""Our Japanese Collection" kunne Polvere vel n?rmest have kaldt denne 10", for selvom duoen er fra Italien, og pladen er udsendt p? det tjekkiske selskab Minority Records, s? kredser den i s?rlig grad om japanske stemninger og lydkilder. De to improvisationsmusikere Xabier Iriondo og Mattia Coletti, der sammen udg?r Polvere, indspillede de seks sk?rringer til pladen kort efter hjemkomsten fra et to ugers ophold i Japan. Selvom to uger m?ske ikke synes af s? meget, s? havde opholdet ?benbart alligevel pr?get Iriondo og Coletti s? meget, at de bare m?tte nedf?lde indtrykkende i musikalske forl?b. Det er der kommet en plade ud af, der ikke bare henter tydelig inspiration fra Japans rige tradition for improv og psych-folk, men ogs? helt konkret lukker lyde fra Japan ind i form af b?de traditionelle japanske instrumenter som kotoen og i form af en m?ngde gamle japanske 78 rpm-plader, som duoen ?benbart fik samlet sammen derovre. Polvere fors?ger dog ikke at lave en imitation af japansk musik. De lader sig forf?re af stemninger og lyde, men de bruger samtidig disse til at skabe noget personligt. Ofte tager de helt konkret udgangspunkt i musik fra en af de gamle plader, som de lader snurre i rummet, hvorp? de improviserer hen over musikken ? ofte med forbl?ffende smukke resultater til f?lge. H?r bare nummeret "78 [Traditional]", som netop er det ? en traditionel japansk sang afspillet fra en 78 rpm-plade hen over hvilken gruppen alts? spiller og skaber noget meget personligt, samtidig med at de udviser en stor resonans for sangens vemodige atmosf?re. Ellers byder pladen p? masser af glimrende psychedelia, free-folk og outrock, is?r domineret af st?vede og messende guitarer, men ogs? med brug af b?de skramlet percussion, ukulele, elektroniske droner, feedback-genereret st?j og meget andet. Det er undertiden ganske sv?rt at afg?re, hvorn?r Polvere egentlig spiller, og hvorn?r musikken stammer fra de fundne lydkilder. Og det er afgjort en styrke, at Polvere form?r at skabe en s? organisk helhed p? baggrund af vraggods fra s? mange forskellige steder. De form?r at definere deres helt eget musikalske rum, hvor tr?de fra st?vet americana og blues, japansk folk/improv og europ?isk neo-krautrock flyder sammen p? fornem vis. Og tilmed med stor dynamik og variation, idet duoen favner s?vel det helt sarte som det eksplosive. H?r f.eks. det fremragende nummer "... And if you slam the door [to Fabio Magistrali]", der bygges op til et virkeligt intenst klimaks, som Godspeed You! Black Emperor n?ppe kunne have skabt bedre, med lag p? lag af st?rkt guitarspil og piskende trommer. Herefter glider nummeret over i det mere d?sige afslutningsnummer "Almsgiving Blues Reprise", hvor Coletti lader et mumlende sangforedrag lyde. Numrene glider i det hele taget um?rkeligt over i hinanden, og selvom tracklisten alts? fremviser seks titler, s? kan man argumentere for, at der egentlig snarere er tale om to sammenh?ngende suiter; en for hver pladeside. Igen fornemmer man ambitionen om at skabe organisk helhed. Produktionen er godt udf?rt med masser af rum til de forskellige lydkilder, s? lyden ikke bliver mudret p? trods af de mange lag i musikken. Samtidig har det hele en r? kant, der f?r de bluesede guitarfigurer og de forskellige skramlede lyde og gamle plader til at klinge med en sk?v sensualitet. Hertil skal Polvere afgjort roses for deres ?konomiseren med virkemidlerne og deres evne til at sk?re ind til benet p? de rigtige tidspunkter. De tr?kker ikke tingene i langdrag, hvilket der ellers rigtig nok er mange inden for denne form for musik, der g?r. Hvor megen improv str?kker sig over meget lange tidsrum, hvor man s? rammer et par klimakser undervejs, men ogs? skal igennem en del l?ngere ?rkenvandringer, s? skaber Polvere sm?, fort?ttede forl?b, hvor de ofte alligevel f?r sagt lige s? meget, som mange andre folk skal bruge mindst en halv time p?. Selvom numrene er ret korte, suges man alligevel ind i de suggestive passager. Og pladens samlede spilletid p? ca. 20 minutter synes s?ledes helt igennem passende, ja, faktisk er det en lise med en improv-plade, der fatter sig i korthed og pr?cision. Der er alts? mange gode grunde til at f? fingrene i en af de 500 eksemplarer, som denne uds?gte forn?jelse er trykt i. "

"Eine der Perlen, die das Prager Label zu bieten hat, neben lokalen Acts wie Gnu, OTK und Point und C und Waawe aus Tabor oder auch Cheval De Frise (Bordeaux), The Tall Ships (San Diego) oder Tape (Stockholm), kommt aus Mailand und heisst POLVERE. Xabier Iriondo, Ex-After Hours und mit Uncode Duello auf Italiens heissem Indielabel Wallace Records (Black Engine, Zu), mischt zusammen mit Mattia Coletti, der wiederum ansonsten mit Sedia ruppigen Minimalrock schruppt, für die 10" EP Polvere (MIN19) den Klang von Zupfinstrumenten mit Electronics. Gitarren, Ukulele, Koto und Zither, meist repetitiv und fast monoton gespielt, deuten eine quasi-folkloristische Richtung an, die aber abstrakt bleibt. Iriondos Drumming ist erfolgreich bemüht, bewusst nicht zu rocken, sondern den minimalistischen Duktus mitzutragen. Das Loopartige verstärkt sich bei 'Rice between clocks' noch zu einem locked-groove-ähnlichen monotonen Ping-Ping einer Großvateruhr. E-Gitarrensound verdichtet zwar den akustischen, aber nur so, dass das Gewebe feinmaschiger und halbtransparent wird. Auf das besonders reizvolle ?78' mit einem zarten Enkastimmchen und 20er-Jahre-Patina von alten japanischen Schellackplatten folgt erneut stoisches Gezupfe und dazu quietscht und seufzt eine Tür. Die zweite Gitarre tupft eine Singlenotemelodie, die Drums steigen mit feinem Tickling erst spät ein, aber diesmal riffen die Gitarren tatsächlich einen noisigen Sud, eine stehende Dröhnwelle, die auch erstmals kräftig betrommelt wird. Dieser Höhepunkt bricht um in die 'Almsgiving blues reprise' mit trockenen Stromgitarrenschlägen und klappriger Percussion, bei der Coletti in einen krächzigen Murmelgesang verfällt. Eine Entdeckung, von denen in Italien noch einige schlummern."

""The Polvere "Polvere" 10" (Minority Records, MIN19) is six tracks of Mattia Coletti on acoustic and electric guitars, drums, percussions and vocals, and Xabier Iriondo on ukulele, taisho koto, zither, old Japanese 78s and electronic treatments. Let's one think this was a new Polvo side-project! Coletti is a collaborator with Christa Pfangen and Iriondo has played with Damo Suzuki's Network and Tasaday, the 80's Italian experimental outfit. The 10" is an edition of 500 but more sensitive and forward-thinking millionaires amongst us would sensibly buy every last one. Is this that good? The sleeve is white with simple lettering. The inner sleeve is bright red. The vinyl is slender and sharp-edged and sounds good even on a second-hand classroom record player. So, sort of. Think bodacious cantatas and you begin to dream to maybe possibly hope to approach the end result."

"The material on Polvere's self-titled 10-inch exemplifies the kind of experimental open-endedness one associates with Matmos and a psychedelic folk-blues style one sometimes encounters on Kranky releases by artists like Lichens and Bird Show. Italian avant-gardists Xabier Iriondo (A Short Apnea, Uncode Duello) and Mattia Coletti (Christa Pfangen, Sedia), who recorded the disc's six electro-acoustic collages following a two-week Japan tour, often anchor their tracks with acoustic guitar motifs and then dirty them up with multiple layers of free-spirited mayhem. In the opener "Rumors Around Polvere," ukulele plucks and strums collide with the sour squawk of an electric guitar army and drums, while 1920s Japanese records get taken for a sped-up spin on "78 [Traditional]," with female chipmunk vocalizing the result. "...And If You Slam the Door [To Fabio Magistrali]" pushes Polvere's sound furthest towards psychedelic folk-blues, especially when its hot-wired base of bells and squealing whistles escalates into a drum-battering wail at its close. It's a limited vinyl release (500 copies only) so move quickly if electro-acoustic experimentalism's your thing."

"So there I was all set to head on down to the local record store to pick up a few things and lo and behold a brand new package from the fine folks here at DOA awaited me. Larger than the normal packages that arrive, it looked as though this delivery contained some actual records as opposed to the usual CDs. Getting an unexpected package of music is always far more interesting than going to buy some since you always kind of know what you're coming home with. Inside was a simple 10", white sleeve, some Japanese lettering and marked simply "Polvere." OK, less is more I think and intrigued, I slap the vinyl on, turn up the sound, and quickly forget all about going out, or doing much else that afternoon for that matter. At 6 tracks and a brief 20 minutes, Polvere weave together a beautiful tapestry of acoustic based songs with minimal, but no less effective, instrumentation. Polvere is the collaboration between Mattia Colletti & Xabier Iriondo, 2 of Italy's finest avant garde composers. After a brief 2 week tour of Japan they put down these fine songs on record and it's a rare release such as this that restores faith in experimentation and improvisation. The record opens with a sliding bit of guitar and noise, squeaks and squawks sounding as though it was recorded by Harry Smith himself. It then gives way to what I'm guessing is a ukulele but it sure ain't no Tiny Tim or hell, Stevin Merritt for that matter, strumming the strings. Subtle bits of noise, a hi-hat and quiet snare come in while a fractured fuzzed out guitar dances around to supplement the Fahey-esque melody. Before you even realize it, even more instruments join in but never obscuring the original uke. What the hell is all that? A pump organ? Accordions?? Who knows, but it makes for a wonderful noise. Side A finishes out with "Rice Between Clocks," again another gentle acoustic melody with feedback ebbing and flowing in the background. Side 2 begins with a Japanese woman singing (chanting?) over a taisho koto until it gives way, briefly, to a guitar, then slides into more Eastern instrumentation. The moments such as these never run too long and are pleasant to the ears when they do arrive. What follows is perhaps the best piece on the already excellent EP. "?And If You Slam The Door (for Fabio Magistrali)" begins in a manner such as you would expect from David Pajo or even Faust. A mid-tempo guitar line builds while more feedback and other "treatments" swell behind it before giving way to the noise and frenetic drumming. It's a moving piece, as is the rest of the EP and certainly shows why Colletti & Iriondo are the avant masters they are in their homeland. The duo keeps the pieces short and this is advantageous in 2 ways. First, the sounds never grow repetitious and stale nor do you get bogged down in the noisier elements which are commonplace in this particular genre. Instead of feeling cold or on the outside, the sounds they create are inviting and accessible, without showing any compromise. Second, they tease the listener with such brevity you long to hear more, wanting to fully indulge in the sounds. By doing so the record warrants repeat listens which only reveal more layers and more sound as the vinyl spins around. If this is the result of a Japanese tour, by all means, track this record down, purchase several copies, and get these fellas back over there as soon as possible."

"Il nuovo lavoro di Mattia Coletti e Xabier Iriondo prende corpo grazie alla collaborazione fra la Wallace, la ceca Minority Records e la giapponese TownTone, a dimostrazione di come la musica del duo stia gradatamente ottenendo un discreto seguito ed una certa notoriet? anche al di fuori dei nostri confini. E non potrebbe essere altrimenti, vista la qualit? della loro proposta artistica che riesce a conciliare spirito avanguardista e memorie della tradizione, ricerca e melodia. Questo 10" ? l'ideale seguito di quanto era gi? stato mirabilmente espresso nel loro primo album, riuscendo ad aggiungere ulteriori elementi d'innovazione alle loro composizioni grazie ad un sempre pi? raffinato equilibrio fra strumenti a corda e tessitura digitale, fra suono acustico e fragili strutture ritmiche. Registrazioni di canti popolari giapponesi riaffiorano come ricordo della loro recente esperienza nel paese del sol levante e forniscono l'ispirazione per sviluppare una serie di trasformazioni alchemiche del suono, grazie a distorsioni e drones quasi impercettibili. Venti minuti di poetica ispirazione."

"Proseguiamo il viaggio con il 10"LP dei Polvere. Il disco per certi versi ricorda l'idea pinkfloydiana proposta in "Atom heart mother", in cui il lato A era composto da un'unica lunga suite. Nella propositivit? di Xabier Irondo e Mattia Coletti, il cd appare come un vecchio e frusciante vinile, in cui i due lati, perfettamente simmetrici, offrono due opere suddivise in tre paragrafi. L'extra mode cd, oltre ad fornire informazioni suppletive, propone un opera particolare che si dirama tra corde distorte, rumorismo e psichedelica barrettiana, come nella conclusiva "Almsgiving blues reprime". Il percorso musicale dei Polvere viene presentato in maniera metaforica dall'introduttiva "Rumors around polvere", track capace di passare senza discrepanze, dall?ordine al disordine, attraverso un climax mai caotico ed eccessivo, che riesce a fare incrociare le vie dell'impr? con quelle dell'alternative country. Il materiale proposto dalla band si arricchisce dei suoni orientaleggianti di "Dust folk song#1" e di arie nipponiche di "7 8", che si sviluppano su toniche di ampio respiro, inserite in imprevedibili cambi di direzione che caratterizzato tutto il nuovo lavoro del duo nostrano."

"Duo italien avec Xabier Iriondo (un CV long comme mon bras - oui j'ai le bras long - dont les projets les plus connus - hahaha - sont A Short Apnea, Uncode Duello et Tasaday) et Mattia Coletti (dont le CV est court comme mon bras - mon autre bras, j'y peux rien - et se résume essentiellement ? jouer de la guitare électrique dans le tr?s noise-rock Sedia). Ce 25 centim?tres est leur troisi?me disque apr?s un 8" et un 12" (c'est de plus en plus long) et sort sur trois labels : un tch?que, un italien et un japonais. Voil? pour les présentations. Oui c'est un peu long (non pas comme), je vous l'accorde, mais on m'a toujours que plus c'est long, plus c'est bon. Je ne suis pas un spécialiste de la musique d'avant-garde, de la musique qui s'écoute plus avec la t?te qu'avec les tripes et/ou le c?ur mais ? entendre ces six morceaux, un nom m'ait tout de suite venu en t?te : Gastr Del Sol. Ce travail sur les cordes acoustiques, tout dans la répétition et le minimalisme, court-circuité par divers bruits électroniques, c'est le groupe ? David Grubbs et O'Rourke tout craché. Ou presque. C'est beau et aust?re comme la pochette. J'avoue que c'est le genre de musique qui m'ait passé au-dessus ? la premi?re écoute. Mais ? force de persévérance (ça ne demande pas beaucoup d'efforts non plus hein), on se laisse bercer et attendrir devant une musique dans laquelle rien ne dépasse. Cette mélancolie qui pourrait presque, je dis bien presque, évoquer Bästard le temps d'un If you slam the door sous codéine. Cette boucle qui n'en fini pas de se dérouler avec finesse. Ces couches successives qui s'entassent avec douceur. C'est apparemment leur effort le plus mélodique - mélodique dans le sens harmonieux, pas le genre de truc que vous allez siffloter sous la douche - une musique qui promettait d'?tre prise de t?te et qui se rév?le émotionnelle. Histoire d'?tre sur la m?me longueur d'ondes."

"Neo-classical avant-folk duo from Italy, goin' through the requisite changes that would otherwise grind out such engaging music of conflict. Imbuing the "okay, what's next" ethic of an end-of-the-millennium band like Town & Country with the knowing jaunt of a Jon Brion soundtrack, Polvere maintain grassy plain pleasantries and launch skyward in joyous, synchronized lurches to decorate their skies. More importantly, they manage to shape such a bipartite identity with their music that the schism between the two becomes as exciting to listen to as the parts themselves. Surprising sound violence ends this six-song session with a glorious, thunderous shake, the last song dissipating as coda. Quality find from this studious Czech Republic label."

"Moving along similar lines as Gastr Del Sol are Polvere, a duo from Italy, with Mattia Coletti on acoustic and electric guitars, drums, percussion and voice and Xabier Iriondo on ukulelem taisho koto, zither, old '20 Japanese records and electronic treatments. They had some releases on Wallace Records. Their music is made through improvisation and is throughout minimal. They start strumming their strings and play probably with hand and feet to get all the sounds going. The six tracks where recorded following a tour in Japan and there are traces of Eastern tunings in the music. Intimate playing that sounds improvised, folk-like and even good old DDAA comes back to mind. It combines drone music along with musique concrete, tying post rock in. Great small music."

"This 10" comes right after the japanese tour of the band and be it the oriental air be it the food with which they've been nourished there, but this slab of vinyl features some of the best songs ever recorded by the band. If you never heard Polvere I think you'd better start by this release, the band is a duo including Xabier Iriondo and Mattia Coletti, probably the most active artists of the whole Wallace roster. This time they've been surrendering to melody much more than ever before and receded from their experimental side, the final result is there: a short collection of inspired and unconventional folk ballads. Acoustic guitar driven songs with some field recording, noises, instruments to enrich the scenario but the folk essence this time is top notch. The cut and paste work of post-production done by Iriondo is good as always but really discrete and this time fits wonderfully with what I think it's a psychedelic/seventies influence that probably lays in the background of both the musician involved in Polvere. I guess for those who loved the previous cd this could be worth of their money while for many of you this could be a good introduction to the band."