Derma (DISSIPATIO DISS038) is a live recording of a percussion solo piece by Massimiliano Furia, made simply with a bass drum, cymbals, and unusual objects – including chains, jars, marbles, pine cones, and rubber balls.
Using pine cones is a particularly nice touch – my guess is that pine trees abound in this part of Tuscany (Carrara) where he recorded it, and it seems like the kind of gesture John Cage would endorse in between one of his mushroom-picking adventures, assuming that Massimiliano Furia is indeed building on the notion of prepared instruments. The “derma” of the title of course stresses the membrane of the bass drum, which is the part of the set-up that’s generating most of the sound we hear, as the performer carries out his rubbing, scraping, and stroking actions. That’s right – it’s not the sort of percussion music that involves much hammering or tapping, more a kind of physical coaxing of audio events from these very physical objects. That said, he’s not averse to a rattling moment or two, after starting out with sighs and groans drawn from the lower depths.
Massimiliano Furia claims to deal in “raw emotion” and likes to create his music in the moment. Derma starts out rather uncertain and deliberative at first, but worth sticking with it for the halfway mark, when around 20 mins he starts to liven up and get more assertive with his instruments. This segment appeals to me more, not simply because of loud volume and noise, but because it sounds like an invasion of alien elephants from a distant planet. (09/02/2026)