Aix
is the latest work from Italian artist Giuseppe Ielasi and the
follow-up to 2007’s August
(12k, 12k1044). WIth Aix we see Ielasi building his layered,
atmospheric music around rhythmic grids. Most of the time these
are quite irregular and the pulses are not neccessarily stable
or clear. Where his previous work approached sound in a linear
fashion Aix imposes a strong vertical development with
the aforementioned grid and a production consisting of ons and
offs, employing as much improvisation as Ielasi’s previous
work, but in a different way.
Despite the self-imposed grid structure, Aix relies heavily
on randomization. Not in the traditional sense of sound placement
but instead of the spatialization of sounds, echoes, reverbs and
the stereo image. As a result, Aix has an amazing sense and clarity
of space as the small fragments of sound breathe and find their
own place in the mix, thanks to Ielasi’s sublime skills
as a mixer and engineer.
Ielasi relied heavily on numerous short samples and combining
them in ways that fell into his groove; some found from others'
recordings and many more recorded during the past year. We hear
fragments of percussive (acoustic) objects, drums, piano, trumpet,
guitar, and, of course, synthetic textures. Although there is
a distinct rhythmic pulse to Aix, Ielasi manages to mold
it into something wonderfully languid and warm... and strangely
inviting.
