More experimental sonic backdrops playing with resonances and natural reverbs, grainy array of noises are intertwined with subtle, aerial and evocative leanings.
A complex and blissed-out sound tapestry
Giuseppe Verticchio (alias Nimh) is a renowned and solidly skilled sound designer, guitarist and ethno-multi instrumentalist whose music has ventured from aleatoric sound manipulations to dark ambient, ritualized organic drones to shoegazing soundscapes. In this new project he allies with Bruno De Angelis, also a notable and versatile experimental musician whose career spanned many decades. De Angelis is an emblematic and distinctive figure, known as Mana ERG in the 90s, numerous punchy and innovative electro-pop releases have been produced under this moniker. The complicity between two progressive sound artists sharing a common vision for challenging musical territories come to be natural and Leaving Hardly a Mark is the result of this joint effort.
At first look on the cover artwork l thought about a prosaic corpus of retro ish late 80s/90s electro synth waving pieces, honoring also first computer based electro music. The musical content is itself not far from it, at least with the opening track of the album and its sustained and sinuous synth chords gently swelling and caressing. From the second track to the end we are invited in a different, complex and blissed-out sound tapestry where electronic devices meet detached and highly emotional guitar tones. More experimental sonic backdrops playing with resonances and natural reverbs, grainy array of noises are intertwined with subtle, aerial and evocative leanings. All in all this first album under the moniker of LHAM is a refined, sentient and beautifully sculpted melodious ambient effort with a metaphysical edge, distilling a sense of space and fragility. This album reflects what best can be offer in the sanctuary of deep ambient music, warmly recommended for fans of earliest Robert Schroeder, Vidna Obmana, Steve Roach, Popol Vuh, Between, Deuter but also adventurous and ethereal jazzy guitar centered spiritualism of Steve Tibbets, John Abercrombie et al.
Leaving Hardly a Mark is available on Silentes. [Website | Juno]
