Alessandro Cortini will release his upcoming LP Risveglio on July 27th via Hospital Productions. The Italian musician is probably best known for his work with Nine Inch Nails, though he is also a founding member of Modwheelmood, produces solo music under the moniker SONOIO, was briefly a touring member of The Mayfield Four, and has collaborated with Ladytron, as well as Trent Reznor in the project How To Destroy Angels–to name just a few places the prolific synth expert has shown up. Cortini teamed up with Dominick Fernow‘s Hospital Productions to release his 2014 LP Sonno, a work of haunting ambiance created using only a Roland MC-202 and a delay pedal. Risveglio is the follow-up, and it finds Cortini expanding his sonic palette to include other pieces from Rolands prestigious family of vintage hardware, the TR606 and TB303. Speaking to the natural affinity of these instruments for each other, the musician explains:
“The 303 can be such a haunting instrument used in a certain way, and I felt it completely fit the mood of the previous work I have done on the 202, especially when given a specific location in space….its such a living instrument.”
Indeed, the rich resonances of Cortini’s Rolands can barely be contained on tape, and while Sonno was a stark, meditative work, monochromatic in scope, the addition of the 303 adds gritty bass tones to these late night aural explorations. On “La Sveglia“, it is as though the bass sequencer is stalking the 202, shadowing it’s every move with a haunting purr of low end; and while the ambient composition is without a drum track, the throb of the 303 adds a rhythmic pulse–even as the alternating lines of sequencing eventually fall out of step, destabilizing into more chaotic currents of patterned sound.
Fans of Alessandro Cortini will not want to miss this awesome mix of music the artist recently put together for FACT. Clocking in at over one hour, it includes music from Aphex Twin, Muslimgauze, Plastikman, and much more. A complete track list is included after the embed…
Muslimgauze “Azzarin”
Plastikman “Ekko”
Ekman “Quantative Matter and Motion”
joeFarr “DMF”
Mannerfelt & Haydo “Head Related Transfer Function”
Varg “Skaeliptom”
Drumcell “Speak Silence” (Slumberman Remix)
Mark Verbos “Torn Cones”
Shifted “Cold Light” (Sektor D)
Powell “No U Turn”
Aphex Twin “Polynomial-C”
Doxa Sinistra “Conveyer Belt”
William Basinski “Untitled”
Grouper “Clearing”