Fredo Viola - The Turn

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Fredo Viola's debut album The Turn, released March 16th 2009 on Because Music, is an inspired marriage of 21st century electronics and the oldest of musical instruments, the human voice. Combining traces of singer-songwriter pop, ambient electronica, classical, religious hymns and mediaeval folk ballads, but with a strong and singular style entirely his own, Fredo says, "When people ask, I usually say Beach Boys meets Sigur Ros."

An album full of sunshine and sorrow, playful humor and somber beauty, listeners may already be familiar with the track The Sad Song, which first appeared on Fredo's February 2008 debut EP to glowing reviews. A YouTube sensation, the song notched up 175,000 hits in a single day, and also garnered Fredo an invitation to work with Massive Attack, who flew him to Bristol to record guest vocals for their forthcoming album.

Born in London, Fredo spent his early childhood in England and Rome before his family relocated to America. In his teens, he sang professionally as a boy soprano with Los Angeles' celebrated Bob Mitchell Boys Choir. He is now based in New York, where he perfected his unique fusion of music, performance and multi-media visuals.

Fredo developed his musical and visual styles simultaneously, culminating in his "cluster" videos: collages that combine multiple film and vocal recordings into a single audio-visual whole. Examples are posted on his websites: www.fredoviola.com and www.theturn.tv

The Turn is released with a sister DVD featuring eight of these "cluster" videos and other experimental performance films, including alternate versions of key album tracks, plus a gorgeous rendition of 'Silent Night' with the Norwegian basso singer Nils Christian Fossdal.

Housed in a handsome gatefold sleeve, The Turn is adorned with Richard Coleman's striking illustrations, which blend modern folk-art style with echoes of medieval religious imagery. The whole album package is an all-round collectable artwork and tactile thing of beauty. Full of dazzling originality and spine-tingling beauty, The Turn is the sublime debut of the year. Listen and dream.

Listen to Indie Playlist - 01-08-2010

Also See: ilikemusic.com | Fredo Viola

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