Krano's "Requiescat in Plavem"

The Artist: Krano

The Record: Requiescat in Plavem (Maple Death Records, 2016)

The Sound: Dusty Afternoon Americana

The Story: Aquarium Drunkard can always be trusted to find the diamonds in the dusty, rusty rough, and this morning I was pleasantly surprised to find Krano's Requiescat in Plavem. This is the stuff of my dreams: obscure record made in the woods with a Tascam 8-track with mysterious backstory finds its way to record label who shares it with the world so that thousands of people have access to this otherwise forgotten gem.

In this case, the artist is Krano, a one-man band from the region of Veneto in Italy. The music, however, walks leisurely down the well-trod dirt paths of Americana, employing rootsy swamp grooves, ragtime piano and twangy guitars played with an earnestness that easily connects the two worlds, reminding us these distant lands share the same late spring sun. And thanks to the warm fuzz of the lo-fidelity of the recording, the whole thing sounds cohesive, almost as if captured in a single day.

This records wants to be enjoyed in one sitting, resting by a riverside in the late afternoon with nothing on the mind and nothin' but time as you let your imagination drift to the Italian wilderness from whence this record was birthed. The album trailer does a good job of capturing the vibe.

I love this record. I love it a lot. It goes right up there with Love and Harlem River as one of my go-to lazy afternoon feels, one that I will return to again and again.