Ottaven - The Pleasure of Loosing (2021, n°146, mc/digital)
out on Stone to death records from Pardubice, Czech Republic.
This is a text from Jakub, label smoke:
I'm not sure if its the usual narrative when people speaks about Giovanni Donadini musical alter ego Ottaven, but at leats for me its important to mention his past which is tied to italian hardcore punk band called With Love. Its undeniable that the punk DIY approach has pretty clear feel in whatever art Giovanni does, no matter if its building minimal furniture walls, making electronic music or designing his fashion pieces as Caned Icoda.
About twenty years ago my friend Michal released an split album for With Love and czech based noise band Climatizado. He did it on his short lived label Chierra records (which he threatens to resuscita at any moment). Michal also runs his own festival called Fluff Fest and he would frequently ask With Love to play. When With Love was no more, Giovanni would come with screen print shop and sell fashionable shirts he printed and sew. Occasionally he would play with Ottaven, his experimental electronic music output. My part at the Fluff Festival was to curate stage called Psych tent. One year, maybe in 2018, i had Giovanni perform with Ottaven. He played stellar set in the middle of the field, all in front of the loud PA and it was positively great. When his set was over, the soundguy Tosper played some backing music through the PA. That night he selected album The End from Nico. The last song on The End is Nico's adaptation of german national anthem called “Das Lied Der Deutchen”, dedicated to Andreas Baader from Red Army Fraction. Playing this song over super loud PA was not the greatest idea, because the second it was heard by german hardcore dude who happened just walk by, all hell breaks loose. He got confused and thought its Giovanni playing the music. Which he was not, but he still jumped him and tried to mess with his cables at no positive result, Giovanni was already packing his gear, unplugged, but the “Das Lied Der Deutchen” is still loud and clear in the PA. Later on the hardcore dude insisted that the whoevers iPod it was that has this song on must be destroyed immediately.
Heres few words Giovanni wrote to me in our conversation about the tape:
“In the end the title for this tape i like the most is "the pleasure of loosing".
something like to abandon, to let it go, also to give away, to donate.
It can be nice gesture, that's it :)
And it's a feeling i have in contrast to a sort of winning attitude we are often push to live with.
this idea of be the best, do your best, be sporty, be competitive ect..
Many times i feel would even better to don't participate, to don't take part.
I want to think we don't need any race, any challenge, any competition.
Beauty is in the transparency of the glass.”
credits
released September 3, 2021
Recored and edited by Ottaven, april 2020.
Mastered by Renato Grieco, april 2021.
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