Ataraxia – Mon Seul Désir

Six long compositions can be found on this new album from Ataraxia. This Italian band is working on an impressive oeuvre, if I’ve counted well this is already their tenth album. Just like the previous three albums, it is released by Cruel Moon, a side-label of the Swedish Cold Meat. As always Ataraxia finds its inspiration in a mixture of medieval, oriental and European themes and sounds.
The expressive voice of Francesca Nicoli is an important trademark of the band. But the experienced musicians in the band are not less important. The guitars of Vittorio, the piano of Giovanni and the percussion of Francesco (who also sings a few duets with Fransesca) form a solid base.
Unlike most other Ataraxia albums, “Mon Seul Desir” is not centered around one historical period or theme. This makes this a rather ‘free’ album, sounding spontaneous. A source of inspiration, especially for the artwork, were the cycle of tapestries ‘La Dame a la Licorne’ and ‘The Canticle of Canticles’. A nice song is ‘Jarem Gitti’, which is an adaptation of a Turkish medieval lovesong, and reminding some of the more oriental work of Dead Can Dance. To show the variety of the album, ‘Sendero en Lago Verde’ is an instrumental piece, a classical guitar composition. As usual with Ataraxia albums, there is one real ‘hit’. This time it’s the last song, ‘Mundus est Jocundum’. In a shorter version this Carmina Burana piece already appeared on the “Historiae” album, but it deserves this new treatment.