Review: Fortunato Durutti Marinetti - Bitter Sweet, Sweet Bitter (Quindi Records)

Fortunato Durutti Marinetti sounds like an Italian prog-rock supergroup from the 70s whilst in reality it's an album from the mind of Daniel Colussi, Turin-born and Toronto based which sits between soft-rock, leftfield jazz and art-pop!

If you're familiar with the work of Leo Chadburn (aka Simon Bookinsh) who has a new album coming out soon (see review HERE), he's got the experimental art-pop poetry whilst DB Cohen (new album out this week, see review HERE) being London born and Canadian based has some similar North Americana influences.

As you can image and 'Baroque Art Pop / Poetic Jazz Rock' album of 9-tracks is hard to pin down, save for the obvious jazz of 'Theme I (Alex's Theme)' and 'Theme II' but that's a t that of the joy of this set as it calls for repeated listens.

Opening with 'Full Of Fire', it sets the tone for a happy Leonard Cohen as a rural Jarvis Cocker mix with a rock band with strings and horn section giving a big sound that's proggy even if the core band in just six.  'Beware' is the oddest 70s funk (with clavinet) as a duet with Victoria Cheong and not funky and then there's another, non-house disco of 'A Perfect Pair' (with Maddee Ritter on vocals): there's a bit of Cockney Rebel / The Devine Comedy in here somewhere.

The centrepiece is the 7 minute opus 'A Rambling Prayer' where his Dylan-ist drawl is sharpened with a the lounge piano of Tom Waits and it's a cool, smooth and angular all at the same time.

The album title, is a twist on Anne Carson's book 'Eros: The Bittersweat' with a duality theme as referenced in the cover photo of a dog with two heads (Ed. Not the 70's Status Quo album) and the more you listen to it, it's hard to nail down Colussi's his own heroes like Robert Wyatt, Annette Peacock, Pierre Barouh and Brigitte Fontaine.

Buy the time of the closing track, 'My Funeral', he's nailed it.

BUY LINK: Vinyl buyers in North America please get it here: fortunatoduruttimarinetti.bandcamp.com/album/bitter-sweet-sweet-bitter

Artist: Fortunato Durutti Marinetti

Title: Viva La Felicità 

Release date: 25th July, 2025

Label: Quindi Records

Cat. No: TBC

Format: Digital / Bandcamp

Recorded, produced and mixed at Dining Room Sound, Toronto

Louie Short -- Recording & Mixing (A Perfect Pair)

Jay Arner -- Mixing & Post-Production 

Heather Kirby at Dreamland -- Mastering

Daniel Colussi -- Vocals & Guitar
Victoria Cheong -- Vocals (Beware)

Brandon Gibson De Groote -- Violins, Viola & String Arrangements

Alex Fournier -- Bass

Alex Hamlyn -- Saxophone

Stefan Hegerat -- Drums

Blake Howard -- Percussion

John Jowett -- Euphonium & Trombone

Tara Kannangara -- Trumpet

Eliza Niemi -- Cello (Do You Ever Think?)

Luan Phung -- Lead Guitar

Chris Pruden -- Piano, Synth, Rhodes

Maddee Ritter -- Vocals (A Perfect Pair)
Jay Arner -- Clarinet (Beware)