Boomkat (UK)

Having broken away from the droves of drone artists out there with 2009’s excellent Aix album, Giuseppe Ielasi established a very different vocabulary to that he put to good use in the earlier part of his career. Like so many of his contemporaries, Ielasi once specialised in microsound-style soundscapes and guitar processing, but with Aix he shifted into a more rhythmic mindset, making beats from location-recorded objects and materials. Tools continues under the same impetus, this time creating a set of percussive tracks from a number of household items. ‘Rubber Band’ sounds like a tabla-driven hip-hop cut, full of shape-shifting resonance and spongy physicality. Immediately after, ‘Polystyrene Box’ manages to retain recognisable sonic properties of the titular material whilst giving a deep bass, dub-like sound in the arrangement. The results of Ielasi’s toils are a joy to behold – any sound-loving nerd or audiophile will be able to appreciate the remarkable resonance of ‘Tin Can’ or the incredible, snare-like textures put to use on ‘Aluminium Foil’. A technical marvel and an enormously enjoyable listen, Tools comes highly recommended.