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Metamorfosi is the story of Joseph Capriati’s artistic evolution, the result of both personal and musical development, maturing influences and meeting his heroes - an emotional message which needs to be felt.
From the album’s opening moments, the slow-release, acid euphoria of ‘Improvvisazione’ and the stunning synth melodies of ‘Beautiful Morning’, Capriati’s cards are on the table. The three years since his last album have seen Joseph embark on a journey of self-reflection, broadening his creative spectrum and incorporating more genres and moods. “It is definitely not a pure dancefloor record”, he says of Metamorfosi, “it is diverse, which for me is the spirit of an album. I really hope that people will get the message.”
By releasing the album on his own label Redimension, any barriers that previously lay between Capriati and his most authentic self are gone. This is at once the sound of the Neapolitan techno artist today, as an eleven-year-old discovering House music, as a world-touring DJ and as Joseph at home.
As the rousing keys and pulse of ‘Beautiful Morning’ fade out, in comes one of the record’s main themes, collaboration. ‘Spirit Brothers’, made with the legendary Louie Vega, is a modern spin on classic House. “The track with Louie Vega is very symbolic for me personally, as it was him and Masters At Work who have inspired me since the beginning.” Through their storied six-hour, vinyl-only sets together at Cielo, New York, Joseph and Louie have fostered a special relationship which
translates onto this infectious track. ‘Love Changed Me’, a joint work with Byron Stingily and Eric Kupper, two more true icons of House music, appears later in the record and also fulfills Joseph’s lifelong wish to work with timeless producers and vocalists.
With the supreme drum programming and rolling groove of ‘Anything Is Possible’, the balance shifts to a more muscular sound with a few elements revolving in perfect harmony. ‘Dust’ restores the uplifting tone, conjuring images of Joseph entrancing a crowd at sunrise - fitting given the track was made after Joseph’s first experience at Burning Man in 2018 and represents all the emotions he lived in those desert days. ‘Psychic Journey’ and ‘Goa’ share this cosmic feeling but pack it with extra weight for the peak-time hours.
It would not be a Joseph Capriati full-length without an ode to his beloved hometown of Napoli, a city with a rich history in dance music culture and beyond. ‘New Horizons’ featuring James Senese represents the essence of Napoli. The single contains a techno version which stands for Joseph and the original version which stands for James Senese, a pioneer of Neapolitan blues and funk for more than half a century. In Joseph’s words, “this track has a priceless value and for me has a great meaning. We didn’t want to make a pure techno track, because it would turn out to be trivial together with James Senese’s saxophone and his voice. The idea was to make an electronic track, and it turned out to be quite trip-hop, very 90s, in a similar style to Massive Attack or Tricky.”
‘New Horizons’ sets up the cinematic, IDM-influenced title-track ‘Metamorfosi’. If any one track on this LP could alone characterise its concept, this would be it. ‘Metamorfosi’ could stun a packed dancefloor at the right moment but that is not its reason to be. It is purely and simply an expression of Joseph’s musical vision, a snapshot of countless years buying, playing and living music.
The album’s final stretch includes the vibrant ‘It’s All About Love’, the stand-out song made with Eric Kupper and Byron Stingily called ‘Love Changed Me’ and, finally, a broken-beat cut which provides one last emotional peak. With an album tour and special, Capriati vinyl sets coming up soon, the message of Metamorfosi will come to life in a different way. The message is now with you.
