There are essentially only two types of drone music – the dreamy, and the dissonant. Dreamy drones are occupying the likes of Hammock; dissonance colludes to dark ambient producers including Thomas Koner and Netherworld. Glacial fragments unite the two styles, and “Colonne Di Fumo” by Federico Mosconi is a definite highlight in the catalogue of dreamy drone sound art.
Beginning with effected layers like the very Stars Of The Lid “Il Tempo Regalato”, unhurried melodies suspend and never sink. The kitchen sink is not put in, and space is an important thing. Gravity in space is everlasting, and for Mosconi this becomes centrally projecting of the narrative of his album. Speaking for the narrative, most melodic tones find their home with augmented d chords and suspended c with a little adherence to background a counterpoint; I am talking of the notes on the chromatic scale and how they fit in.
In a world where fitting in and not saying the wrong thing becomes a truth and utmost lie to reality, “Colonne Di Fumo” is never a nagging nimbus cloud to rain on anyone’s parade. In any language, it is delightfully peaceful, dreamy and consistent with a continuity towards mixing light field recordings with light melodic portent. There are actually not that many albums like this being released any more that see professional labels, partially because the music can be seen as inconclusive, insipid and unfinished. In stark contrast, Federico Mosconi makes a defiant statement on the excellent KrysaliSound imprint with “Colonne Di Fumo”, a release where I found, for myself at least, what’s at stake between dreams and dissonance. Buy it!