Hooffoot - The Lights In the Aisle Will Guide You (2019)

Gli svedesi Hooffoot avevano esordito nel 2015 con un bell'album strumentale che racchiudeva solo due lunghi e articolati brani. Per stessa ammissione della band formata da Pär Hallgren (basso), Jacob Hamilton (batteria), Jocke Jönsson (chitarra) e Bengt Wahlgren (tastiere), il sound di quelle tracce era stato plasmato e ispirato dal rock progressivo italiano degli anni '70, con particolare riferimento al Balletto di Bronzo, e dal jazz rock dei Soft Machine.

Con The Lights In the Aisle Will Guide You gli Hooffoot continuano ad esplorare quella strada, ma con declinazioni eclettiche che spaziano tra jazz, folk e prog ancora più accentuate. E' un album che pur rispettando la tradizione anni '70 soprattutto con riferimenti sonori alla scuola di Canterbury, mantiene il passo con le produzioni prog moderno. L'offerta strumentale infatti è talmente ricca e piena di sfumature, potenziata anche dall'ausilio di violino, tromba e sassofono, che possiede le qualità per accontentare sia gli amanti del jazz sia i sostenitori del prog.

Dato che il soggetto ritratto nella copertina dona un certo mood all'album e ha giocato un'importante ruolo nella realizzazione di The Lights In the Aisle Will Guide You, è doveroso riportare la storia che sta dietro alla sua realizzazione:

Bengt Wahlgren was looking for an image with connection to HOOFFOOT’s home town Malmö to use as an album cover. One day he stumbled upon an oil painting, in a style referred to as super-realism, portraying a street only one block away from his home. The painting, “Nattljus vid Källargatan Kirseberg” took three years (1976-1979) to complete for Malmö artist Thomas Strömdahl and fitted perfectly for the mood - “Malmö noir”- of the new album! The next idea was less realistic than the painting, "Hey, let’s re-stage this set including the original car for a photo shoot with the HOOFFOOT members included" Bengt managed to find Thomas Strömdahl, who gave his approval for using the painting as album cover. After listening to early mixes of the new HOFFOOT album, Thomas stated that it reminded him very much of the type of music he listened to at the time of the painting's creation; Can, Amon Düül and Tangerine Dream. What are the odds? The next step was trying to track down the car. Bass player Pär Hallgren succeeded in finding the current owner who explained that the car was parked in an old barn in the countryside. (Strangely enough, very close to the location of the studio where HOOFFOOT recorded their debut album.) Unfortunately, the car was in so poor condition that it could not be transported and used for the photo shoot, Fortunately, the owner had a nearly identical "spare car". The car was transported from the barn and placed on the same spot in the street of Malmö where it´s predecessor stood some 43 years ago. Photographer Jörgen Persson worked with the band with staging and photography and the resulting photo was used for the inner sleeve. For everybody involved, this is so much more than a photo. It is a great story, a process, a reminder that it is worth investing time and effort into something if you know what you want to achieve, regardless of whether it is music or an oil painting.