NEW OUT ON THE ITALIAN "RAVE UP" LABEL...
“Incredible but true!”, That is, “incredible but true!”. These are the words written by hand on the rib of a BASF cassette that I kept in the archive since Chris Bianco entrusted it to me, geological eras ago: nothing better to title an album containing recordings with forty-four years on the shoulders of a band that did not have in life nothing posted.
Incredible, however, is not only the recovery in itself of the ancient sound vestiges, but also the way in which they testify to the overwhelming urgency and, in general, of the quartet's talents. Uncommon stuff, in the Italy of those years.
For those who know the events of the first national punk, Trancefusion are a Roman group. True, but in part, given that their first nucleus was formed in Milan in 1977, with the rhythm section composed by the Bianco brothers - Fabiano called “Master”, drums and vocals; Chris, bass - and guitarist and singer Steve Osella, all three students at the American School of Milan. Noticed by Maurizio Arcieri of Chrisma not yet Krisma, they were invited to perform at the Out-Off club on July 28, shortly before expanding the staff with the arrival of a role singer whose surname no one remembers, this Bruno, and the entry of Klaus del Medico to replace Osella. After just a couple of concerts, at the Idroscalo and in an occupied theater, in February 1978 the cases of life led to the transfer of the Bianco family to the capital. Having made contact with the local underground scene, the brothers thus prepared a new line-up with Vittorio Tedesco Zammarano on vocals and Lucio Cillis on guitar; the live debut in Rome took place at a hippy gathering and the first major outing - for which, for some reason, the boys decided to introduce themselves as Brats - was on April 26 at the Piper, in an evening that featured two other city groups in the cast (Yogurt and Elektroshock) and the British Hunter. From then on, Trancefusion made their way into the alternative circuit, first often playing in iconic venues such as the Johann Sebastian Bar and the Titan and then, once they found two efficient managers in Massimo Costa and Roberta Di Nicola, in various other places. , in the city and in Italy; we also missed a recording session at the legendary RCA studios in Via Tiburtina with Marcello Todaro of Banco del Mutuo Soccorso at the mixer, but unfortunately the tapes were lost, (almost) for sure forever. Later, but it was already in 1980, the story took a different turn, with the change of name to Raff and a gradual shift, thanks to some line-up changes, towards hard rock.
The material of this disc, all dated 1978, includes twelve of the fourteen songs immortalized in a small studio near the Lungotevere Flaminio, before the band set up its personal lair in Via degli zingari; the two missing from the appeal, because deteriorated, were however found in the aforementioned live tape and taken from there, with the addition of two particularly significant "duplicates". In short, the repertoire of Trancefusion is almost entirely documented in these grooves, moreover with a sound quality that all things considered is miraculous. A further reason to scream, convinced "incredible but true!".
Federico Guglielmi, February 2022
FEATURES
A1--I Remember When
A2--Prisoner In Time
A3--God Save Your Queen
A4--Creep
A5--Humpty Dumpty
A6--Minds Out
A7--Baby Baby
A8--One In A Million
B1--Steamroller
B2--School
B3--Christine
B4--Back In USSR
B5--Prisoner In Time (Live)
B6--White Cocks (Live)
B7--Play Kid (Live)
B8--One In A Million/Girls (Live)
