An album that abandons any musical and communicative dogma to rediscover a direct link between rhythm and soul.
Experimentation in the ambient landscape
Approaching electronic music in 2014 with the electro-wave trio Torakiki, in 2020 Giunchedi decided to give birth to a new solo project, Sacrobosco, mainly focused on refreshing the brilliant sounds that were the heritage of Warp Records, the home of modern electronic music.
The first chapter of this music adventure has been IVXVI, a set of tracks made of sparkling ambient techno, in which the discovery of different layers was very involved. At the end of 2023 Sacrobosco decided to release a second chapter, IXVXI, which is a continuation of his musical speech: “I had initially thought of making a single work, proving how I consider the tracks part of the same body. I eventually opted to split them into two albums with the intention of keeping the listener’s concentration high with reference to two different setlists.”
Recorded and produced by Giunchedi, mixed with Roberto Rettura at Lo Studio Spaziale in Bologna and mastered by Matilde Davoli, this second setlist has rhythm as a reading key: all the shades of music have the proper rhythmic key. Beats are central in every composition and give the album a very physical attitude, while the deep research of sounds goes toward a reflective experience.
The single “Higher” brings me to the only real criticism, albeit veiled, that I feel to turn to a work that, once put in play, follows and chases the listener without pause. You want to listen, listen, start everything again. “Higher” is a simple composition, based on a repetitive chorus, pounding almost as much as the sound of the phone of “Once upon a time in America.” Although the result of the set is interesting, the piece reminded me of lounge environments, elegant cafes, where even the spritz seems too perfect to be drunk without straw.
Among other tracks, the loop that characterizes “Peculiar” is enveloping, made of a mix of guitar, bass and electronic sounds. Also interesting is the engaging vortex of Resistance, a piece from which you cannot distract attention thanks to the amazing sounds that follow each other and culminate in a piano sample
IXVXI is not an end in itself. Refined and far from the clichés of both EDM and dream pop, it reveals new ways to renew experimentation in the ambient landscape. It is an album that abandons any musical and communicative dogma to rediscover a direct link between rhythm and soul.
IVXVI is available on Trovarobato. [Bandcamp]
