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A digital nomad's journey in music, politics, and travel writing.
Discover the world through my eyes, Alex Franquelli, a digital nomad and seasoned writer. My portfolio is a diverse tapestry, from insightful album reviews and live reports to deep explorations of Asian politics. Complementing this is my travel blog, Van Alien, which offers a window into my adventures on the road. Each piece is a narrative interwoven with personal experiences, showcasing a life enriched by curiosity and a passion for storytelling.
Featured reviews
Portfolio
At Folsom Prison – “Every Dream And Every Crisis Means The Rise”
Nervousness and talent make the band’s third album a brilliant departure point from which to venture into unknown territories.
Polar Bear - “Same As You”
You of All Things re-elaborates without overturning or, worse, overdoing.
Tristan Perich – “Parallels”
Minimalism, purism, discipline are the three components that make up Tristan Perich's music and this album in particular.
Zu - “Cortar Todo”
It roars, dilutes, squeals, shrieks, pulsates and squawks. Welcome to the world of Zu.
Contretemps – “Pronouncement”
Distressing, awkward, disturbing and almost upsetting, this aura of discomfort, if combined with the sound of the term itself (|ˈkɒntrətɒ̃|) is the essence of the music presented by Joel Ebner.
John Supko And Bill Seaman: S_Traits
This is chance over method: a real post-industrial display of art born out of an immediate flow of ideas, immortalised onto a disk, assembled by the very negation of art that is genuine calculus and roughly adjusted by man
The Sharp Things – “Adventurer’s Inn”
A band at the peak of its career, one which appears to be happily unsatisfied, yet chronically inspired by melancholy.
George Harrison: The Apple Years 1968-75
Listening to the entire production on offer here means delving inside an artist's trajectory. Naivety, genius and clever pop.
Prominent Uyghur academic Ilham Tohti jailed for life
With its shocking outcome, this trial might result in an increase in violence in the Xinjiang region, where protests for the mistreatment of a moderate voice could motivate the more radical factions.
Smallgang - “San”
The main discriminant between a bluff and the worthwhile is quality, and Smallgang have plenty of it.
Match & Fuse Festival: 3 October 2014 (London, UK)
Did I know the No Hay Banda Trio before I stepped into Rich Mix in sadly up-and-coming Shoreditch? Yes. Was I at all aware that Clare Savage and Bellatrix were hiding a monstrous talent in their minute figures? I do now.
Pink Floyd - “The Division Bell (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)”
Welcome to the machine.
RABBITSSS – “PENGUINS”
This is a delicate texture suspended between a colourful rendition of the rigors of contemporary music and ambient pop that somehow manages to retain a playful tone, slightly clouded by a few melancholic lines.
Aisles - “4.45am”
The real variance between a band of sophisticated copycats and this bunch is indeed intelligence.