British singer-songwriter Joe Cang and Italian composer-musician Matteo Saggese recently teamed up for their latest collaboration, Carpe Afternoon, set to be released under their collective moniker Loco Ironico. The Reservoir/Reverb Music pair, who have been friends and writing/production partners for twenty-five years, stole away to the Italian countryside to record the album without any bells and whistles.

With help from legendary engineer Jerry Boys (The Beatles, Buena Vista Social Club, Shakira, Ry Cooder), Danny Cummings (Elton John, Mark Knopfler) on drums and percussion, and Davide Mantovani (Fela Kuti, Baaba Nana Vasconcelos) on double bass, each song was recorded in one live take in a living room-turned-recording studio in the medieval mountain village of Sicignano degli Alburni near Naples. Additional guest musicians, including Phil Manzanera (Roxy Music, Pink Floyd), Sarah Jane Morris (The Communards, Pere Ubu), Peppe Servillo (Paolo Conte, Avion Travel), Steve Sidwell (Stevie Wonder, Sting), Tony Remy (The Crusaders, Annie Lennox), Dario Deidda (Benny Golson, Gil Evans Orchestra), John Parricelli (Andy Sheppard, Goldfrapp), and Ben Castle (Radiohead, Gregory Porter), grace the collection of songs of heartache, shipwreck, and weight loss.

In a move just as personal as the album’s recording, Loco Ironico have launched an international crowdfunding campaign to release the music to the world physically, digitally, and across airwaves. Contributions to the campaign will earn a host of great rewards, including clothing, vinyl, sheet music, bespoke personalised songwriting and even exclusive performance by Cang & Saggese in the contributor’s own living room.

Cang spoke passionately about being an independent artist and the stressed the ongoing connection between artist and fan, explaining that “authentic, genuine communication with the audience is what’s powerful, rather than a simulated, hyped, distant impression. As part of that development, crowd funding is a natural progression whereby the realities and the costs of production and promotion are shared between the artists and the audience. If we want non-corporate–driven art and culture, we can do it by supporting and promoting what we feel is good, not just what’s mass marketed to us.”

Learn more about the Carpe Afternoon campaign from the artists themselves in the teaser video below. Details, including prizing and how to get involved, can be found here.