Un Lieu by Perciballi, Valentini, Botti, Guerri, Bandello

The Black Box Theory is a project centered on total improvisation, created by Luca Perciballi and Ivan Valentini.
The term “Black Box” refers to a system that can be described only by its external behavior: we can observe how the object, when stimulated by an incoming signal (input), reacts by transforming that stimulus (output) without, however, revealing the system’s internal dynamics.
The core of our musical approach is an investigation into the relationship between improvisational spontaneity and formal control, leading to a careful selection of semantic materials. Each element can spark multiple developments in a continuous interplay of references and allusions—both to
historical memory and to everyday life—while still maintaining complete abstraction.
The duo has released two albums: The Black Box Theory (2019) and Room Music (2023). In this new chapter, TBBT partially expands into a quintet. The quintet’s improvisation sessions are interspersed—in a creative and strongly narrative montage—within a single track, alternating with duo episodes performed on our usual instruments as well as an assortment of found objects,
percussion, and small sound generators.

“The Black Box Theory is a (musical) demonstration of the complexity of thoughts, relationships, or attitudes that affect our minds in that undefined phase corresponding to internal stimuli—an invisible network that underlies musical preparation and its means of expression. It is a kind of cryptography of music-making that is almost scientific, yet it contains many aspects that can be
appreciated both aesthetically and emotionally.”
(Ettore Garzia)

The duo works on total improvisation with a modernist attitude: formal and abstract ways of conducting the flux are kind of a goal to achieve, but with the idea of letting things follow their lead.

ivanvalentini.com
lucaperciballi.com