Bebawinigi is the name given to a project created by Virginia Quaranta – an Italian singer, composer, multi-instrumentalist, actress, and visual artist. An entity that enables Virginia to experiment across genres, the emphasis on employing the voice outside of the accepted rock paradigm recalls, at times, the more outré works of Mike Patton and Bjork, both of whom have transformed themselves into living instruments via a combination of range and curiosity.
This new album, Soundtracks, brings together excerpts from a number of soundtracks to which Bebawinigi contributed, with pieces recorded between 2014 and 2026. While not an exhaustive work (some of Bebawinigi’s full scores will be released separately), the album offers an impressive overview of Bebawinigi’s work, from orchestral splendour to abrasive noise, via ambient and singer-songwriter compositions. As such, it serves as both a compelling recap for fans and a suitable introduction for neophytes.
The album makes few concessions to the mainstream, as you might already have anticipated from the preamble, and the opening track is a strangely childlike little ditty called La canzone del Pane, which pairs overlapping vocals and sounds with acoustic guitar. It has an innocence and freshness to it that is irresistible, but it does little to pave the way for the searing feedback of Denmark, which is a dense noise workout that would comfortably fit on a latter-day Swans record. It’s followed by the no less dense Varicella which, filled with found sounds and half-heard snatches of vocal, is an aural nightmare set somewhere between Bjork and Silent Hill.
However, for those raised on a diet of noise, it’s not so much the preceding tracks that will knock you off-centre, but the 30-second Ziqqurat Sigla, which pops up out of nowhere like a day-glo Jack-in-the-box, only to disappear into the Lynchian jazz of Riflesso. Slinky and evocative, it’s a very different piece of music, if still delivered with the same playfulness as everything else, and it neatly showcases Bebawinigi’s ability to play with forms to create something unique. Rather more confusing is Pensieri, which repeats its predecessor, but with a slightly greater sense of agitation. This triptych of jazz tracks concludes with the eerie Sogno, which recalls the haunting gaucho flute of Mateo from the 1939 film, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (if you know, you know).
At first, I thought Isola was a flute, but having lived with the track, I think it’s a very carefully controlled voice, the like of which only comes with immense practice. It makes me wonder how many other instruments across the album I’ve already misidentified but, on the basis that Virginia is liable to take it as a compliment to her immense talent, I’m going to leave my assumptions in play, no matter how wrong they may actually prove to be.
I am pretty certain that we are dealing with genuine instruments, however, on the down ‘n’ dirty bass of The Weeper, a longer track that reminds me of the pastiches Mike Patton loves to fling into the mix from time to time. It’s followed by Teoria, a dark ambient piece that exists in a haunted world of its own, providing a useful mid-point to the record.
The next five pieces are related, each simply named Harrogate and distinguished by a number. Taken from the film of the same name, these pieces flow beautifully, forming a coherent sequence of eerie, ambient noise overshot with wordless vocalisations. Once again, the spirit of Michael Gira is invoked in these pieces and it’s easy to lose yourself within their dark corridors. Along the way, you’ll encounter elements of Bjork, Massive Attack, Jarboe, and more, but always as distorted mirrors that reflect, above all else, Bebawinigi’s own identity.
As the name implies, A story of Solitude and Terror is exactly that, the subterranean rumbling and dark drones casting a pall over the listener. In contrast, the kazoo-blues of Urlee Burlee is as whimsical as its title, providing a good idea of what might happen if Mike Patton jammed with Beck and Art Tatum at the same time. It’s followed by the short Banana, which is wonderfully strait-laced, as if beamed in from a different world altogether, only for the layered vocals of La Canzone dell’Omino Rosso to take us back into hitherto unexplored territory. The compilation then concludes with the music box melody of Loa (Carilon), a fitting end to what has been a remarkable journey.
The world of Bebawinigi is not for everyone and it’s easy to imagine some becoming frustrated with genre hopping that takes place across the album. Certainly, for those who like dark ambient, the Harrogate suite is essential listening. How many will remain on board for the playful La Canzone dell’Omino Rosso is another matter entirely. Similarly, someone who had only encountered Bebawinigi through Banana would likely find themselves entirely lost in the likes of Teoria.
Honestly, I think the album’s eclecticism is part of its charm, and the sequencing has been done with care so that it genuinely takes you on something of a ride across a unique catalogue. Therefore, for those whose tastes run eclectic, but preferably with some knowledge and understanding of the extreme, then this is the album for you. For those who find Mike Patton’s antics too schizophrenic, or Bjork too experimental, then it’s probably best to give it a miss, for Bebawinigi arguably pushes beyond the fringes upon which those two artists love to play.
In an era of conformity, that artists like Bebawinigi care enough to produce music as wonderfully unique as this is cause for celebration and Soundtracks is well worth exploring. 8.5/10
Complete track list
1.La canzone del Pane (“Lievito Madre” by Fulvio Risuleo, 2014)
2. Denmark (“Denmark” by Andrea Sorini, 2019)
3. Varicella (“Varicella” by Fulvio Risuleo, 2015)
4. Ziqqurat Sigla (“Il caso Ziqqurat” by Fulvio Risuleo, 2019)
5. Riflesso (“Il caso Ziqqurat” by Fulvio Risuleo, 2019)
6. Pensieri (“Il caso Ziqqurat” by Fulvio Risuleo, 2019)
7. Sogno (“Il caso Ziqqurat” by Fulvio Risuleo, 2019)
8. Isola (“Isola” by Marco Buglioni, 2017)
9. The Weeper (“Si sveglia e sbadiglia, il gatto; poi l’amore” by Federico Francioni & Samuele Sestieri, 2026)
10. Teoria (“Una Teoria che ho sognato a Londra” by Fulvio Risuleo 2025)
11. Harrogate M1 (“Harrogate” by Stefano Patti, 2018)
12. Harrogate M2 (“Harrogate” by Stefano Patti, 2018)
13. Harrogate M3 (“Harrogate” by Stefano Patti, 2018)
14. Harrogate M4 (“Harrogate” by Stefano Patti, 2018)
15. Harrogate M5 (“Harrogate” by Stefano Patti, 2018)
16. A Story of Solitude and Terror (“A Story of Solitude and Terror” by Andrea Sorini, 2024)
17. Urlee Burlee (“Guarda in Alto” by Fulvio Risuleo, 2016)
18. Banana (“Guarda in Alto” by Fulvio Risuleo, 2016)
19. La Canzone dell’Omino Rosso (“I Racconti dell’Orso” by Samuele Sestieri & Olmo Amato, 2015)
20. Loa (Carillon) (“Reportage Bizarre” by Fulvio Risuleo, 2014)
