his earliest Fluxus-inspired work of the 1980s to the rich sonic palette of his early '90s CD material.
The pieces featured on "Received" touch upon the atmospheric and polychromatic sounds of Pizzin's electronic work, often developed in conjunction with various occasions of art shows, grandiose chapel productions, and even a natural birth method training video - such as the ethereal Hiroshi Yoshimura-esque "Sunset on a hill" - a previously unreleased piece commissioned by a natural birth center in Venice. Other compositions, such as "In loving memory" and the previously unreleased "Francesco (live in studio)" exhibit the profound emotive range of Pizzin's compositions, at times evoking the eclectic environmental works of Brian Eno as well as Italian musical contemporaries Piero Milesi, Riccardo Sinigaglia, and Pepe Maina.
Compiled by Incidental Music in collaboration with the artist, Received: Selected Works 1981-1993 includes extensive track-by-track liner notes, giving a comprehensive and critical overview of Alessandro Pizzin’s solo career. Out on vinyl and digital formats December 13, 2019.
For more of Alessandro Pizzin’s work, please visit the Bandcamp page of Alessando’s present recording name - Alieno de Bootes - at https://alessandropizzin.bandcamp.com/
Photo credits from left to right
1. 1992 - Showcasing live SPETTRI (photo: Roberto Fraioli)
2. 1989 - Bunker Studio (photo: Uncredited)
3. 1991 Home Studio (photo: Rossana Bortolotto)
4. 1992 - Promo selfie for SPETTRI CD release
5. 1993 - Live on stage (photo: diegolandi fotografo / background images: Roberto Roseano)
6. 1984 - Noiselab Studio (photo: Anthony Louis Marasco)