Pop in Ticino dialect

Aris Bassetti is something like the sun of the Ticino music scene. Twenty years ago, he formed the experimental rock band Peter Kernel with Barbara Lehnhoff, which has lost none of its original adventurous spirit to this day. His own record label, On the Camper Records, followed shortly afterwards. In addition to Lehnhoff's alter ego Camilla Sparksss, his current circle includes harpist Kety Fusco, the psychedelic band Monte Mai and yé-yé archaeologist Julie Meletta. With Mortòri, Bassetti is now embarking on his solo project. An urgently needed undertaking to explore the dark feelings associated with "love", he writes, citing Ornella Vanoni, Gino Paoli, South America, Italian-Swiss folk music and "Arabic music" as influences.

The first results, compiled on an EP, reveal their Italian roots above all in the vocal melodies and the lyrics, which Bassetti wrote in the endangered Ticino dialect. It sounds so peculiar that you could almost think he invented this language. Bassetti gives free rein to his experimental tendencies in the instrumentation without ever losing touch with palatable melodies. Thus O'l Amur driven forward by a vibraphone and bass riff, flute and hyperactive bongos. With GDC we are dealing with a kind of (electronic?) woodwind/cello combo and La Gata would have won the San Remo Festival in a better world. We look forward to more!

Mortòri: A Mort l'Amur. On the Camper Records