A few months before the COVID-19 2020 lockdown, I received a CD labelled ‘Valdapozzo 05/30/2004’, from an unknown sender. Thinking it over, it came to me... yes! On that day we had performed a unique gig at Valdapozzo, the location where we had recorded the CD ‘Pic_nic@Valdapozzo’ just two years before.

My first impression had been that of a great performance, though, actually, it sounded like a total mess.

The rules of engagement for this gig were total improvisation based on the audio samples of Demetrio Stratos’ voice and some sequences of the album.

For musicians, and not only for them, two years of lockdown meant the smoke of hundreds of cigarettes blown inside empty pockets.

So, instead of playing Tetris, I resolved to edit the sound of the stereo tracks by fragmenting them into frequency bands, and remixing the whole lot to a new sound.

This is the result, perhaps not a masterpiece, but passionately reworked.
– Paolo Griguolo

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Aldo DE SCALZI: keyboards - sampler - programming
Aldo DI MARCO: drums - sampler - ‘tools’
Paolo GRIGUOLO: guitars - synthguitar
Claudio LUGO: curved soprano sax - sampler

recorded live on May 30, 2004 at Valdapozzo, Italy.

Picchio dal Pozzo are considered to be one of the very few "Canterbury" inspired bands that emerged from Italy's fertile 1970's progressive rock musical scene. They released two highly regarded - and highly sought after - albums during their lifetime.

The exciting release of Camere Zimmer Rooms, a previously unknown studio recording of all unreleased compositions, extends their legacy greatly! The band formed in Genoa in 1972. They released their first, self-titled album in 1975. The band recorded their second LP " Abbiamo Tutti i Suoi Problemi" in 1980. Shortly after that release, the band dissolved. But, back in 1977, with their first earnings as a band, Picchio decided to buy their first sound reinforcement equipment to use for touring. To check out the equipment, the band decided to set up a live concert in studio for some friends and record it. The result is the tapes that now make up Camere Zimmer Rooms.

While never originally intended for release, the band now feels that it is indeed the most faithful recording of Picchio dal Pozzo's music and mood. One of the first things that even the casual listener will discover is that Camere Zimmer Rooms does not sound like a live-in-the-studio recording. Using the full extent of the large band and pre-recorded tapes of things like natural sounds, factory noises, radio-advertising collages and other manipulated material, that were triggered by the various members of the band, the sound is indeed very close to a studio recording that would be filled with overdubbing.

Essential for their fans, fans of Canterbury and fans of avantprogressive music.