(01.28.07) Across Europe electro is growing and taking root. From the traditional
bases of Germany and Holland, hubs of electro have pushed their way up
across the mainland. New labels are blossoming across the board every year,
from Cytown Records in Denmark to Mighty Robot Records in Scotland. These
new wave electro labels do not follow any set species, they adopt elements
from techno, acid, old-skool electro and darker new age electronix. One such
imprint that has flourished over the past few years is MinimalRome, an
electro outfit centered in the Italian capital. Italy has always been much
more fertile soil for electro than other European countries, with its
history of Italo Disco and imprints such as Nature with artists like
D’arcangelo, Mat 101 and of course Passarani. In its short lifetime, MinimalRome has been releasing electro, techno and acid. The label was formed in
2003 by V-MR and Feedback with the aim of releasing music by local roman
talent. The label truly came into being with the release of Broken Pots
Hill Vol. One in May 2004. The imprint rounded and took shape with Urbi et
Orbi, meaning To the City and To the World, which showcased not only
artists from Italy, but foreign musicians such as Luke Eargoggle and Ra-X.
The label, and its circle of affiliates, has grown since the days of Broken
Pots Hill Vol. One. Now, more than two years after the birth of the first
record on MinimalRome, Broken Pots Hill Vol. Three released in October 2006.
Once again the label has emerged from the dark passageways of Rome’s
underground to emit a record from its host of Roma nurtured artists.
Many MinimalRome records have the same feel as tracks from Bunker or
Stilleben, an aggressive, raw electro tone. Just like these labels, MinimalRome supports and promotes its own selection of homegrown talent. The
Broken Pots Hill releases are the label’s shining example of its focus on
local artists, and the third installment in the series is no exception. The
first artist to appear on the LP recently featured on Artists Anonymous compilation as part of the Robot Dystopia on Bunker, Composite Profuse. The
Italian export opens with “R.XX.” Distorted robotic vocals are the focal
point of the track whilst desolate electro squelches and swirls wrap their
way around. A futuristic audio wasteland to start off a dark, minimal
endeavour. Kobol Electronics is next up on the wax, a veteran of MinimalRome. Rich electro chords echo across this dance floor centered number. Acid
synthlines reverberate throughout the track, as old school drum machine
sounds keep a constant tempo. C-34, a new covert to the MinimalRome camp,
is follow with “Electric Machine.” A wonderfully laid back electro number of
subtle analog melodies, crisp snares and mechanoid lyrics. A great electroid
work to finish the first side of the album.
A MinimalRome co-founder, Feedback, introduces the B-side of Broken Pots
Hill Vol. Three with the sleazy, Italia underbelly that is “Criminal Rome.”
An aggressive, TB303 track of sharp sounds that twist and tweak down narrow
alleys as abrasive beats march and trudge across the analog underworld of
Roma Illegala. The capital is once again in the foreground as Seventysix
ambles in with “Roma Acida.” The vintage machines are never away for long on
this LP. Seventysix, one of the pioneers of the Rome electro sound, employs
a lazy tempo over which he subjects the listener to darts of electroactive
beams, drowsy subdued beats and striped out vocals. A dark, atmospheric
track that shows the diversity of what is on offer at MinimalRome. The
final artist from the original twelve of Broken Pots Hill Vol. One, PnZ,
is next with “Restriction.” The pace rises and the LP moves once again
toward the dark, underground realm of city electro. Slick synths float on a
bed of bass as snares drop before more murderous lyrics bully their way in.
The final installment on the compilation is by Heinrich Dressel, “Kommando
Anphora – End Theme.” It’s a relaxed track of echoing synth-lines where
inaudible lyrics drown and cascade.
Broken Pots Hill Vol. Three is a well structured, well produced and well
conceived piece of electro music. The album illustrates the level and range
of electronic talent that exists today. As years pass, electro masters are
further refining the sharp, minimal analog sound. As the pioneers of
Detroit, England and Holland recede, new torchbearers come to the fray.
MinimalRome is a label that has created, and replicated, its own sound.
Electro is not a generic sound, it is not mass produced; electro adopts many
elements in its creation: culture, language, memory. The MinimalRome sound
is an example of this. The label reflects the aggressive artistic tradition
of the Italian futurists while adopting new age ideals of pop culture, such
as the depiction of organized crime in cop shows or cinema. Italy, Rome and
electro have been melted together by these artists to produce a sound that
is true, dark, up beat, atmospheric, melancholic, moody and independent.
Rome, in all its glory, in all its profanity and in all its everyday has
been reproduced in electro. An excellent album, a milestone for a label with
untold promise.
Broken Pots Hill Vol. Three is out now on MinimalRome.
