Prog rock often remains a realm of bombast and pomposity in the minds of punk and indie-bred listeners, but the prog rockers (if they can even be called that) arising from the Rock in Opposition avant-prog side of the equation generally avoid falling into the pretentiousness trap. Count Paolo Ske Botta, keyboardist of Italian prog outfit Yugen, as squarely within the RIO avant-prog school, 21st century edition. And although 1000 Autunni, Ske's 2011 album debut, does contain bits of bombast scattered here and there, those bits tend to come and go in a flash. Ske has shoehorned a multitude of musical ideas into 1000 Autunni, whose title and cover art apparently reference the music's gestation period -- while also perhaps suggesting how many listens might be needed for the entire album to sink in. Yugen are almost a prog big band; their three albums to date have lineups of between 14 and 19 musicians each, including guest artists. Although 1000 Autunni is a Ske disc, the album features 14 of his musician friends, many of whom have been heard on those Yugen albums. In other words, if Yugen discs often have a huge instrumental palette, the same can be said of 1000 Autunni (although it is understandably more keyboard-driven overall). And when a prog rock keyboardist includes the vintage sounds of...deep breath now...Hammond Porta B, Rhodes MkII, ARP Odyssey, OSCar, Mellotron, glockenspiel, Binson Echorec 2, Solec phaser, and Boss V-Wah on merely the first track of an album, there is clearly the potential for a bit of proggy pomposity to creep in.

1		Fraguglie
2		Denti
3		Carta e Burro
4		Scrupoli
5		Delta
6		Scogli, Pt. 1
7		Sotto Sotto
8		Mummia
9		Scogli, Pt. 2
10		La Nefazia di Multatuli
11		Scogli, Pt. 3
12		Rassegnati

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