Accordo dei Contrari (Council of the Opposites) are a fusiony instrumental prog and jazz-rock band formed in Bologna, Italy, in 2001. The lineup has varied from a trio to a quintet, but settled into a quartet formation consisting of keyboardist Giovanni Parmeggiani, guitarist Marco Marzo, bassist Daniele Piccinini, and drummer Cristian Franchi immediately before recording the group's first album, Kinesis, live in the studio over a two-day period in June 2006 (Giorgio Trefiletti added saxophone to one track and Fabio Berti added violin to several others in October and November of that year). Kinesis was released by AltrOck in 2007; the Italian label's third CD, it proved to be a strong effort reflecting the influences of such antecedents as Mahavishnu Orchestra and late-period Soft Machine, as well as similarities to another Italian proggy fusion outfit, Deux Ex Machina (although sans vocals). In 2011 Accordo dei Contrari independently released their second album, Kublai, featuring the same quartet lineup as Kinesis plus a guest vocal from Richard Sinclair (Hatfield and the North, Caravan) on one track. Several years later they were back on AltrOck with their entirely instrumental third album, 2014's AdC, with the band's core lineup again unchanged and with guest appearances from violinist/violist Vladimiro Cantaluppi and cellists Marina Scaramagli and Enrico Guerzoni on selected tracks. ~ Dave Lynch