Freakson - Tales (2022)

In 2014, Italian drummer and composer Gianni Apicella founded his Tuscany-based band Freakson. Originally a 10-musician ensemble, the lineup changed after the first album (2015) and it became a quartet in 2019. Focused on jazz and research, it now features Alessandro Vasconi (pianist and composer along with Apicella), Yuri Nocerino on saxes, and Mirco Capecchi on double bass.

Released by Auand Records as part of its Fluid series, “Tales” is available on CD and on Bandcamp starting Friday, June 3rd, while the singles are out on all streaming platforms on a monthly basis. The first single, “Virginia” (which is also the first track the band ever made), will come with a video, shot by the band itself.

«We might identify – Gianni Apicella says – with a progressive jazz band whose music has a lot to do with soundtracks. As far as composing, Freakson’s approach is quite minimal, sometimes easy to get, but every tune has its story: about real life, or people. This is where the title comes from: six stories that match the album track-list, ranging from prog/rock, to neo soul and jazz. This is why it’s not easy to define our music.»

The band has worked as one: «We’ve all been crucial in the composing phase – Apicella adds – For example, I wrote the melody in “The Warrior”, and Alessandro added the harmony. In other tracks, the opposite happened. In some cases it all started from the rhythm. Mirco and Yuri contributed to the vision of each tale, outlining the motif.»

Just like everything else in the last two years, Tales has been ideated and very much affected by the pandemic and its material and emotional outcome. Besides some real-life problems, «the good news – Apicella recalls – was the amount of time available: we could focus on recording the tracks, in person or from our homes, and then mixing them. We had no clue on how to use audio software but we knew what we wanted. With patience, we enjoyed learning just as much as we needed. We might have been lucky, but we are very proud of the result. It’s just like we wanted it to sound!»

Gianni Apicella – drums
Alessandro Vasconi – piano, keyboards
Yuri Nocerino – saxes
Mirco Capecchi – double bass