Spaghetti Eastern Music is returning with two new singles that demonstrate the range of guitarist Sal Cataldi’s project, the acoustic vocal ballad “Sweet Home Anywhere” and a blues-inflected electric guitar instrumental “Jungle Blue.”
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Critics from prestige outlets like The New York Times have heaped praise on Cataldi’s work since his debut album under the Spaghetti Eastern Music moniker, Sketches of Spam. This is a 16-track, 69-minute surf through a slew of contrasting moods, largely with guitar-driven instrumentals inspired by the acid funk of 70’s Miles, Krautrock, Ennio Morricone’s Spaghetti Western movie soundtracks and the icy sound of ECM Records guitar great Terje Rypdal. The disc’s acoustic titles included originals like “Wild One” and “Mama Called,” a cover of the Zappa instrumental rarity “Sleep Dirt” and a DADGAD-tuned, ballad paced reinvention of the Beatles’ “Ticket to Ride.”
In 2020, Cataldi followed his debut album with a trio of acclaimed atmospheric singles, “Her Lemon Peel Raincoat – Because It’s Raining,” “Peace Within” and “And This is Their New Hoax,” a COVID-19 musical editorial featuring samples of President Trump’s most noted denials to Cataldi’s soundpainting guitars and synths. In 2021, he released “Blues for A Lost Cosmonaut,” a much-praised nine-minute plus maxi single, again in the ambient mode and “Solo Guitar Score for 2x2x4.” The latter EP is the soundtrack for a dance piece recorded live at the Avant-Garde Arama Festival in Woodstock inspired by his work with the guitar orchestra of Rhys Chatham and his love of Fripp and “White Light, White Heat”-era Velvet Underground.
“He’s the hippie guitarist playing to another dimension.”
John Swenson, Rolling Stone
In June 2020, Cataldi returned to the acoustic singer-songwriter mode with the single, “I Believe in Love,” which received significant critical praise and airplay, including promotion as song of the day by a NY artist, a “New York Slice” on WFUV-FM. In 2022, Spaghetti Eastern released three additional singles, the jazz and metal-infused instrumentals “A Fresh Kill,” “A Scanner Darkly,” and another delicate acoustic ballad, “I Believe In Love.”
Cataldi also made more beautiful sounds with “One Act Sonix,” the critically-buzzed about 2020 debut album from his spoken word/music side project, The Vapor Vespers, with noted Alaskan playwright/slam poet Mark Muro. The duo recently followed this up with two new singles in early 2022, “Sex” and “You Changed.” Cataldi is also one half of the improvisational and ambient Hudson Valley-based guitar and efx duo, Guitars A Go Go, with Rick Warren. Their first single, a 12-minute improv opus called “The Volcano Lovers,” was a preview of the bold experimentation featured in their recent CD debut, “Travel Advisory.”
“If Walt Disney World’s Space Mountain had a secret chill detour, Spaghetti Eastern Music would be the soundtrack.”
“Sweet Home Anywhere” is a delicate DADGAD-tuned ballad, indie-songcraft that highlights the artist’s pristine acoustic guitar work, close vocal harmony and emotional lyricism. It’s a song that tells a troubled former lover that, though they are no longer together, his door is always open.
“She’s sweet home anywhere// Good night baby, you can come back again, if you need a friend.”
Many have experienced breakups, but the worst are the ones where you have to breakup while still in love. This single perfectly voices this phenomenon. It can also be translated to friendships: when you are no longer friends with someone for one reason or another, but would always welcome them back with open arms.
Maybe it’s really about growth, and while growth is good– it can really sting.
“Jungle Blue” is a 360-departure from the above, an atmospheric electric instrumental driven by percussive cross-rhythms, dreamy washes of electronics and echoed pianos, a duo of sustained Ebow guitars and the guitarist’s always melodic, blues-inflected guitar runs. Cataldi calls it a cinematic marriage of new beats and electronic sounds with melodies and improvisation that harkens to the British blues boom of the ‘60s.
This song, completely unlike “Sweet Home Anywhere” has an almost alien feeling to it, as if it were from another universe or planet, and somehow made its way to Earth. It’s unsettling yet comforting. It should be in a spy movie, and yet, it should be the credit scene of a murder mystery.
“Jungle Blue” is a paradox itself– it’s beautiful and unsettling in all the right ways, and the only way to understand it is to listen.
Coming December 1, Spaghetti Eastern Music will release a trippy guitar solo “Health,” set for a short film by Kingston filmmaker/choreographer Hanna Bass. Her short film, “Fragments of Light,” is a tale of Bass’ cinematic journey, including her original career as a professional ballerina, and the transition from the ballet world to the realm of cinema.
Catch their monthly gigs at City Winery Hudson Valley starting on December 6, as well as a double gig live at The Falcon on December 15 with Teddy Kumpel and Nome Sane.
Stream Spaghetti Eastern Music on Spotify, Soundcloud, or Bandcamp.
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