Clic

Franco Battiato's next two recordings saw his music take another step towards the avant-garde. Combining synthesizers, piano, electronics, voices and tapes into a musique concrete of effortless, hypnotic music, Sulle Corde di Aries was released in 1973. "Sequenze e Frequenze" covered the first side, while three shorter tracks filled the second; here, Battiato opted for an eastern flavor, combining electronics and acoustic tabla, with his layered voice providing the magnetic icing. Clic followed the next year, again for the Bla Bla label. Leaving the tabla rhythms behind, Battiato instead arms himself with a kitchen sink of tape effects at the mixing console. The combination of sequencers and strings on "Propiedad Prohibida" is a standout. All in all, there's more atmosphere here than on most "ambient" recordings of the era. Both albums were compiled for international release by Island in 1974 (released though as Clic), substituting an extended version of "Revolution in the Air" from the former for the entire second side of the latter. Battiato then performed a series of concerts in London (supporting Magma), and completed a re-recording of his first album in English as well. However, a car accident hastened his return to Italy and scuttled attempts at international exposure. His albums during the latter half of the 70s veered straight off the timeline, as they had everything to do with 20th century avant-garde music, much more so than his acknowledged influence of Karlheinz Stockhausen here (the album was dedicated to him). But towards the end of the decade, Battiato would again change musical direction with the times—launching him to the top of the Italian charts, and on to a long and successful solo career in his native Italy.