D.F.A. (Duty Free Area) ~ Italy

4th (2008)

4th is another one of those albums I haven't heard since acquisition. This would prove to be D.F.A.'s last album due to tragedy. It is possible they could return but nothing has transpired. The album title is a bit of a misnomer since their 3rd album was a live effort culled from the two albums below. 

Speaking of those two albums, 4th takes those as a base and you can tell they've really progressed on a professional level. What makes D.F.A. so great is their ability to craft memorable melodies inside of the intense and edgy instrumental work. They provide rough analog fuzzy rock within the confines of jazz fusion. Making it more progressive rock oriented than what we usually hear coming from the jazz school. I love the acidic guitar tone that Silvio Minella obtains. Plenty of Hammond organ and flute as well from Alberto Bonomi to add to their adoption of the 1970s sound. The counterpoint mentioned below is still in full force here. This is an album that is both exciting and difficult to predict. The kind of progressive rock that captured my imagination at age 15, and some 46 years later that I still love and enjoy.

All three D.F.A. studio albums proved to be brilliant works. I'm not sure what else the band had left to prove anyway, though I know they would have liked to end it on their own terms.

Ownership: 2008 Moonjune (CD). Tri-fold digipak with lyrics, recording details, and band photo.

2008 (acquired); 8/25/25 (review)
 

Lavori in Corso (1996)

When this album first hit the scene, it was a marvel. One of the most exciting releases from Italy, and it really has nothing to do with classic Italian prog. Rather it is rooted in complex fusion with hard rock overtones. Just demonstrates that having a digital sound doesn't mean the album has to suck. D.F.A. (Duty Free Area) - along with others from the 90s - proved that. The music here is jumpy, melodic, kinetic, and constantly challenging. I've owned it since it first came out, and 24 years later, it sounds as great as ever. Don't miss out, if this is the first time you're hearing of the D.F.A. name.

Ownership: 1996 Scolopendra (CD)

4//97 (acquired); 4/29/20 (review)

Duty Free Area (1999)

D.F.A. play what I'd call counterpoint fusion with a space rock edge. They should trademark their sound, as I can't think of anyone who sounds quite like them. A little bit like Deus Ex Machina maybe, in their most intensive instrumental sections. The often jagged rhythms seem to create a sense of urgency, when it is really a facade. But it's a great trick, and keeps me completely immersed into the music. Top that off with some vicious solos right out of the space rock school, perhaps even with a modern bent ala Ozric Tentacles.

Ownership: 1999 Mellow (CD)

2000 (acquired); 2/14/10; 6/28/11 (review); 10/14/23

6/28/11 (new entry)