Ciro Perrino was born in 1950 in Sanremo, Italy and began to be interested in music from an early age. At the age of 4 he receives his first drum, which he is deeply passionate about and starts playing just that one. With the passage of time and years, he approaches the music of the 60s with groups Birds, Beatles, Rolling Stones, Who and other. With the Rolling Stones‘ Aftermath album he is seized by the desire to dedicate his life to music, and starts playing in groups that offer covers of foreign songs. In the decade from 1969 to 1979 he creates, plays and works in several Italian Progressive Rock projects: Il Sistema, I Celeste, S.N.C., St. Tropez and La Compagnia Digitale, before starting the solo career. His 50-year career has gone through various phases and musical genres, Prog Rock, Space Rock, New Age, Ambient and Neo Classical. “Solare” was the first solo album by Ciro Perrino and was released for Inner Garden Records on November 25, 1980. The album consists of 8 tracks, and is a journey in our solar system, through the planets that make it up. The friend Ciro Perrino gives us a preview of some details on the re-edition of the album and tells us some anecdotes. The Solare specimens date back to 1978, and when they were submitted to the record producer, they were “disputed” because considered too “spatial”. “In fact I had made extensive use of very aesthetic sounds and echoing sidereal environments and distant worlds, remote light years from us.” says Ciro, who continues: “I was forced to change course and make substantial changes, in spite of myself and reluctantly.” Obviously the melodies were not touched nor the harmonies, which remained the same, with the synths dominating the scene, generating dreamlike, almost lysergic visions. “In fact I had made extensive use of it and had given ample space to my two EMS AKS and the Mini Moog that had been protagonists of my two last Prog lineups” continues, referring to St. Tropez and La Compagnia Digitale. The interventions made to modify the recordings did not completely upset the work, and allowed its publication, he comments about: “Today I do not regret it because I have the opportunity, and I hope with you, to rediscover a new album, even if 40 years have now passed. I began to write the first timid hints of the trace that would then be became URANO in the first winter weeks of 1978. One year and half of writing and rewriting, confirmations and second thoughts then … The contract. The first solo contract.” Finally the work of recovery and improvement of the original recordings was completed, also adding the missing piece in the first version, the track no. 9. The song was eliminated to remain within the 40 minutes set for the epoch, producing only on vinyl and cassette. He adds: “NETTUNO returns from the shadows and returns. Now the Planets are all there. Less the Earth that I had not thought of inserting since I had already planned to write a whole work dedicating it to our beloved Planet. In the original specimens, however, the Earth is present musically and can be found representing the rings of SATURNO. So the sequence is now the one I wanted. MERCURIO, VENERE, MARTE, GIOVE, SATURNO Gli Anelli, SATURNO il Pianeta, URANO, NETTUNO, PLUTONE.” Another curious case concerns the cover, since the intent was to use a photo of the Pleiades, but the only photo available at the time was owned by NASA, which denied permission. On the issue it says: “Concession denied. I was forced to choose another shot,” and then concluded: “The fact is that a dear friend of mine, an astrophotographer, allowed me to use one of his wonderful shots, not to mention, of the Pleiades, which he made with his sophisticated equipment in his own days in which I was picking up the SOLARE tapes. MAGIC! At this point the compositions are original, the cover is original, exactly as I would have liked in those days of 1979.“
The album will be released on October 25, 2019 for Mellow Label Productions, a historic label linked to the world of Italian Progressive Rock.
The Planets Tracklist:
1. Mercury (05:08)
2. Venus (04:22)
3. Mars (04:04)
4. Jupiter (03:08)
5. Saturn (The Rings) (04:28)
6. Saturn (The Planet) (06:30)
7. Uranus (07:48)
8. Neptune (04:09)
9. Pluto (03:28)
The album was composed, arranged and played by Ciro Perrino, with the following instrumentation:
ARP 2600, Arp Sequencer, Arp Omni-2, Eminent, EMS AKS, MELLOTRON 400, MOOG Synthesizers, EKO Rhythmcomputer, Drums.
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