It's tempting to speculate that drone is in a forever flourishing reverie depending how you look at it, given that drones and hums constitute the basic building blocks of sound and music since early man. Within these very humanised spheres of noise lies a wealth of detail: dynamics, tensions, electricity, dampening, colour. As with all of it, it's a hard day pushing back artistic frontiers for the sake of conformity, since linearity is drone's specially processed recipe.
Giulio Aldinucci sets himself never short in respect of conformity’s ever-pressing weight. For Other-Electricities, he offers four alternatively processed recipes of his own, sourced from regions far and wide as hills of Val D’Orcia (“Aria”) with an archaic pipe organ. Siena woods footsteps are overdubbed onto “Short Circuit”, letting off nursed steam concerning the desire to process sound according to self-made measurements, not factory fodder.
In light of the diverse recording processes comes the diversity and commendability of Aldinucci’s career so far, from recording for theatrical performances, short films, video art and radio works. Stylistically on “Archipelago” there’s nods to Christian Fennesz’ fuzzy lens, but Aldinucci knows better than to imitate. He sculpts melodies that are free of throwaway bluster, always with eyes in the back of head to see if one needs to retrieve a key – a pad, a new melody, a sustain, and more sustained work after Nomadic Kids Republic’s “Tarsia”.
The finale – given a side to itself on the tape – may as well be subtitled “R(everberation) ‘N’ R(esounding) [Through Broken Headphones]”. An electronic telegram sent from Barn Owl HQ in lieu of bright baggage that puts up no shields, wears heart on sleeve and remembers to forget the past ever happened, with a decidedly foreboding edge. The pattering echo to end closes a lustrous release that will please those looking to get replay bang for their buck.
Sounds all lush and dreamy. I think I’ll pick this one up.
Woo…Lovely! A definite purchase me thinks. ;)