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The hint for the new PFM project comes from a natural need: the desire for the stage, the sweat and the music which slips through the fingers, which bounces off stage and which dissolves into the audience. The occasion is the band thirty year anniversary ('Storia di Un Minuto' was released in 1972). The way through which the project is made real is the most congenial to the band: a live album. Therefore, the idea of getting back to play abroad is born, in order to retake those paths mapped out many years before, when those journeys meant discovering stimulating realities and approaching an unpredictable audience, far away from the band's own certainties. The then push was that stubborn will to say to the world: " Hey, we're here too, we are Italians and we don't just play mandolins… This piece is called 'Celebration' and it's a rock-tarantella". That was the first international hit of the band, a piece born from an ingenius contamination between rock and ethnic music (this word wasn't fashionable, at the time). Today, reconnected the strings with an audience made even broader by a more straight communication (thanks to the Internet), and with new fans all around the world, PFM has decided to make its music rediscovered from the origins through a double live and the first dvd. They called it progressive music, PFM simply calls it "Highly Imaginative Music". It's the one still capable of awesomeness, still capable of allowing fantasy to run through a light and shade musical route. It's the one still allowing the listeners to be, through their own immagination, active protagonists. The highly imaginative music is a real awakening of expressive pride, an answer to the totally image devoted music, those expressed by videoclips, which has taken the upper hand, standardizing the current musical landscape. PFM has no back bottoms to show, only fingers - now nervous, now light - nimble arms and well steady legs. A two and a half hours concert played in a passionate and homemade way. Sweat, tension, sweetness, chords, backdraws. Spontaneus gestures, like Di Cioccio's tongue stretching out of his mouth, Mussida's resonant grins, Premoli's tactile rush, Djivas' sacred impassibility. Different ways of interpreting, without second chances or safety anchors, the very same moment. Something unrepeatable for everyone, both musicians and audience. A collective, liberating hug, like only the highly imaginative music can create. Sony Music "PFM live in Japan 2002" was born like this, during the last Tokyo gig, thanks to D&D Comunicazione, the new band's management. On this occasion, the line up was enriched by the partecipation of friends like Lucio Fabbri, one of the band historical member, and Piero Monterisi, auxiliary engine for the rhythmical pulse. The new album, like the previous live albums, ("Live in USA", "Cook", "De Andre' e PFM in concerto", "Performance", www.pfmpfm.it- Il Best) is played in one unique session, with no additional touches, as faithfully documented by the film shootings. It's not just another live album in the band's history. Thanks to the shootings, filmed in high definition by a japanese TV troupe, it's a new, exhilarating artistic piece which gives continuity to the musical path of the most famous italian rock band in the world. The dvd, completely edited in Italy, includes the whole gig plus a 12 minutes film which tells about the japanese adventure, the life on tour, the backstage and the thoughts of each member on the occasion of the return in Japan after 27 years. The reason for this anthology is explained by PFM in this way: "Giving to the new generations a different idea of music, the energy and the awesomeness of an unconventional, un-standardized music, that part of the italian property called progressive music. In fact highly imaginative music". This music, along with the opera, the neapolitan tradition and an handful of old and new melodic hits, is the only italian reality of the rock area which is appreciated abroad without being considered a second choice music. Only in the double CD, in addition to the Tokyo gig, there are two previously unreleased songs. The first one, 'Sea Of Memory', benefits from Peter Hammill's wonderful lyrics and voice: he's one of the great musicians of the british scene and the special guest in this album. The second one, instead, is a cover of 'Bandiera Bianca', the hit by Franco Battiato. A vigorous and ironic rendition, recorded as the PFM answer to the 'Impressioni di Settembre' cover offered in 'Fleur 3' by the sicilian singer and writer. The first leg of the PFM back to the origin journey was in May in Japan, with seven gigs already sold out on presale. Then it was the turn of Central America (Mexico, Panama and Venezuela). The world tour will start again on March 8th, 2003 at the Baja Prog Festival of Mexicali (where the band will be headliner), followed by some California gigs. Afterwards there'll be a return to the London Astoria, the british rock temple. Then the band will be playing Wales (Rottheram), upon the invitation of the Classic Rock Society magazine. But, above all, there's the italian tour, officially opened on November 11th, 2002 at the Milan Alcatraz on the occasion of the Celebration Day, when PFM has celebrated its 30th Birthday. On stage, guests and friends like Peter Hammill, Mauro Pagani and Cristiano De Andre', and surprise guests, in order to celebrate and to… play and play. For additional info: www.pfmpfm.it www.somnymusic.it Sony Music |