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<\/a><\/figure>\nFor his fifth studio album, musician, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Federico Albanese <\/strong>finds deep wells of inspiration in the northern Italian countryside to which he returned in 2022 after eight years living & working in Berlin. From the evocation of natural beauty in the title to the free-flowing music it contains, Blackbirds and the Sun of October<\/em><\/strong> is an album that is inseparable from the place in which it was conceived and developed. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0Blackbirds and the sun of October<\/strong>\u00a0is a title that just felt right from the start \u2013 I wanted to find an image that could perfectly capture the essence of the place and time where the album began to take shape. The blackbirds, the autumn light \u2013 there was a sense of magic in those moments that I wanted to translate into music. It conveyed all the elements that made this album what it is.<\/em><\/p>\n Federico Albanese<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The sense of freedom that inspired the record is also reflected in the range of instruments and influences Albanese brought together to create it. He blends classical traditions and time-worn instruments with modern electronics and experimentation to create a whole range of moods and textures while his penchant for achingly bittersweet melodies keeps the music grounded in organic beauty throughout. Albanese even works in some of the region\u2019s colorful history with a pair of tracks that reference the legend of the knight Aleramo who served Otto I the Great and fell in love with the emperor\u2019s favored daughter <\/strong>Adelasia eventually to be named the Marquis of Montferrat. It is all of these threads \u2013 natural, cultural, historical, and musical that makes Blackbirds and the Sun of October<\/em><\/strong> the lovely musical tapestry that it is. <\/p>\n\n