& Under The Snow
Surfaces
Next to the auditory overload tactics of Zbeen collaborator Ennio Mazzon, Gianluca Favaron’s solo work seems almost austere by comparison. Tones and rhythms are rolled out one by one with a patient precision that belies the surface appearance of simplicity, with a minute attention to detail that drew me in, made me want to listen closer. Every blip and crackle heard on the short EP “Surfaces” is perfectly formed and highly polished, despite being created from recordings of everyday objects such as scissors and kitchen utensils; Favaron has crafted six finely balanced miniatures that ring out their internal logic with bell-like clarity. The tracks were apparently inspired by the artist’s own polaroid photographs, one of which is included along with an enlarged print in each copy of the special ‘Art Edition’ of the release, but I hear the sharper-than-life precision of high-quality digital photography, an effect that is valid and meaningful in its own right.
The Background Noise
Favaron collaborates with Stefano Gentile in the duo Under The Snow, and their new work, again quite short, is a single-sided 12″ record entitled “The Background Noise”. Whereas “Surfaces” is highly composed, this piece has a more improvised, exploratory feel, with the characteristic peaks and troughs and occasional lapses into silence. Gentile’s guitar buzzes and pings over gurgling electronics and field recordings that sound like electronics; things meander along at a gentle pace, but there is a tension and insistence to the sound of “The Background Noise” that I found quite gripping. Both of these releases accomplish a lot with very minimal means; while I personally preferred the composed approach of the solo work to the improvised drift of the duo, those who like a bit of biting guitar with their electoacoustics will find a lot to like in the latter record.
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