VAATA

Krayang by Stefano Scippa Palleni EN - The first song drawn from the Contemporary Raga open collection that I release here in studio version is Krayang , while the previous two were recorded live in two videos. Krayang - heron in Thai language - is a pensive and melancholy composition that recalls the advent of the rainy season in Southeast Asia, full of lush and mysterious atmospheres. I developed this melody out of an early fragment that came to my mind in Thailand in 2017, when I was looking out the window and saw a marsh bird standing still on one leg in the middle of the paddy field. The morning mist hovering over the country made the scene look like a dream. The costant presence of water brought by the arrival of the monsoon, along with the colors and the changes in the rhythms of daily life, has no equivalent in Europe but can vaguely recall Autumn. This piece includes harmonic and melodic elements typical of traditional Javanese music with its elusive scales and ambiguous tun...

On July 16th 2022 I was invited by a local Indonesian association to introduce my recent compositions and work in music therapy in Indonesia. This occasion gave the opportunity to test the effectiveness of the material on the audience in a fresh cultural environment. I also had the chance to play with new bandmates and ask for their opinion about the new songs. Joko Tebon, the host musician, and Toni Praptono joined me on this event, the first on didgeridoo and ethnic percussions and the latter bringing on stage his original instrument: the guitarsitar, a hybrid scratch built lute made by Toni starting from the body of an old 12 strings guitar with the insert neck and the frets of a sitar. The selection we played is part of a larger project called Contemporary Ragas. The tunes in this repertoire combine modern music with the traditional concept of Indian raga. The purpose of this music is yet artistic, therapeutic, didactic and meditational. This means it fits different kinds of situat...

EN - The Raga Amala ( Pure in Sanskrit ) is the second in the series of the open collection Contemporary Raga . The song has a sinuous and mysterious character and uses a eastern scale and melody. Again, as in the case of the Raga Udaya , the recording was done in the natural setting of the beach. The philosophy remains the same, only minimal equipment and post production was adopted for the realization of this raga: an ordinary smartphone, a hand recorder and a little speaker for the shruti box in the background. For this you can sometimes hear the waves’ roar and the wind howling. I believe this relatively lo-fi approach is the one that better pictures the feeling of being there in the moment, just like a polaroid. It’s also a way to encourage everyone to produce their own music whatever the conditions. Capturing art in this way makes it affordable to anyone and doesn’t diminish the quality of your work. In this regard digital technology can be used effectively at your own advantag...

La mia ricerca personale riguardo la spiritualità nelle tradizioni antiche, iniziata più di trent'anni fa, mi ha condotto a chiarire soprattutto a me stesso il significato del concetto di illuminazione, proprio delle filosofie orientali e oggi di uso comune anche nel linguaggio quotidiano. I viaggi, insieme agli studi, mi hanno offerto l'opportunit à  di immergermi nella cultura asiatica per ricavarne una sintesi che si può già cogliere direttamente nel termine, mentre in occidente la sua definizione si è diluita assumendo un carattere vago e indefinito, oppure è stata resa inaccessibile ai più dalle definizioni accademiche. Tutto ciò contribuisce a generare confusione attorno un tema cardine che dovrebbe essere di immediata comprensione, per afferrarne il vero significato va quindi depurato del misticismo inflazionato e banale da cui oggi è connotato. Per questo ho deciso di condividere, cercando di spiegare in modo semplice, le conclusioni alle quali sono arrivato, nella sper...

  🇬🇧 PSYCHOLOGY OF FINANCE - Recently I’ve been invited by the renowned Brawijaya University of Malang to talk about financial psychology. As a psychologist and active investor I had the opportunity to share my ten-years experience in the sector in a meeting directed to investors and savers of all levels. I talked about the role of emotions and neurochemistry involved in investments. I exposed the behaviors to be avoided and the correct mindset to prevent big financial losses. An overview with insights to prevent falling into gambling addiction was offered along with a list of the cognitive distortions that lead to the most common assessment misjudgments. The conference is visible at the YouTube link below. 🇮🇹 PSICOLOGIA FINANZIARIA - Recentemente sono stato ospite presso la facoltà di economia della prestigiosa Università Brawijaya per parlare di psicologia finanziaria. In qualità di psicologo e attivo investitore ho potuto condividere la mia esperienza ormai decennale nel set...

  🇬🇧 ON THE SECOND SKIN - Since I came to Indonesia I began to design and tailor my own dresses, whether I wear them at public events or at home for daily use. I want them to be comfortable, elegant and colorful. The idea came long time ago after I read artist Friedrich Hundertwasser manifesto on fashion about the "Second Skin". What we choose to wear everyday is more than just a dress: it's like an extra skin that contribute to shape the nature of our social identity. In contemporaty society these aesthetic canons are dictated by the trends of commercial fashion and the individual personality is cancealed by the necessity of industrial production. We want to express our character free from the precepts of mass fashion that impose restricted identities. We therefore can forge our own image through making our own clothes as an evoluted children's game and make our life a creative artistic expression. Since I am here I got the opportunity to put this principle in prac...

EN - August 2018, when I was still in Italy, I took the chance to record a series of sessions at the Basilica di Santa Maria dei Servi in Bologna, which features a resounding acoustic and one of the most beautiful and oldest porches in the world. In this setting I took quick shootings of some original compositions that would later become the open collection Contemporary Raga using just two smartphones and a digital recording. I also decided to take advantage of the ambiance to document some classical pieces I had been working on for a long time, mostly arias from the baroque era that fit the place so well. Among these a selection of JS Bach’s Partitas and Sonatas for violin solo adapted for the soprano saxophone as this Allemande opening the 2 nd Partita in D Minor. I recently came to the decision to include it in the open collection Songs Of Bliss due to the particular nature of the context. Other tunes of this kind will be added in the future along with original compositions. A n...

DON'T LOSE YOUR SHIRT! - Thursday 7th October I will be guest of the prestigious Brawijaya University of Malang, to talk about financial psychology. This meeting is adressed either to investors and savers of all levels. How do the emotions and neurochemistry work when we are involved in an investment? What behaviors are to be avoided and what's the correct conduct in order to dodge big financial losses? An overview with insights to prevent us falling into gambling addiction and escape the cognitive distortions that lead to the most common assessment errors. On Brawijaya University YouTube channel, free participation, live at 9.30 Indonesian time (GTM + 7). NON GIOCARTI LA CAMICIA! - Giovedí 7 Ottobre saró ospite della prestigiosa Università Brawijaya di Malang, per parlare di psicologia finanziaria. Questo incontro é rivilto agli investitori e ai risparmiatori di tutti i livelli. Come funzionano le emozioni e la neurochimica quando siamo coinvolti in un investimento? Qua...

Immaculate Breakfast by Stefano Scippa Palleni When I first heard John Coltrane’s album My Favorite Things I immediately wanted to start playing soprano saxophone. Every Time We Say Goodbye was among the tunes that truly enlightened me and one of the first I learnt on the straight horn. Lately, when I recorded my solo soprano album Immaculate Breakfast, in the chapel of Roncati’s Ex-Asylum in Bologna city, I decided to release my own version of that tune filtered through a deep rework and the experience of many years of dedicated practice. Today if I listen to the result of that session from the distance of nearly 10 years, I can feel I achieved my personal style and refined musical personality, along with the ability to retain the spirit of that song so important to me. There are people in this world that just because you’ve heard them once they can change your life and make you want to be a better person. Thank you Mr. John Coltrane!

EN - This composition is the first in the series to be included in the open collection Songs Of Bliss, a songbook of pieces reminiscent of the mystics from all traditions who used to break out in spontaneous outburst of sung poems to express a bliss too great to communicate in words. My intention is to renew this feeling and convey it in a contemporary musical vehicle beyond any style or genre. My arrangement of this classic gregorian chant wants to channel energy and vigour in the music, trying to preserve the soaring and volatile character of the original melody. The theme is expoded twice, first in the original major mode then transposed in the phrygian mode, adding some dark and ambiguos flavour to light of this hymn. A simple I-IV tonal sequence follows opening up the way to a short improvisation that reaches the climax in the end of this intense performance. The beautiful setting of the Basilica dei Servi di Maria in Bologna add further colour to sound of the tenor saxophone, li...