Released in September this year, a full concept spoken word album from Bologna’s Matteo Buratti. I’ve featured his work in hip hop and poetry before in this blog, but it’s welcome and timely to talk about a full album release from this clever Italian poet.

Unico is the story of a relationship – a love story, in chapters. It completes a beginning in recent works like the video Per Quello Che Ho/Posso exploring dichotomies, black/white and grey areas in hearts colliding, combining, splintering, separating.

As a whole, the album is a satisfying mixture of jazz, soul, hip hop and slow bass. Tracks like Dove andiamo are pared back to the simplicity of that space where hip hop has always inhabited soul music (or r’n’b if you like). The piano that I love from early tracks like Addio al terminal is back and welcome (pianos in rooms echoing off the dust – I’m a fan of that). Then there’s some satisfying hip hop groove in tracks like Last Trip, featured in last month’s La Danza Poetica.

Here’s the video for that track, directed by Mauro Russo - Last Trip featuring Fasto & Kiqué:

Italian spoken word poetry albums are few and far between. May there be more like this!