It’s amazing to hear what this married couple were making over thirty years ago. The range explored by Chrisma is pretty incredible. The album doesn’t smack of a group trying to cover as many styles as possible for the sake of it. Instead, there is an organic progression in the duo’s experimenting.
I remember as a bright eyed secondary school student, high school that would be in most countries, being told a few pearls of wisdom from my then history teacher. The stubby fifty year old pedagogue from the heart of Ireland said that a learner can only know when they are being educated when they realise what they do not know. This reflective statement is as true to any walk of life as it is to music. As the years have past I’ve tried to listen to a variety of styles, not all to my palate. Yet, there is still an untapped wealth of music I have never come across. The latest two releases from Seattle’s Medical Records is testament to that.
After the first duet of releases come two more, this time both by Italian new wave duo Chrisma. Chrisma are husband and wife Maurizio Arcieri and Christina Moser. Medical have brought back to life the 1977 album Chinese Restaurant and the 1979 LP Hibernation.
The new wave grandiose orchestral “Thank You“ gives birth to the Chinese Restaurant. Distortion, strings and beats are built into a crescendo of early Italian wave. “Black Silk Stocking” is a sex fueled back alley affair. Moser pants out the suggestive vocals as Arcieri fingers out a few synthlines and strings. A track along the lines of “Hot on the Heels of Love,” but with more of a bar polished façade. The slow Spanish guitar style “Lola” follows and sits like a David Lynch leer on the album. “C Rock” is a wonderful hybrid of early synth sounds and post punk bravado. The guitar stings are broad and backed up by analogue reverberations and a drum beat. The lyrics are dead pan and clear with the overall resulting being upbeat track. This is experimentation, but not really as we now know it. The listener is never too sure what is going to appear next with this album, from the angst filled post rock “What For” to the speedy shoegaze of “Wanderlust.” Chrisma spin through styles, like a passenger casually browsing through an in-flight magazine. Quiet grandeur and abstract discord are blitzed in the evocative and wrenching “Lycee.” “Mandoia” is a more upbeat piece, but the Chrisma desire to toy with structure is definitely present. “Thank You” ends, just as it began. For the outro those artists who have been loved and influenced Chrisma are listed by Arcieri in a understated end to the LP.
Synth and strings bring this 1979 LP to life, with “Calling.” “Aurora B” follows, a piano and synth heavy piece. The track echoes of Poeme Electronique, with its reverberated and lightly distorted female vocals. The track is lost love and confusion saturation, with the uncertainty being brought to a full with the soaring notes and anguish layered lyrics. Just as in Chinese Restaurant, you’re never sure where Chrisma are going to turn next. The slow even tempo of “Rush 79,” coupled with an incredible subtle synthline, is served up beside the quirky WWII inspired “Hibernated Nazi.” Not enough tracks out there about the reviving of cyborg Axis forces. Post punk sounds return on the flip with “Gott Gott Electron.” Think a sort of surfs up piece of minimal synth wave and your some way there. The LP is a pick and mix of sounds and styles. From heart tweaking to downright playful. “So You Don’t ” flicks up the collar and creates the new wave greaser. Brash chords push in through post punk, with a dab of analogue thrown in for good measure. The synthesizers are out to bring the album to a close. “Vera Platz ” puts forward some ground-breaking synthlines whilst managing to retain a traditional lilt.
It’s amazing to hear what this married couple were making over thirty years ago. The range explored by Chrisma is pretty incredible. The album doesn’t smack of a group trying to cover as many styles as possible for the sake of it. Instead, there is an organic progression in the duo’s experimenting. Chinese Restaurant and Hibernation were way ahead of their time. In the late ’70s Chrisma’s music must have seemed like it had arrived from nowhere. The first press of these LPs sold out in two weeks. Looks like the ears of 2011 are ready for Chrisma.
Both releases are out now on Medical. [Purchase]
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