"To be so consistently productive in a small enclave of stylistically dark music and still return music worthwhile listening to is a mark of quality in Adriani’s work"
Alessandro Adriani stakes his claim to a swathe of noir-drenched genres with his ‘Embryo’ EP, in conjunction with a forthcoming album, ‘Morphic Dreams’. Throughout the EP Adriani has done a great job of a difficult task: to update your sound whilst remaining firmly within the parameters of previous work.
You may well be more than familiar with the Roman’s meddlings in cyclonic, mesmerising techno and EBM dosed with cold-wave. His productions for Stroboscopic Artefacts as well as his own label, Mannequin, lurk on the same street corners, and his twice-a-month residencies behind the wheel at Berghain / Panorama Bar are a reflection on the esteem in which Adriani is held.
The broad strokes on the EP are nothing new, it must be said — you’re familiar with techno and you’re familiar with its family and friends getting airplay at the clubs. With ‘Embryo’ you’ll find EBM, synth, wave, techno, etc. all rendered into forms you’ll be familiar with. Adriani escapes criticism of repetition by providing us with high-quality goods to sink our teeth into, and yet provide but a starter for the main course.
Opening proceedings is a grim 7 minute beatless work steeped in that kind of dark mysticism present in music by Christoph de Babalon and Pessimist, and sits perfectly at the gates of Adriani’s new material. Those looking for club-ready work need not hold their breath – the trio of tracks following on bear a stamp of individuality across different genres, displaying not only a breadth of knowledge, but depth: B-side collaboration with Beau Wanzer may start off a typical mid-paced EBM, but the pair strategically pare off the acidic lead lines to expose the flickering high-end for a mid-track boost. ‘Aria (New Beat Version)’ closes off Embryo on a note of promise, a plodding psychotic number surfacing hints of the wild territories explored on the full album.
To be so consistently productive in a small enclave of stylistically dark music and still return music worthwhile listening to is a mark of quality in Adriani’s work. ‘Embryo’ EP could not be a more appropriate first introduction to the tweaked palette of ‘Morphic Dreams’. It’s a 4-tune starter pack for styles fully explored on the album, and not merely a selection of the finest offcuts as is often seen with fast EP/LP combo releases.
‘Embryo’ EP is out now, order a copy from Stroboscpoic Artefacts. ‘Morphic Dreams’ LP follows on the 17th May, also on Stroboscopic Artefacts.
TRACKLIST
A1. Elapsed Emptiness
A2. Symmetry
B1. Inverted Aspects (feat. Beau Wanzer)
B2. Aria (New Beat version)
Discover more about Alessandro Adriani and Stroboscopic Artefacts on Inverted Audio.