Fortuna is a Swiss trio featuring the talents of Kid Chocolate, The Knack (not the same The Knack that did ‘My Sharona’ in case you were wondering) and Oil. Maybe none of this means anything to you - it certainly didn’t to me - however the mention of Asia Argento featuring on this self titled album certainly did make my ears prick up. In case you are unaware, Asia Argento is the daughter of one of the greatest (in my opinion) horror film directors ever, Dario Argento. She is also a director in her own right, as well as a writer, actress, singer and general know-it-all. In other words, it’s a great name to have as a fan of your music, let alone being able to place it on the front of the album as a contributor.
So, onto the music; if you’re looking for an album full of ‘club bangers’ then this is definitely not the album to buy. It’s dark, heavy and very sparse. There is no doubt that Fortuna are a talented bunch; the intricate instrumental melodies through opening song ‘A Radical Bravery’ compliment Asia Argento’s eerily spoken vocals perfectly. The use of live instrumentation works flawlessly as well, the occasional bass line here, the odd guitar part there. I say this because it is obvious, but it never takes away from what this essentially is - a deep house album. This is where the problem lies for me though: I like house music, however it’s not very often that you will find an artist that is able to create an album of all their own material without it getting quite boring after a few tracks. And that is Fortuna’s downfall, it all gets a bit samey after track three or four. There are only so many times you can hear a straight four-four beat before it becomes tedious. Add to that the fact that Asia Argento’s vocals become very predictable (monotone speech is pretty boring after the initial gimmick wears off) and all of a sudden there is no variety between songs. I’m not saying this is a bad album, because it’s not. Every song on there is well written, well produced and is great to listen to on its own. But as an album Fotuna lacks variety and interest for me. 5/10
www.myspace.com/thisistherealfortuna
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