Onomatopea - “s/t”
(Moon Tones 2002, 1001)
Onomatopea - “s/t”
(Moon Tones 2002, 1001)
From Aural Innovations #22 (January 2003)
Delia Lyn was from San Francisco, but met Andy Pietropaolo in Travestre, “Rome’s Greenich Village” while she was playing music on the street during a vacation to Italy. Together, they form the duo, Onomatopea.
There is something very enticing in their music. It’s romantic, without getting overly sentimental; thoughtful yet ethereal, mystical yet grounded on Earth. Straddling the gap between pop and jazz, Pietropaolo creates the perfect backdrop for Lyn’s songs, a sensual and spacey blending of bass and electronics. At times, the synthesizers swell into lush, caressing waves, like Heaven’s own orchestra, or gurgle and swoosh like musical rivers around Pietropaolo’s melodious bass. And while Lyn plays both gentle guitar and lovely flute to great effect, it is her stirring, distinctive, sometimes quirky, but always angelic vocals that take center stage here.
Lyn captures an enchanting blend of Bjork, Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins, Jane Siberry, and Flora Purim, and then infuses it with plenty of her own style and personality. The songs range from the dreamy Timeless Moment, to the laidback and jazzy You’re So Wild, to The Speed of Light, which reminded me a little of breezy mid-70’s Joni Mitchell, the latin influenced Dreaming About You, and the wonderful closing number, Chant of the Migrating Soul, something like a Weather Report tune, with Lyn giving a strange spoken word monologue on cosmic self-awareness!
In short, if you like any of the artists mentioned about, you will find plenty to enjoy on Onomatopea’s delightful debut.
Visit Onomatopea at their web site: http://www.onomatopea.com.
Reviewed by Jeff Fitzgerald