The irrepressible desire to travel, known as “Wanderlust”, is called “Dromomania” in a clinical context. Contemporary actions and habits are often catalogued and associated with scientific syndromes or pathologies. Is dromomania a dissociative escape or a feeling necessary for the enrichment of one’s experiences?
Since the dawn of everything, perpetual nomadism cannot be compared to the concept of simple wandering but rather to the voracious attempt to increase order and individual and collective knowledge. Cemento Atlantico – the electronic project of the Italian producer and DJ Alessandro “ToffoloMuzik” Zoffoli, from Cesena – acts as a dromomaniac to give a broader meaning to the present that surrounds him. His new album Dromomania will be released on CD, vinyl and all digital platforms on 21th June, 2024 via Bronson Recordings, following the debut instant cult classic Rotte Interrotte of 2021.
Cemento Atlantico‘s logo is made up of the initials “C” and “A”. According to him: «The letter ‘A’ indicates the first Ocean I crossed, the Atlantic one, while the letter” C – represented by a crescent Moon, with no political or religious reference – symbolizes rebirth or the advent of a new life in many ancient and modern cultures».
Dromomania thinks of music as a collective ritual, with an international vision expressed in an intimate and artisanal way. All is based on the recalculation of traditions in a network of analogue and digital languages. Once again, field recordings are the starting point of each track: these are not trivial sound souvenirs but sources capable of telling a real story. Documents that try to respect other cultures, sharing an emotional value amplified and supported by concrete beats.
Heterogeneous yet compact in its approach to house, future garage, post-dubstep and world music, Dromomania is an album that is both darker and more rhythmic compared to Rotte Interrotte. Cemento Antico says: «In Dromomaniathe bass lines are overbearing. I wrote Rotte Interrotte in a particular historical period, due to the limitations of the Covid-19 pandemic. That album was my escape route, to convince myself that that absurd moment would be over, so I turned the pages of my “audio travel memories” and tried to relive them by sharing their imagery. Dromomania has brought me back on the road, finally free again, but it is also a darker work: the pandemic made me open my eyes to many aspects. In fact, I believe that the pandemic was the only crisis in history that did not give rise to a cultural revolution, but fueled ignorance and conflicts. In many situations the worst side of humanity has emerged, so I wanted to treat my productions with a less “chill” attitude. As if I had turned up the volumes on wars and arrogance. I would like the complaint to be alive, I would like to attract attention by making me feel louder”.
After the first excerpt and opening track Garawek Khaos, marking the first stop in Thailand, the brand new single El Que Puede Hablar is a drum and bass trip to Texcoco, presentday Mexico City. The single is available digitally today 17th May with a video directed by Zoffoli himself, starring the actress and dancer Xhoglina Mustafa. 1418-1427, the Aztec emperor bore the name of Acolmiztli Nezahualcoyotl (hungry coyote). He was one of the last leaders of the preColumbian era, also known as Tlatoani, which in the Nahuatl language means “the one who can speak” (in Spanish: El que puede Hablar). The recognition of “sole speaker” is due to the fact that Acolmiztli combined the arts of war and politics with philosophy. Every law promulgated by him was dictated in the form of poetry. Despite being a bloodthirsty and powerhungry monarch, he was revered by his people as a new god on earth. Even today his literary works are remembered by the descendants of the natives and acquired the value of prayers. The flutes, the percussion fragments and the chants were recorded during a devotional rite on the Teotihuacán Pyramid of the Sun in Mexico City. The Nahuatl language poem entitled “Nitlayocoya” (written by Acolmiztli Nezahualcoyotl) was recorded during the Dia de Los muertos at the central cemetery in Oaxaca to honor the life, the deeds and the death of Acolmiztli Nezahualcoyotl.
In Dromomania the point of arrival is the reconstruction and sharing of an ever wider map. The landscapes dictate the sound flows, that translate into thought. Overthrows of state power, devotional rites, rebellions, legends, abuses and questions chase each other rhythm after rhythm, citing history through the space-time coordinates of Thailand, India, Bulgaria, Mexico, Andalusia, Romagna, Colombia, Nicaragua and Panama.
