Giuseppe Ielasi

12k presents the latest solo work from Italian composer Giuseppe Ielasi. August is the 4th full-length cd from Ielasi following his critically acclaimed debut Plans (Sedimental, 2003) and the stunning Gesine and s/t (Häpna, 2005, 2006).
August takes a more linear approach to Ielasi’s composing with sounds stretched like like layers of gauze forming a thick, soft blanket. Utilizing piano, hammond organ, guitars, dobro, synthesizers and shortwave radio, Ielasi creates deep, warm drones and suspended, scratchy melodies with a hint of despair and melancholy that make this a very introspective album. His trademark guitar and live approach to instrumentation are in the forefront yet set behind an expertly processed veil of subtle electronics. The textures are unabashedly acoustic but buried and moody enough as to question their origin.
August is a haunting, but beautiful album that falls neatly between the starkness of Gesine and the scattering rhythmic complexity of s/t. LIke music for a farewell, an ending of ends, August is moody, static, slow and emotional.

Avvolgenti droni, sospensioni melanconiche e sequenze glitch'n'cuts, tessiture rarefatte ed anche melodiche, infuse da armonie iterate in sintetici accordi e frequenze radio ottenute modulando onde corte, utilizzando insieme anche un pianoforte, un organo hammond ed una chitarra resofonica. Ielasi sembra in parte abbandonare il consueto cipiglio improvvisativo a favore d'un approccio maggiormente lineare, costruito fra astrazioni e sovrapposizioni a lungo meditate negli accostamenti. Un album introspettivo e raffinato che l'artista, fondatore della Fringes Recordings, sceglie di pubblicare per la 12K, label newyorkese altrettanto sperimentale e d'alto profilo guidata da Taylor Deupree.
Aurelio Cianciotta (Neural)