Drawing us in with a dimensional bass performance with cerebral riffs and a textured cajon performance, Pier Piras opens the album Nautilus with intrigue, intricacy and a song titled Medusa. The composition expands with atmospheric ad-libs and a playful and cinematic acoustic guitar performance.
Medusa increases in tempo, tapping into a higher octane energy, cementing intrigue before switching back into a more minimalist energy with guitar and organic percussion. The dynamics are out of this world and we feel captivated and hypnotised by the track. We could imagine this featuring in a Pedro Almodovar film.
Next up is Oghes Infrànghidas, featuring Mila Trani. The track maintains a cohesive approach but equally features Flamenco and North African-inspired vocal melodies. We feel immersed and drawn into the syncopated universe that is being created. It feels like a walk through a market in Marrakech, at the same time as being a score from a James Bond film. It’s unique and laced with intrigue.
Focus takes us somewhere altogether more peaceful. It opens with a graceful guitar performance before gradually building through claps and delicate layers. There is a lovely sense of space. It allows the melody to breathe.
This brings us to Duna Cremisi, which on the other hand, brings a dramatic Eastern guitar introduction, almost like a scene from Aladdin, before whirring motifs and textured percussion take hold. We are transported into a desert landscape, with a driving, almost Eastern-meets-Western feel. The droning tanpura is a beautiful touch.
Ardere opens with beatbox-style percussion and intricate guitar, bringing in dramatic, playful vocal motifs and riffs that really stay with us. There is something quite theatrical about it. It is almost like a scene unfolding in Breaking Bad or Weeds, whilst Sol in Sol featuring Pierpaolo Vacca, moves into a more cerebral and playful space, with harmonica and a distinctly Mexican flavour. It is one of the more danceable moments on the record.
Then Bae Bae is more cinematic and immediately accessible. It has subtle vocals sitting almost like another instrument within the arrangement before Sofia featuring Francesco Moneti, opens with nature sounds and a spiritual folk essence. The strings are sublime, carrying an almost Irish folk quality while taking us somewhere much more expansive, like the soundtrack to an Avatar film.
The album closes with its title track, Nautilus, beginning with an exhale before unfolding into something more brooding and meditative. Rolling guitar motifs, intricate percussion and the delicate sound of a seed shaker create a hypnotic atmosphere, while the lush cinematic harmonies give the longest composition on the record room to evolve. There is a real sense of inner movement here, as though we are being taken further into the spiral that inspired the album.
For some context, Pier Piras is an Italian bassist, composer and producer from Sardinia. What makes Nautilus so compelling is the way he approaches the acoustic bass as an entire musical landscape rather than simply a rhythmic foundation. Inspired by the nautilus shell (rather psychedelic in nature) and its associations with growth and transformation, the album feels like an exploration of different states of being.
We can imagine these compositions featuring in films such as The Motorcycle Diaries, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, The English Patient, The Fall, Dune and The Green Knight, as well as series like The White Lotus, The OA and Marco Polo. Fans of Ryuichi Sakamoto, Ludovico Einaudi, Rodrigo y Gabriela and world-fusion artists will find plenty to explore.
We have added a handful of the tracks from Nautilus to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TRIPPY playlist, whilst we continue to stream the wider discography of Pier Piras, and anticipate future releases.