"Single track highlights exist for those looking for new tracks for the club, but the entire LP is an enthralling journey through Adriani's dreamscape"
Following the release of the ‘Embryo‘ EP, Adriani unleashes his full album, delving deeper into the conceptual constructs introduced on the precursor with analogue formations blessed by Adriani’s highly developed taste for pace and friction.
Italian label Stroboscopic Artefacts could not be a more fitting home for this album; the word ‘stroboscopic‘ describes the effect of blurring motion created by short bursts of individual elements. As Adriani pans many layers of homogenising staccato elements left and right the effect is weightlessness, the essence of falling through and into a dream which renders itself to eyes in gradual iterations.
The cascading ‘Raindance‘ and the raw EBM energy of ‘Dissolving Images‘ take Adriani’s formula for fractal-detailed, dysphoric wind-tunnel techno (exhibited on releases such his appearance on a V/A Pinkman 12″) and bring it to dizzying new heights of perfection, relentlessly escalating across the run time.
The beauty in these particular works is the granularity with which the tracks are composed; although stacked with body-moving force the depth in the highlights and shadows provide room for movement way beyond the typical tired shuffle of underdeveloped techno.
Many highlights from ‘Morphic Dreams‘ reach deep into mind-folding techno, yet the inclusion of more sedate offerings ground the LP, providing a rich home-listening experience that is equally prepared for functional use.
‘Dust/Mist (feat. Simon Crab)‘ takes deft and gentle oscillations and bumps it across an 100 BPM structure, whereas ‘Casting the Runes‘ is a masterclass in macabre ambient textures, synth elements drifting through the mix as haze-like apparitions appearing in the mist.
The LP as a whole, as a result of these two practices of production, is cohesive. Single track highlights exist for those looking for new tracks for the club, but the entire LP is an enthralling journey through Adriani’s dreamscape.
It is a common trope for albums such as this to be described as desolate or barren, which is evocative but often misplaced. ‘Morphic Dreams‘, whilst emulating noir-drenched thematics in music, seems to be filled with life and detail. Crazed and unhinged to the point of near-madness albeit, but also embellished with an astonishing diversity and nuance in detail, fitting for the album title and demonstrative of a true master at work.
‘Morphic Dreams’ is scheduled for release 17 May 2019 via Stroboscopic Artefacts. Order a copy here.
A1. The Tropical Year
A2. Raindance
A3. Storm Trees
B1. Dissolving Images
B2. Dust / Mist (feat. Simon Crab)
B3. Casting The Runes
C1. Hors De Combat
C2. Invisible Seekers (feat. Shawn O’Sullivan)
C3. Crow
D1. Things About To Disappear
D2. Make Words Split And Crack
Discover more about Alessandro Adriani and Stroboscopic Artefacts on Inverted Audio.