Time.news – Unexpected music: green, silent and sustainable. It is the one that is appreciated in ‘silent concert’, already known abroad, less in Italy. Alessandro Azara, 49 years old, an artist born in Sardinia, performs, with a group of musicians, in silent concerts where the public listens to the notes through headphones, for an exciting and zero-emission show: almost all the instruments, including the maxi screen, are powered by batteries recharged from renewable sources.
“During the silent concert he created an almost intimate bond with the public, something very different from the traditional concert. Both we and them are pushed towards greater involvement “, explains to Time.news Azara who performed at the Ducal Palace of Sassari. “A place forbidden to rock concerts precisely because the vibrations would risk damaging the structure, but our headphone concerts also have this advantage: they can be taken anywhere. From historical monuments to natural parks“, respecting both places and animals.
© Blanka Mechanics
A moment of a silent concert
In 2019 Azara, originally from La Maddalena, songwriter since the age of 18, had started the ‘Green tour’ of silent concerts, to present his solo album ‘You Weren’t Here’ live, but then had to stop due to the pandemic. The nine songs are played live by Massimo Cossu and Giovanni Sanna (guitars), Paolo Erre (keyboards), Giovanni Pinna (bass) and Paolo Zannin (drums).
The experience of silence
The idea stems from the environmental sensitivity of the group of musicians “also towards noise pollution, which is too often forgotten”, underlines the musician. “We are now immersed in noises of all kinds, it is almost impossible to live the experience of silence, but when we find it we realize it above all from the feeling of well-being that we experience. It is important for us to pursue these issues “.
The first reaction of the public who is unfamiliar with silent concerts is a initial bewilderment, says Azara. Many try to experience what happens if the headphones are removed and at that moment they are surprised to see the musicians on stage without hearing almost anything. At that point they put them on again and let themselves go to a quality listening: tall the nuances, both of the instruments and of the voice, come directly to the ear.
Any kind of smudging is prohibited. The atmosphere is that which reigns in theaters, with the spectators seated and concentrated. We do not dance, we do not chat, we do not comment on the songs but we listen as if immersed in a suspended and unique atmosphere, which binds the audience and musicians.
“We arrange the songs to make them suitable for listening with headphones, as if it were a musical genre in itself”, Azara specifies. His ‘Green Tour’ is part of the first edition of the ‘ECO – Sustainable Sounds and Reflections’ project, promoted by the Social Promotion Association Mòiti (‘move’ in Gallura), with the contribution of the Foundation of Sardinia, to promotegreen culture and zero impact music.