Tag: Artworks

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While ::: NEW ALBUM 2023

I’m happy to present my new album called ‘While’. Available now in digital format and for pre-order in physical format.

Release date: December 31, 2023 

Press release:

After ‘Lieve’ and ‘Argine,’ I am happy to present my new album ‘While,’ a collection of tracks produced in a year that I will hardly forget, both for better and for worse. It often happens to me when I conclude a new album to have the (ephemeral, to tell the truth) feeling of having produced the best work up to that specific moment. For various reasons, this was not the case for ‘While.’ It probably won’t be my best work, but for a long time, it will remain my favourite because it helped me in moments of vulnerability and gave me the opportunity to escape from heavy thoughts and remain in balance without falling. 
Recorded almost entirely without the use of a computer, I consider ‘While’ the most intimate album produced so far. 
Continuing the sonic language started with the last two albums and the ‘Drop Series,’ it continues my search for a dreamlike and poetic musical form through the usual fusion of acoustic and electronic instruments. 
In the physical format, you will also find images and words that, along with the music, represent the concept in its entirety. 
‘While’ is the first self-produced album and is exclusively released on my personal Bandcamp page. Thanks to anyone who has the desire to listen.

Credits:

– All music by Francis Gri 
– Composed, mixed and mastered in 2023 
– Cover artwork by FG 

Sound equipment: acoustic/electric/ebow guitar, electric piano, sansula, kalimba, melodica, harp, OP1, plastic cello, analogue gears and pedal effects

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While… and new music

After closing the chapter on Krysalisound, I am happy to share some news for those who are interested in my new musical productions. My second collaboration with Wil Bolton, titled “In still water,” has just been released by Shimmering Moods. Below, you will find the link and a few physical copies still available.
https://shimmeringmoodsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-still-water

Next year, two more new collaborations will be released. The first one, already completed and ready for publication in mid-2024 by a foreign label, will be with Nicola Fornasari (aka Xu), while the second one is still in progress with Anthony Elfort (aka Toàn) and will most likely be self-published as soon as it’s ready. These are two very different collaborations that, as always, allow me to expand my musical horizons.

In 2024, my new solo album, temporarily titled “While,” will also be released. It’s a unique project, much more expansive than “Argine,” which probably felt the pressure of a complicated 2023 from the beginning, a year I’m unlikely to forget, both for the good and the bad. The album was recorded almost entirely in dawless mode, and then completed on a computer. It will be self-published on my new Bandcamp page, likely in early 2024, in both physical and digital formats

Chiuso il capitolo Krysalisound sono felice di darvi alcune news, per chi fosse interessato, riguardo le mie nuove produzioni musicali.
E’ appena uscito per Shimmering Moods la mia seconda collaborazione con Wil Bolton intitolato “In still water”. Qui sotto trovate il link e ancora poche copie delle fisiche.
https://shimmeringmoodsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-still-water

Il prossimo anno usciranno invece altre due nuove collaborazioni: la prima già conclusa e pronta per essere pubblicata a metà 2024 da una label straniera con Nicola Fornasari (aka Xu) mentre la seconda ancora in corso d’opera con Anthony Elfort (aka Toàn) che verrà molto probabilmente pubblicato come autoproduzione appena pronto. Due collaborazioni molto differenti tra di loro ma che mi permettono come sempre di aprire gli orizzonti musicali.
Il 2024 vedrà la luce anche il mio nuovo album solista che ho temporaneamente intitolato “ While”.
Si tratta di un lavoro particolare, molto più dilatato rispetto ad “Argine”, che probabilmente sentiva già dall’inizio la pressione di un 2023 complicato che difficilmente dimenticherò nel bene e nel male. Registrato quasi interamente in dawless e poi finalizzato al computer sarà pubblicato come autoproduzione nella mia nuova pagina Bandcamp probabilmente a inizio 2024 in formato fisico e digitale.

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Wil Bolton & Francis Gri “In still water” PRE-ORDER

My new collaborative album with Will Bolton is now available on Shimmering Moods store.

In the Still Water is the second collaboration between Wil Bolton and Francis Gri, following on from their album Imaginary Tales, released on Francis’ own label Krysalisound in 2022. 
Recorded again between London and Milan, these pieces were created with a range of instruments including electric and acoustic guitars, bass, synth, piano, mellotron, vibraphone, kalimba, ukulele, melodica and effects. 
The album drifts in mood between meditative and melancholy, with lyrical melodies weaving their way through hypnotic loops and richly wrought textures.

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Art vs Art

In these days, while discussing with a musician I greatly appreciate, I am reflecting on what the future of music and art in general might be. Therefore, I take this opportunity to share my thoughts and reflections in this small personal space/diary.
I started composing music just before the internet arrived, so I experienced the transition firsthand. I went from sending a demo by mailing a package to simply sharing a link on social media. From recording a song on an 8-channel recorder to using a computer with endless possibilities.
This accessibility has made everything simpler and faster, but this is probably where the crucial issue arises. If everything is so simple and quick, who forces us to “suffer” to learn to play an instrument? Why do we need to learn to paint when we can already create paintings with our smartphones?
Technical hyper-quality is hiding the fact that the quality of art is becoming increasingly scarce. We are inundated with audio and video products that go beyond our senses, mesmerized by lights and sounds without realizing how much substance is missing. And perhaps the problem is not about realizing it but about no longer being aware. Habit then closes the circle and annihilates the past.
I don’t have positive feelings about the future in general, but I always hope for that niche of incorruptible people who can pass on to the new generations what Art truly is.
We are losing the sensitivity that has characterized us for centuries, storing it inside a phone. We are now slaves to machines, becoming their extensions… instead of the other way around.

In questi giorni, confrontandomi con un musicista che apprezzo tantissimo, sto riflettendo su quello che potrà essere il futuro della musica e dell’arte in generale. Ne approfitto quindi per condividere in questo piccolo spazio/diario personale i miei pensieri e le mie riflessioni.
Ho iniziato a comporre musica poco prima che arrivasse internet e quindi ho vissuto in prima persona tutta la transizione. Sono passato dall’inviare una demo spedendo un pacco in posta allo spedire un semplice link sui social. Dal registrare un brano su registratore 8 canali all’utilizzo del computer con infinite possibilità.
Questa fruibilità ha reso tutto più semplice e veloce ma è probabilmente qui che nasce il nodo cruciale. Se tutto è così semplice e veloce chi ci obbliga a “soffrire” per imparare a suonare uno strumento? Che bisogno abbiamo di imparare a dipingere quando con il nostro smrtphone possiamo già creare dei quadri?
L’iper-qualità tecnica sta nascondendo il fatto che la qualità dell’arte è sempre più scarsa. Siamo invasi da prodotti audio e video che vanno oltre i nostri sensi, rimanendo estasiati da luci e suoni senza accorgerci però di quanto invece manchi la sostanza.  E forse il problema non è di accorgersi ma di non rendersi più conto. L’abitudine poi chiude il cerchio e annichilisce il passato.
Non ho belle sensazioni riguardo al futuro in generale ma spero sempre in quella nicchia di persone incorruttibili che possano tramandare alle nuove generazioni cos’è veramente Arte.
Stiamo perdendo quella sensibilità che ci ha caratterizzato per secoli riponendole dentro un telefono. Schiavi ormai delle macchine ci stiamo trasformado nel loro prolungamento….invece del contrario.