Laborintus II

Since rising to renown as frontman for legendary punk-funk outfit Faith No More, Mike Patton has embarked on a dizzying series of collaborations with everyone from John Zorn to Björk and The X-Ecutioners, transmuting himself from rocker to rapper to easy-listening artist and back again. Laborintus II is his strangest offering yet: a three-part avant-classical work composed in 1965 by Luciano Berio and recorded with The Ictus Ensemble, The Nederlands Kamerkoor, and a female vocal trio. Patton performs the narration (written by scholar Edoardo Sanguineti) in its original Italian over music that flits between medieval solemnity and freeform zaniness, spiced up with percussion crashes, electronic filigrees, and eerie disembodied voices. The words tell of love, sorrow, and impending calamity, but whether or not you follow the libretto with an English translation, the overall impact of the piece transcends language and even rationality. Call it a weird digression or a courageous breakthrough; Laborintus II expands Patton’s artistic reach into truly unexpected realms.