Eilatix creates an atmosphere filled with tension and opposing forces.
Italian musician, producer and Disco Dada Records label-owner Lorenzo Montanà will be familiar to followers of the Fax +49-69/450464 label for his collaboration with the late Pete Namlook on the five part Labyrinth series. Montanà also has two solo albums under his belt, also released through Fax in 2009 and 2011 respectively, making Eilatix his third solo full length, this time released through Keith Downey’s long-running Psychonavigation imprint.
Eilatix is steeped in references to carnivorous plants and insect life, both in the track titles and the always dependable Jeroen Advocaat’s evocative accompanying artwork. The lush, moonlit forest depicted in the three images that adorn the CD jewel case are packed full of flora, fauna and super-sized animal life, a lifeless castle in the distance the only like to civilization. Advocaat’s imagery is typically heavily inspired by the music itself, and this always reflects back on the listener, coloring one’s perception of the music in satisfying ways. Eilatix is a sultry, indulgent and hugely atmospheric experience, a bittersweet combination of deep-forest tranquility tinged with a crawling feeling of unease.
The science-fiction genre has often played off the unsettling idea of carnivorous plant life, both in writing and on celluloid, and Eilatix does so too, creating an atmosphere filled with tension and opposing forces. Rhythms, beats and other percussion are kept to the barest minimum throughout, usually taking the form of a chitinous ticking/clicking with diaphanous hi-hats and snares, reflecting the passage of the constantly threatened insect life through this beautiful but hostile environment.
Opener, “Nepenthe’s Touch,” references that particularly ugly genus that traps and drowns its prey in a ruddy colored pitcher, and there’s a gulping, organic tinge to the bass line that adds a sinister edge to the otherwise serene ambiance and synth strings that accompany it. The bubbling arpeggios of “Byblis OT” are strongly reminiscent of other aquatic themed releases like Jürgen Müller’s Science of the Sea, conjuring images of air bubbles rising from moonlit coral reefs, though the tranquility is abruptly shattered by the closing few minutes of what can only be described as a psy-grunge outro. And “Quantic Rajah” (another reference to a particularly large and ugly pitcher plant) is brooding and pensive, a loping behemoth of deep-space bass, glitchtronic rhythms and laser-sweeping pads.
It’s not all stygian, canopied underbrush and crawling, giant insects however, the brighter and more explorer-friendly tracks like the haughty, sauntering “Oval Wood” with its upbeat, breezy, fluted and piped tones, or the woody clack and verdant foliage of “Genlixea” providing calming respite from the more shadowy elements.
Eilatix peaks towards its end, though, starting with moody “Blue Stylidium,” directly referenced in Advocaat’s artwork by the blue Venus flytrap plants seen on the reverse of the CD. This is a moment of pure Artificial Intelligence series bliss, with airy exhalations and spiraling analogue synth tones meandering like fireflies through humidity amplifying, ambient dub bass lines. “Temporary Light” closes, with glistening, chitinous percussion and the call of unseen creatures echoing into the shadows, a furtive melody picked out in analogue squelch, lens-flaring pads and earthy bass.
At just seven tracks (though spread across a healthy forty-five minutes), Eilatix is a concise work, but one that leaves you wanting more. As Montanà is due to release another album later in the year entitled Leema Hactus, also on Psychonavigation and with artwork along similar lines, we may not have long to wait for it.
Eilatix is out now on Psychonavigation.
