Gianni Maroccolo – Alone Vol. IV – Mente – LP/CD

Fourth appointment with Gianni Maroccolo’s perpetual release Alone – Volume IV (subtitle: Mente, i.e. Mind) was released on June 17th 2020, and closes the first series started with Volume I on December 17th 2018. The series contains the illustration and artwork of Marco Cazzato and the tales of Mirco Salvadori. Lorenzo “moka” Tommasini is in charge of sound post-production and mastering, and Alessandro “Tozzo” Nannucci is the project’s supervisor.

The subject of Volume IV is insanity. The animal chosen for this chapter is the woodworm. Like the larva of an insect living in the wood and on wood, by digging tunnels in it, thinking can dig the mind. If the digging goes deep enough, it draws a line between two apparently divided worlds: that of “normals” and that of “lunatics”.

Insanity escapes a precise definition. It is often identified with some kind of alteration, either permanent or temporary, of mental faculties. Science prefers to use expressions like “mental illness” or, more specifically, “psychosis”. Sometimes we improperly call it “madness”.

Alone Volume IV closes the first series of releases, and the second will follow immediately. The theme of insanity crosses the previous volumes, as well, sometimes almost invisibly. Was the violent tormentor of Volume III insane? Or the captain of the ship sunk in the Mediterranean Sea in Volume II? What about Elsewhere, the musk ox pushing his body through the storm in Volume I, towards a non-existent destination? Each one of the themes of the previous volumes shows the blurred line of insanity. The woodworm of thought can either cross it or not; it can come and go, or stand still for years. In whatever case, it shapes our inner life.

Many guests participate in Volume IV: Don Backy, Matilde Benvenuti, Giorgio Canali, Flavio Ferri (Delta V), Umberto Maria Giardini, L’Aura, Luca Martelli, Stefano “Edda” Rampoldi, Teho Teardo.

The album is available on LP, CD and as digital download.