(Indieville 3/1/2005) A strange little record, this. Rinaldi works with ambient textures but, where most experimental performers opt for inaccessibility, he seems perfectly willing to inject tunefulness into his works. There is a considerable amount of guitar plucking on this record, and the music is very overtly atmospheric. There is a sense of darkness and loneliness that pervades much of The Time and the Room (including its cover art); indeed, these dense sound sculptures are practically a lesson in mood. Due to this release's relative accessibility, it should appeal to open-minded fans who aren't necessarily acclimated to experimental music. "Girls (The Room)," for example, is a mesmerizing piece of ambient sound art that uses a semi-melodic guitar line to add a little convention to the piece. "The Column" is a bit more abstract, relying on some relaxing saxophone drones and a background of unsettling electronic tones, while "Funeral" is sparser and even more peaceful. Finally, "Out of the Room" concludes the record in a damp, funereal vein - burying the listener in deep synths and dreary guitar strokes. Overall, this is an emotional, experimental album whose atmospheric accessibility will aid it in appealing to a larger audience. - Matt Shimmer

(Aiding & Abetting no. 256) Okay, now this is a more traditional Public Eyesore release. Renato Rinaldi likes to make noise on his guitar, and he's recruited a couple friends to help out here and there. This is the sound of one person going mad. That's a good thing, of course. These noisy improvisations have stories to tell, and the only way to truly hear those stories is to abandon all rational thought. Sit back, close your eyes and go where the music goes. It is music--there's a surprising amount of melody, actually--and it does travel in a distinct path. This was originally recorded for radio (Italian radio, I think), and so the sound is quite good. Rinaldi may have a friend in dissonance, but the quality of the sound here really brings out the little things he throws into his pieces. Intriguing and alluring. Yeah, this isn't a disc to slough off on yer ten-year-old niece for her birthday, but it is one that just might realign your brain in a few important ways. - Jon Worley

(Empty) Nice (seemingly) improvised (for sure) instrumental (new style name) post-rocking jazzobient. Somewhere in between guitars, sax, prepared instruments floats this originally-recorded-for-the-radio record. Long and original enough to get in the mood of it, short and restrained enough to keep you in the mood of it. - DDN

(Sands) Composte in origine come colonna sonora per il radiodramma “Die Zeit und das Zimmer” (Il tempo e la stanza), su testo di Botho Strauß e regia di Elio De Capitani, queste musiche vengono finalmente pubblicate dopo un’accurata operazione ‘revue & corrigée’ che ne ha più che dimezzato la durata, tranciandone le parti meno adatte ad essere esposte tramite supporto discografico. Le registrazioni dovrebbero risalire approssimativamente, ma non ci sono date in tal senso, alla fine del millennio scorso e sono più che appetibili per chi ha seguito le recenti vicende Bowindo, in quanto una buona metà dei fautori dell’etichetta è qui rappresentata. Non conosco il testo del drammaturgo tedesco, quindi evito connessioni e commenti a proposito dell’adeguatezza delle musiche ad accompagnare quel testo, ma la scelta stessa di non presentare la colonna sonora nel suo insieme tende anche a questo, a slegare i quattro frammenti dal loro contesto originario. È la poetica più contemplativa del Rinaldi ad emergere in questi solchi, quella fatta di suoni dilatati, spaziosi (che spaziano ed invocano i grandi spazi), una poetica in grado di evocare il viaggio, della mente come del corpo, e stigmatizzare il tempo (meschino). Ricorrendo al valido contributo di Christian Alati (Girls (The Room)), Alessandro Bosetti (The Column e Funeral) e Giuseppe Ielasi (Out Of The Room), Rinaldi da lustro a queste sue caratteristiche con una musica densa e intensa, nonostante la povertà delle sue strutture, oltreché dalle marcate caratteristiche evocative. In “The Time And The Room” già albeggiano quelle forme psichedeliche che, all’interno della sperimentazione ‘made in italy’, sembrano oggi aver fagocitato più di un’anima. E, accanto a tutto ciò (o sopra a tutto ciò), lo spirito dello sciamano visionario, dell’alchimista naïf, dello scienziato di paese, dell’artigiano che crea i suoi strumenti e reinventa quelli comprati al mercatino delle pulci. Questa è musica che ha precorso i tempi, che ha anticipato tendenze, e avrebbe meritato qualcosa di più rispetto a una, pur ottima, edizione in CD-R. Non sto mettendo sotto accusa il CD-R per la scarsa qualità del supporto, e menate simili, il lettore che conosce il mio percorso sa bene quali sono le mie idee al proposito, ma semplicemente mi inquieta l’idea che un disco di questo spessore possa essere ascoltato soltanto da un numero infimo di appassionati. La produzione di CD-R, come abbiamo più volte osservato, ha infatti ragion d’essere solo per produzioni inferiori alle 2-300 copie e, per di più, è ostracizzata a livello distributivo. Speriamo che il disco serva almeno a favorire l’affermazione del musicista presso una cerchia un po’ più ampia di pubblico ed addetti ai lavori, facilitando magari un accasamento più consono alle sue qualità per la prossima uscita. In bocca al lupo

(Neozine) I guess that this was recorded for some sort of radio show in Milano? Interesting! This is unconventional / experimental ambient guitar and string noise-music with sparse (almost minimalist) instrumentation. Wouldn’t be surprised if it was improvised, but nothing on the CD indicates this. All of the pieces are pretty mellow, and maybe just a bit dark. They are certainly lonely sounding, which really matches the whole “time and the room” theme. As a metaphorical piece of art, Renalto Rinaldi has pulled off a fantastic success. As a piece of entertainment, I think this can also be a slash in the positive column. There is enough constantly moving sound in here to keep a listener interested throughout. Good job. - C.H.C.

(Ampersand Etcetra 7/2005) Created as the background music (I imagine) for a radio work, this is an atmospheric piece. Primarily Rinaldi on guitar, bowed strings and other sounds, sith support from guest guitarists and a saxophonist, the works set a mood. In Girls (the room) notes and music emerge from (and over) a clicking scrape, ringing tones, notes swinging back and forth, drifting and running backwards to a percussive quiet end. In The column long tones are lovingly layered with the sax over a skittering, they break and swing in cycles, reminding mew of Music for Airports, it is deep and mysterious, drifting and building to an end. The sax recurs in Funeral, gently percussive with little puffs after a searching pulsing gritty start. Bubblingly musical keyboards in Out of the room emerge from silence, guitar keening over a strangely contemplative piece that slowly builds, then suddenly dropping to distant light guitar. This a wonderfully atmospheric album. - Jeremy Keens

(Dead Angel 7/2005) This music was originally recorded for the radio piece "The Time and the Room" by Botho Strauss (directed by Elio De Capitani) in the RAI Studios in Milano in September, 1999. The work was later edited in 2003, and recently released as this swell disc. The personnel at work consists of Renato Rinaldi (guitar, bowed strings, and other sounds), with assistance from Christian Alati (guitar) on "girls (the room)," Alessandro Bosetti (soprano sax on "the column" and "the funeral"), and Giuseppe Ielasi (pedal guitar on "out of the room"). The four longish tracks are dominated by bowed strings, guitar, and other ambient room sounds. I would assume this was intended to be background music playing behind a play or commentary, as it usually stays fairly quiet and sedate. It's background music, soundtrack music, a combination of musical passages and musique concrete that manages to remain interesting while not overwhelming. The most overtly musical of the tracks is "the column," with droning sax lines and guitar, while the grittiest and noisiest parts are on "funeral." The opening and closing tracks are more cinematic, generally more restrained and subdued, with guitars prone to minimalist plucking amid ambient background sounds. Interesting stuff, and well-recorded, although it would be nice to know what the original broadcast was all about. Still, it's not like you desperately need to know to appreciate the interplay of guitar and other instruments at work here. - RKF