Musician and author John Kruth – who spent a number of years living and working in Milwaukee – recently relocated from New York City to Los Angeles. But another, more temporary move is what led to his latest record.

"Forever Ago," a collaboration with Italy’s La Società dei Musici, was recorded in the central Italian region of Umbria with Claudio Scarabottini, who Kruth met in 2014 when he performed music for a production of William Shakespeare’s "The Tempest" by New York-based experimental theater company, La Mama.

Kruth has recorded nearly a dozen records as a solo performer and has also recorded with his large world music ensemble TriBeCaStan.

"We became fast friends, working together daily under the direction of Liz Swados," Kruth recalled.

"While Claudio and I are multi-instrumentalists, we are both mandolin players that draw from different traditions. Claudio mostly plays in the classic Neapolitan style, where my approach draws from American roots music: folk, blues, bluegrass and rock. Whenever we played together there was never a shortage of enthusiasm and fresh ideas to share."

The two musicians stayed in contact and on one of Kruth’s annual European jaunts, he went to Spoleto to see Scarabottini and play some shows together. That’s where he met folk singer Massimo Liberatori and his group La Società dei Musici.

After performing on Liberatori’s "Tratturo Zero" record, the idea of a collaboration with Kruth was floated and eccoci qua.

"While I had a handful of unrecorded songs, I needed to write another six or seven to comprise the new album," Kruth said.

"My recent travels in Italy, Croatia and the U.S.A. helped provide the inspiration for many of the lyrics, which reflect my impressions, from the American Southwest in ‘Picnic in the Sun’ to the Everglades in Florida, in ‘Drivin’,’ as well as the piazza in Campello, where I witnessed ‘the girl with the red hair in the red dress’ dancing the Tarantella one hot July night. Other songs are dedicated to the late, great poet Sylvia Plath and the Austrian painter/architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser."

The record is not pure Italian mandolin music. It’s not a museum piece. It’s pure Kruth, with intelligent lyrics and dark, mysterious melodies he seems to have absorbed over his many visits to Eastern Europe and his work with TriBeCaStan playing Eastern- and Middle Eastern-influenced music.

More than anything, "Forever Ago" is a classic folk record, adorned with Italian influences.

There is also at least one nod to Milwaukee.

"‘Christmas Eve’ is a true story about my old friend Paul Finger from Milwaukee," Kruth recalled, "who loaded up some bags full of toys, fruit and candy and trudged through the falling snow to "deliver to some folks who lived across the river."

"Working with an Italian band in an Umbrian studio was great fun," Kruth said. "While many of our musical styles – employing mandolin, guitar and accordion fit hand in glove, our differences helped create a new wonderful fusion of sound and poetry."

Kruth expects to return to Umbria this summer to perform with La Società dei Musici. In the meantime, you can keep up with his doings here and download "Forever Ago" at iTunes.