Back from vacation
And picking up where we left off
Which is to say, at unusual 70s european prog
Aktuala means current or centemporary in Esperanto
And their music is pretty much what you’d imagine from someone whose band name is Esperanto
Idealized primarily by Walter Maioli, Aktuala was an Italian band whose members were aficionados–and collectors–of “world” instruments
Maioli played all kinds of wind and reed instruments (flutes, oboes, harmonicas, etc)
And the band incorporated plenty of North African, South Asian, Andean, and Amazonian sounds and instruments
They’re definitely hard to classify
Not sure whether the albums would show up in the folk, world, prog, jazz, or psych sections
Today’s dose is the closer on the eponymous debut LP, from 73
(Video description says it’s from Terra, the second LP and generally considered their best, but that’s wrong)
As befits the title, the song is mythic, beautiful, and tragic
Dejanira (or Deianira) ended up killing Heracles, her husband, with the Tunic of Nessus
It had been poisoned with the blood of the centaur
Heracles ripped his own skin off trying to rid himself of it
Dejanira had been tricked into believing it would make him faithful
Or at least that’s one version
I prefer the versions that grant her a little more knowingness
In any case, she committed suicide once she saw the results
Knowledge of our actions — and jealousies — can be pretty terrible
Aktuala’s Dejanira is a trippy float
With saxes and harmonicas recounting a fever dream over a conga repetition (compulsion?)
Strong shamanic vibes
Aktuala put out two more albums but didn’t survive past 76
However, their members went on to further explore the archaeology and ethnology of music
Maioli has researched the origins and development of musical instruments
Written books and had expos at museums
With particular attention to Etruscan and Roman music
He was responsible for the music in a bunch of tv series on Rome
Including the HBO one (not sure about the more recent Netflix series)
Trilok Gurtu, primary percussionist in the group, became a big name in world music, prog, and fusion jazz
Collaborator of John McLaughlin
Though for some reason his Wikipedia page doesn’t mention his early work with Aktuala
On the other hand, the entry on Aktuala contains this: “For a while the group lived together in a musical commune, “picking olives and playing music”. They played unconventional venues including asylums and wharfs.”
I like to imagine their mythology-inspired music in an anti-psychiatry concert in the early 70s
And a patient shocking the Milanese Nurse Ratched by throwing a water fountain through the window after the show
Prozac playlist, indeed
