‘Zibaldone I of CVX’ is the first in a series of releases from Rupert Clervaux (Sian Alice Group, recent collaborations with Beatrice Dillon, Spring Heel Jack, Treader Records...) which take their name from the title of Italian poet Giacomo Leopardi’s extensive notebooks. They are collections of sketches, vignettes and musical footnotes to Rupert’s ongoing and varied endeavours as a musician, listener, reader and writer.

This first piece is in five sections (titles listed below), consisting of three thematic poetry recitals, read by Clervaux and others over sweltering ambient arrangements, along with two clattering percussive tracks created using a variety of sounds across the fidelity spectrum and finely sourced, layered samples. The result is a meandering and diverse musical journey which threads together succinct meditations on originality by Leopardi and Silvina Ocampo, and salutary warnings from Hölderlin and Derek Walcott!

ZI.1 - ‘Imitazione’
ZI.2 - Titled
ZI.3 - ‘Menschenbeifall’
ZI.4 - Ulyssean Time
ZI.5 - ‘Imitaciones’

‘Zibaldone I’ is presented as a 12” with a fold-out poster by Belgian artist Coline Cornélis (see attached PDF), and as a digital download.

Rupert Clervaux: drums, percussion, vibraphone, piano, synthesizers and samplers,
with Stephen Warrington: piano on ‘Imitazione’, and Eben Bull: saxophone on ‘Titled’.

‘Imitazione’ by Giacomo Leopardi, read by Mara Cimatoribus (English translation by Jonathan Galassi).
‘Menschenbeifall’ by Friedrich Hölderlin, read by Anne Tetzlaff.
‘Imitations’ by Silvina Ocampo, read by Rupert Clervaux (English translation by Jason Weiss).