Biography
Formed in 2012, the Italian ensemble Not a Good Sign blends a contemporary sensibility with the textures of vintage 1970s progressive rock. The project originated when Milan-based producer Marcello Marinone, founder of the avant-prog AltrOck imprint, joined forces with two prominent label associates—guitarist Francesco Zago and keyboardist Paolo “Ske” Botta—to pursue a comparatively approachable direction distinct from their prior experimental endeavors. Both Zago and Botta perform with the intricately layered avant-prog collective Yugen, widely regarded as AltrOck’s flagship act, while Botta independently released his 2011 solo outing 1000 Autunni through the label’s Fading Records subsidiary.
Seeking an aesthetic closer to classic progressive-rock traditions than the complexity of Yugen or Ske, the trio enlisted vocalist Alessio Calandriello and bassist Gabriele Guidi Colombi, both drawn from the Genoa-based outfit La Coscienza di Zero, itself a Fading Records signing. After conducting drummer auditions, they selected Martino Malacrida to round out the five-piece lineup. Although the group’s music incorporates elements of earlier progressive styles, the material marks a departure for Zago, whose writing for Yugen often evokes hyperactive modern-classical chamber textures. Within Not a Good Sign the compositions adopt a more song-oriented framework, with Zago supplying English lyrics and sharing compositional duties alongside Botta. The track “Not a Good Sign,” for which Zago wrote both words and music, supplied the ensemble’s name. In conversation with Roger Trenwith of the Dutch Progressive Rock Page, Botta noted that the title captured the economic turmoil then affecting Europe and beyond, a theme mirrored in the band’s work.
The self-titled debut was tracked between March and April 2013 and issued via AltrOck/Fading that June. Beyond the core membership, the sessions included contributions from Sharron Fortnam of the British chamber-folk ensemble North Sea Radio Orchestra, who performed on an adaptation of John Donne’s Elizabethan-era poem “Witchcraft by a Picture” set to music by Zago and Botta; Yugen pianist Maurizio Fasoli; and cellist Bianca Fervidi of Sonata Islands and the Altrock Chamber Quartet. Shortly before the album’s release, Not a Good Sign made its concert debut at the fourth AltrOck/Fading Festival in Milan, where the audience response proved warmly affirmative.
Seeking an aesthetic closer to classic progressive-rock traditions than the complexity of Yugen or Ske, the trio enlisted vocalist Alessio Calandriello and bassist Gabriele Guidi Colombi, both drawn from the Genoa-based outfit La Coscienza di Zero, itself a Fading Records signing. After conducting drummer auditions, they selected Martino Malacrida to round out the five-piece lineup. Although the group’s music incorporates elements of earlier progressive styles, the material marks a departure for Zago, whose writing for Yugen often evokes hyperactive modern-classical chamber textures. Within Not a Good Sign the compositions adopt a more song-oriented framework, with Zago supplying English lyrics and sharing compositional duties alongside Botta. The track “Not a Good Sign,” for which Zago wrote both words and music, supplied the ensemble’s name. In conversation with Roger Trenwith of the Dutch Progressive Rock Page, Botta noted that the title captured the economic turmoil then affecting Europe and beyond, a theme mirrored in the band’s work.
The self-titled debut was tracked between March and April 2013 and issued via AltrOck/Fading that June. Beyond the core membership, the sessions included contributions from Sharron Fortnam of the British chamber-folk ensemble North Sea Radio Orchestra, who performed on an adaptation of John Donne’s Elizabethan-era poem “Witchcraft by a Picture” set to music by Zago and Botta; Yugen pianist Maurizio Fasoli; and cellist Bianca Fervidi of Sonata Islands and the Altrock Chamber Quartet. Shortly before the album’s release, Not a Good Sign made its concert debut at the fourth AltrOck/Fading Festival in Milan, where the audience response proved warmly affirmative.
Albums
