The musical territory explored on Visions Vol.1 is quite captivating and will without any doubt seduce hardcore fans of free-form and contemporary beat-driven electronic music.
Rising from the Roman underground, Blackwater is a recently launched label whose ambition is to release on both vinyl / digital edition various artists who are keeping the flag of opened minded and advanced electronic music high; from kosmische disco grooves to post-industrial minimalism, chillout ambient nebulas and acid-techno beats. Among modern-day electro combos / producers from Rome welcomed by the label notably include Lucianno Lamanna, Fabrizio Lapiana, Mm2, Beat Movement and a bunch of emerging projects. This compilation work offers a nice and relevant overview upon the musical range promoted by the team.
The opening theme by Vincenzo Pizzi starts with a solemn, sinister and blurry autumnal minimalist ambience, An almost Basinski-esque and Rapoon like feeling sustained by big beats. Powerful avant-electronic piece that will ravish fans of the most experimental, immersive and tripped out facet of techno / IDM. Among my true favorites of this compilation. The project Beat Movement delivers here a sympathetic futuristic-ultra minimal Bauhaus like electronic architecture with obsessive rhythms, cold abstract leads with an obvious and efficient hypnotic quality. Antonello Teora carries on minimal abstract house-inflected chill out. Moonlite Bunny Ranch and Luciano Lamanna provide more caustic and darker pulsing electronics with a fancy for industrial music culture. Devianza approaches austere droned out territory, sustained by highly vibrant electronic machine rhythms and original grooves, a convincing adventurous track. Stefano Rocchi and Matteo Appolloni provide here a radical electronic experimental mindscaping track with massive synth lines and noisy percussive weirdness. A very cinematic, disembodied, doom and noxious track. MM2, side project of Oksana (Xiu) delivers a menacing, then puzzling and propulsive electronic bliss out. Dense emotional atmosphere and ominous goth electronic percolations. An other brooding, mysterious cinematic track which also figures among my favorites. The album closes with the conceptual and strangely moving techno futurescape of Marco Erroi.
The musical territory explored here is quite captivating and will without any doubt seduce hardcore fans of free-form and contemporary beat-driven electronic music. Highly recommended for fans of progressive and challenging minimalist-techno sounds.
Visions Vol.1 is available on Blackwater. [Bandcamp]
