Forty drops of dew (demo)

Fom demo-tape "En Velours Noir" (Hiems Creations,1998)

Music and lyrics by Luigi Maria Mennella.

excerpt from "Lacerto di un Sole"

From demo-tape "En Velours Noir" (Hiems Creations,1998).

Music and lyrics by Luigi Maria Mennella.

"Don't Believe"

From mcd "Else" (Beyond...Prod, 2000).

Music and lyrics by Luigi Maria Mennella.

excerpt from "A Monster Nearby"

From mcd "La Danse Interdite" (Mvsa Ermeticka, 2005).

Music by Luigi Maria Mennella.
Lyrics by Pier Paolo Pasolini.

excerpt from "Senza di te tornavo come ebbro"

From mcd "La Danse Interdite" (Mvsa Ermeticka, 2005).

Music by Luigi Maria Mennella.

"Fugace Chimera"

From cd "Dans Les Fleurs de Velours Noir" (Mvsa Ermeticka, 2006)

Piano (1999 E.V.) and arrangements (2004 E.V.)  by Luigi Maria Mennella. 
“Spleen”, lyrics by Paul Verlaine {1844 -1896 }
Vocals on the second part belong to William S.Borroughs {1914 -1997 }
(rhythmically re-assembled from an old analogic 60's tape-recording).

excerpt from "Improvisation under Spleen"

From cd "Dans Les Fleurs de Velours Noir" (Mvsa Ermeticka, 2006).

Piano (1998 E.V.) and arrangements (2004 E.V.) by Luigi Maria Mennella.
“The Green Goddess”(excerpts), lyrics by Aleister Crowley {1875-1947}
Female vocals/lyrics contribute by Maethelyiah.

excerpt from "The Green Goddess"

From cd "Dans Les Fleurs de Velours Noir" (Mvsa Ermeticka, 2006)

Written as Aesthetic compendium of all the previous “Fleurs”, this new song is also a pretext of thinking one more time over the intimate nature of our emotions.

Music and lyrics (2004 E.V.) by Luigi Maria Mennella.

"The Garland"

GENRES: Avantgarde gothic/soundtracks

MEMBERS: Unique member (all instruments & vocals): Luigi Maria Mennella

BIOGRAPHY:
DANS LES FLEURS DE VELOURS NOIR – introduction by the Author himself  This long time unpublished piano work – never spread in the past whether due to commercial reasons { those compositions – I must confess - are probably the most severe and refined I created till today and matched with lyrics devout to the darkest symbolism ever }; or due to the bad quality of the first analogic support – is now ready to be presented to the listeners in a renewed form. Totally re-recorded; once again partially {I’m referring to the grand piano} done live, to maintain intact the spontaneity of the Spleen which often pervades me when I freely play this instrument, probably the only childhood friend I continue seeing often, not paying attention to the usual technical aspects of the sound. And it’s just the inmost essence of Spleen the main theme of this work, the lives spent under its Aegis, the frail “fleurs de velours noir” never gathered because of the distrust people harbour towards all what is dark and avoid the sun of EsSoterism. Close to some poems of mine, I also availed myself with the lyrical contribution of C.Baudelaire, P.Verlaine, G. Leopardi and A. Crowley. Moreover, musically enriched with new Chamber / Classical and Free Jazz arrangements, Dark Ambient contaminations and poetry reading ...the final result which will probably make dumbfounded the usual listeners of my music, but which will surely moves this project to the attention of the most sophisticated ones: pure Avant-garde Decadent Musick from the blackest meanders of my synapses.

EN VELOURS NOIR – previous biography by Sean Wrightson  During 1997 Luigi M.Mennella felt the need to consign to the mass another foreshorten of his polyhedral artistic personality, spreading within the European gothic scene some songs which got into trouble the capacities of definition of many people, but on the other hand collected tons of encouraging consents even from persons accustomed to standard metal o rock structured songs, and surely being loved by all fans of Dead Can Dance or even Devil Doll sonorities. After the unsuccessful attempt to work as band, EVN became a solo-project just some days before the recording of its first official work: an homonymous and heterogeneous work published in 1998 by Hiems Creations initially in a strictly limited digipack cassette edition {format conceived by the artist!} and then in a standard edition with elegant opaline coversleeve.  Eclecticism, theatricality, avant-gard experimentalism are peculiarities of EVN since the first songs here sourly presented: "Lacerto di un Sole" {a symphonic reinterpretation without any trace of usual guitars of gothic-rock canons}, "Prodromes of Misoginy" {dismal ballad followed by a recitative moment on a dark-ambient carpet}, "Don't believe…" {atmospheric ethnic short song singed in Arabic}, "Rêve Parísíen" {musical transposition singed/performed in French and Italian of homonymous piece of poetry from Baudelaire's repertoire}, "Cogitations" {practically a techno-dark song with a very low vocal performance} and "Ethereal" {where ethereal wave marries jazz-fusion contaminations}.  Some months after Luigi entered studio again for an experimental song {to insert in an underground limited cd-compilation entitled "Florilegium Insaniae"}: "Under a Still Sun Kiss": song where cosmic sonorities and a languid singing {far away from his usual important, lyric way of doing it} find ideal completation in a soft and fairy-like Classic Music finale.  The months following are dedicated - between a commitment with a musical project and another - to the composition of new songs which have been part of a limited digipack mcd entitled "Else", lyrics of which face the anguishes behind the behaviour and concrete dialogue difficulties found in intimate relation for a man who badly relate himself with his ego and the social outward. Then Luigi continued the composition {started at the very beginning of this project} of Romantic music for grand piano, poetry reading and his official concept-full-length entitled "Thanaterotis Symposion": a monumental nostalgic gothic musical which - according to him {but we're sure he isn't wrong} - will mark definitively his career of avant-garde musician. Unluckily with Summer '03 Luigi suffered the loss of all his music written during the last years, due to a crash of his home-studio. Personally I tried to get data back, but it was all in vain since a short-circuit burnt all what was connected to the mainboard, so both the hard-disks included {Luigi kept backup on a separate one}. At the moment I'm happy to know he intends to start working on the musical again, although he's also working on a different new album, that's "Dans Les Fleurs de Velours Noir", to be precise a totally re-arranged and re-recorded version of an old {analogic} work from his still unpublished piano-oriented repertoire, halfway between enchanting Romantic and virtuous Jazz piano, with the addiction of several new tracks and - I can assure - some amidst his more inspired visionary and decadent poems.

LUIGI M.MENNELLA – short biography by F. Sconchi Altamura  Simply complex: that’s the nature of this artist from Tuscany. After having completely repudiated the painting, his total interest in avantgarde music brought him to create some of the most interesting {and often the least understood} research music both in structured song form and in contemporary expression. Very skilled in piano playing {even if we must remember he’s a polyinstrumentalist}, a tenor voice {discovered by the Romanian soprano, Lucia Stǎnescu / P. Mascagni Conservatory of Livorno}, a deep interpretation of lyrics {Luigi’s also author of disconcerting hermetic writing, going over his father * footsteps} and above all a profound aptitude to experimentation joined to a boundless inventiveness make each new work of his always different and stimulating.
* Antonio Mennella, author of several theatre and grammar books

DISCOGRAPHY:
"En Velours Noir" (Mvsa Ermaticka, 2013) ltd CDR

"Dans Les Fleurs de Velours Noir" Collectors' Edition (Mvsa Ermeticka, 2006) 3 editions / Vinyl-look CD

"La Danse Interdite" (Mvsa Ermeticka, 2005) ltd CDR

"Thanaterotis Symposion" (self-produced, 2003) <unpublished CD>

"En Velours Noir" (Anaemic Waves Factory, 2000) ltd CDR

"Else" (Beyond...Prod., 2000) MCD

"Under a Still Sun Kiss" [song included in "Florilegium Insaniae"] (Hiems Creations, 1999) CDR

"En Velours Noir" (Hiems Creations, 1998) MC

Next releases:
(infos coming soon)