Review: Upupayāma ‘Mount Elephant’

I’ve known Alessio Ferrari, the musical mastermind and multi-instrumentalist behind the captivating psych, acid and folk rock project Upupayāma, for the last few years since first emerging on the scene in 2021 with his eponymous self-titled debut album that was co-released through Cardinal Fuzz and Centripetal Force.

Hailing from a rural country town not far from the Italian city of Parma, Ferrari has shown an unwavering dedication to cultivating his own distinct sonic musical identity, one that blends elements of psychedelia, folk and ambient into a truly mesmerizing whole. With the 2022 release of his acclaimed second album The Golden Pond, also co-released through Cardinal Fuzz and Centripetal Force, Ferrari further solidified his reputation as a visionary artist unafraid to venture into uncharted musical territories.

Now, just two years later, Upupayāma returns with its latest spellbinding odyssey, the third newly released Mount Elephant – and his first outing for the revered London-based Fuzz Club Records. With the new album, the artist once again sought out the expertise of renowned producer and mixing engineer Chris Smith to help bring his musical vision to life. Having previously collaborated with Smith on his prior release, Ferrari was confident in the producer’s ability to capture the nuanced textures and sonic depth he was aiming for. Smith‘s deep attention to detail and keen ear for balance and clarity were invaluable assets during the mixing process, as he meticulously shaped and polished each track to accentuate the artist’s emotive vocal performances and the dynamic interplay of the instrumental arrangements.

Across this latest album, Ferrari weaves together shimmering guitar textures, hypnotic rhythms, and ethereal, emotive vocals. He crafts an immersive sonic experience that transports the listener to realms of pure psychedelic bliss. His musical compositions are akin to dreamlike tapestries, woven with threads of spirituality that gently lift the listener from the constraints of the earthly realm.

The album’s lush, immersive soundscapes envelop the senses, painting vivid and hallucinatory visions that dance through the mind’s eye. Each track is a portal to an otherworldly realm, where the lines between the physical and the metaphysical blur, allowing the listener to transcend the confines of their everyday experience. Ferrari’s mastery of a wide range of instruments, from delicate folk styles to mind-blowing psychedelic flourishes, creates a fluid and mesmerising journey that defies genre classification.

Mount Elephant is a true gem of musical escapism, a work that transports the listener to realms of imagination. All around resonates a deep and innate sense of spirituality and connection to the natural world. Ferrari’s ability to create such captivating and otherworldly soundscapes is a testament to his artistic vision and the profound impact his music can have on the human experience. His music blends the earthy, grounded tones of rural folk music with the more exotic and captivating sounds of the East, music capable of creating a beguiling fusion that transports the listener to realms both familiar and otherworldly.

Drawing inspiration from the rhythmic vitality of Anatolian folk styles, he then ventures into more uncharted territory, incorporating elements akin to the free-flowing, almost psychedelic qualities of krautrock. This unexpected pairing of musical influences results in a sound that is truly one-of-a-kind, defying easy categorization. The vocal delivery is a study of tranquil expressiveness with a calm voice that perfectly complements the gently undulating sonic textures.

The album’s lush, immersive soundscapes envelop the senses, painting vivid and hallucinatory visions that dance through the mind’s eye.…

As the music unfurls, it weaves a tapestry of sound that evokes landscapes imbued with a celestial, almost transcendent quality – a sonic journey that blurs the boundaries between the earthly and the ethereal. Through his seamless blending of disparate musical traditions, he conjures a listening experience that is at once grounded and elevating, connecting the listener to both the primal rhythms of the natural world and the boundless expanses of the human spirit.

‘Mount Elephant was born from the need to listen, to listen to silence’ says Alessio before adding, ‘Listening to silence while observing flowers, moving your hands in the wind, listening to your body while dancing. If in my first album (Upupayāma) I had travelled far and wide through a place, in the second (The Golden Pond) I had reached one and stopped, in this third album I set off again, I cross a border and enter a place I have long dreamed of that I finally see with my own eyes’.

In fact, the artist’s latest work is a profound and transportive musical exploration that ventures far beyond the boundaries of conventional imagination. Analysing the album track by track, one is swept away into a series of distinct, immersive worlds where Ferrari’s unique musical and cultural sensibilities collide with the realities of the modern age.

The opening track Moon Needs The Wolf is a hypnotic, trance-like journey that erupts into the sky, unleashing an intoxicating ethnic dance melody that seems to pulse with an ancient, primal energy. The melodies that drift throughout Thimpu evoke a sense of tender, solitary musical contemplation, harkening back to the emotionally resonant qualities of the artist’s previous works. Here, the vocals have a hushed, almost prayed quality, as if the singer is supplicating to the very gods of nature and weather.

The nearly ten-minute epic Moon Needs The Owl (Part I) is a magnetic, shape-shifting odyssey that recalls the Anatolian folk-rock stylings of acts like Altın Gün, but then unexpectedly veers off in more bluesy, blissful directions. It’s a dizzying, psychedelic trip that seems to draw from a wellspring of diverse global musical traditions. In contrast, the album’s briefest track Dabadaba is a meditative, transcendent reverie centred around the interplay of sitar, flute, and a slow, almost religious drum rhythm, evoking a sense of deep spiritual introspection.

The title track then closes the album with a blessed and mystical opening passage that suddenly erupts into an overwhelming, fuzzed-out psychedelic maelstrom, as if the very fabric of reality is being torn asunder. Throughout, the artist’s boundless musical imagination is on full display, transporting the listener to realms of experience that challenge and expand the very notion of what music can achieve.

If you’re looking for musical splendour that takes you into an enthralling spiritual meditation, don’t look further. This is music that doesn’t just entertain – it enlightens, uplifts, and inspires a profound state of spiritual rejuvenation that lingers long after the final note fades away.

Label: Fuzz Club Records
Band Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram

Scribed by: Domenico ‘Mimmo’ Caccamo