La Finestra Dentro

Milanese composer Roberto aka Juri Camisasca is one of the many interesting composers who spun through Franco Battiato’s orbit. The two met during military service; Battiato would end up co-producing, along with Pino Massara, Camisasca’s debut album, La Finestra Destro. It’s a shockingly mature set for someone composing in their early twenties, though the intensity of the performances certainly signals someone who’s working through the anxieties of growing into adulthood. Something about the explosive force of Camisasca’s performances reminds of British singer-songwriter Peter Hammill in solo form, though on quieter, more reflective songs, like “Ho Un Grande Vuota Nella Testa,” there are intimations of the pastoralism of Bill Fay, or John Cale at his most poised. He’d go on to release a few more singles in the mid-seventies, and work with Battiato and and Lino Capra Vaccina, but by the end of the decade, Camisasca had taken his vows and became a Benedictine monk.