Mike Patton to release new album with Mondo Cane in May
The tagline to the 1962 Italian travel documentary Mondo Cane read, “All The Scenes You Will See In This Film Are True And Taken Only From Life… If Often They Are Shocking It Is Because There Are Many Astounding, Even Unbelievable Things In This World.” The film itself illustrated a variety of shocking differences in culture “including a South Pacific ‘cargo cult’, the ritual slaughter of a bull, tribal dances and rituals, and a visit to an ornate pet cemetery—all focused on the lurid, sensational, and eccentric.” (IMDB)
Fast forward to the past decade where Mike Patton developed a hybrid musical assembly—under the same name as the documentary—which resulted in something just as daring: An orchestral recreation of Italian pop songs from the ’50s and ’60s. Not to be overshadowed by the massive wave of sound that accompanied him on stage during a series of performances with the ensemble however, Patton’s vocals were all performed in Italian, and if you’re vaguely familiar with the singer’s range such a description should lead to a vivid daydream of mammoth wails accompanied by the force of an army of musicians. And in all honesty, that isn’t too distant from how Mondo Cane actually sounds.
[via Blabbermouth]
Patton spoke to Starpulse in 2008 about the inception of the project, and where his Italian roots spring from, “I lived there, off and on, for about 6, 7 years. In that time I developed a love for this stuff and I found myself listening to a lot of singers from that era. I also realized the orchestrations were incredible, and that a lot of people who were playing and doing studio work at that time were really on point.” He continued, “I was thinking about a 4 or 5-piece band. What it ended up growing into was, like, 65 people onstage, with strings and brass—it’s much more orchestral.”
Type 3 Media now reports that this unique project will see a formal release this coming May 4 via Patton’s Ipacac Recordings, “Recorded at a series of European performances including an outdoor concert in a Northern Italian piazza, the self-titled album features traditional Italian pop songs as well as a rendition of Ennio Morricone’s ‘Deep Down.’ Patton worked with a 30-piece orchestra and choir to create the uniquely new Mondo Cane sound.”
Tracklist for Mondo Cane’s self-titled debut:
1. Il Cielo In Una Stanza
2. Che Notte!
3. Ore D’Amore
4. Deep Down
5. Quello Che Conta
6. Urlo Negro
7. Scalinatella
8. L’Uomo Che Non Sapeva Amare
9. 20 KM Al Giorno
10. Ti Offro Da Bere
11. Senza Fine