Making his BBE debut in 2017 with compilation album ‘The Languages Of Tambores’, described by The Vinyl Factory as “ancestral, evocative and visceral”, Italian multi-instrumentalist Gabriele Poso returns to the label with his new LP ‘Awakening’. Since his debut album ‘From The Genuine World’, released in 2008 on Osunlade’s Yoruba Records, Gabriele has amassed an impressive catalogue of solo work and guest appearances, not to mention a hectic schedule of live performances. Perhaps Gabriele’s most rounded work to date; ‘Awakening’ captures an artist in full bloom, examining a crossroads between creative and personal paths.

“The birth of my eldest son Viktor caused me to question my career in music and explore other, more ‘secure’ options, but thanks to my wife I quickly realised that to be different from your neighbor doesn’t make you wrong. After all, in this life, does anyone really have any security? So actually Viktor and my family have become my super power: they teach me to believe in myself more then I ever did before. This album is all about that realization; that Awakening.”

Encompassing Afro-latin, jazz, soul and dance music elements, glued together by Poso’s
distinctive layered live percussion sounds, ‘Awakening’ is peppered with guest performances and production touches from a talented series of friends. As Gabriele puts it “I like to surround my music with the people I love and want to spend my time with.” A deeply rooted and spiritual project, a few of the tracks featured on ‘Awakening’ will be familiar to those lucky enough to catch Gabriele Poso on tour over the last 12 months; not least his reimagining of the Roy Ayers classic ‘Everybody Loves The Sunshine’. From the stunning cover art by Elvira Gerardi which features Gabriele’s first born son Viktor, to the special music contained within, this album’s message is clear; although as Gabriele succinctly points out: when we talk about love, ‘words never work.’