‘To The Cloud Cuckoo Land of Color Wheels’ by Malesh
One of the best ways to discover new music is the Bandcamp search tool. With it you can drill down to extremely specific sub-genres of music. During a recent night of falling down this rabbit hole, I found the beautifully esoteric sounds of an avant-garde project from Italy called Malesh. I clicked on them based solely on the title of their album ‘To The Cloud Cuckoo Land of Color Wheels’ (2026 Dark Companion Records).
I mean, come on! With a title like that how could I resist? Thankfully, I was not disappointed. Equal parts soothing and manic, mixing acoustic and electronic instruments with found-sound samples. The musical influences are extensive yet well balanced with elements of Baroque classical, mid-70s prog rock, new age, experimental, electronica, and psychedelic.
This is the fourth release from Malesh, formed by multi-instrumentalist Pablo Monterisi in 2020. The number of sonic elements — the layers of different instruments, sounds, meters and styles — found here is impressive to say the least. Just look at the lineup on this recording:
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Pablo Monterisi – guitar, bass, mandolin, flute, piano, keyboards, and vocals
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Martino Petrella – guitar, bass, balalaika, mandolin, xylophone, and vocals
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Leonardo Pucci – drums
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Damiano Tata – samples
The meticulous process of blending those elements and the intricacy of the compositions took two years to complete which is evident in the complex yet accessible nature of the music. Textures build and evolve throughout. In between are sprinklings of environmental and atmospheric garnish in the form of low-in-the-mix real world samples (the ringing at the beginning of the song ‘Piroga’ actually had me reaching for my phone).
As for the origin of the project’s name, I came across a 2024 interview from ‘It’s Psychedelic Baby Magazine’. In it Monterisi says, “It’s an Arabic word which technically means ‘nevermind’ or ‘sorry’. I just liked the sound of it and the inevitable nonsense it carries to the Western ear. Plus, it’s a good self-explanatory name for those who don’t enjoy our music.”
I’m happy to say that I do enjoy their music (I’m checking out the rest of their catalog as well). And if you’re into experimental musical projects that build psychedelic soundscapes that incorporate a variety of traditional and modern styles, then I think you will too.
Cheers!
Stephen
Malesh Bandcamp → malesh.bandcamp.com
Dark Companion Bandcamp → darkcompanionrecords.bandcamp.com
Instagram → instagram.com/malesh_band
Facebook → facebook.com/Malesh.Band
