Matteo Scaioli - Harmograph Big - Room Ambient
The visionary Italian label Spazio Disponibile, founded by none other than Donato Dozzy & Neel, is well known for its role at the forefront of audiophile hypnotic Techno. Now they kicked off a new Sublabel, Big Room Ambient. Just like the previous sublabel Afterhouse, this new one definitely lives up to its name, too. Upon closer inspection of the label’s history and its founding fathers eclectic DJ sets, this new project makes a lot of sense.
For the very first release they chose material by Italian polymath Matteo Scaioli. Since the 1990’s the Ravenna born musician quickly found his focus in drumming and percussions of all kinds, which he performed live alongside Maurizio Rizzuto under their alias Percussion Voyager. Over time, his musical expression found further outlets through his voice and synthesizers. Since 2007 he has dived deeper in the fields of electronic music and started his solo project but also teamed up with Gabriele Bombardini under Liquid Desire. Afterwards he put out several solo releases on Italian experimental and avantgarde labels like Soave, Margot Records, Frequenza and Timeless. Now his work is being made accessible to a wider audience beyond Italian avant-electronic scene.
The album title is just as nerdy as you’d expect it from a new Spazio Disponibile offshot: A Harmograph is a mechanical apparatus that employs swinging pendulums to creating complex geometric drawings known as “Lissajous figures”. These figures are the visual representation of the intersection of two or more harmonic motions, typically resulting in intricate, curved patterns that occur when two sine waves oscillating along perpendicular axes are combined. You can find four of these figures on the album cover.
During the 35 minutes on this three-track-album, the label’s approach to create “a space for open sonic exploration where electronics and distant musical traditions converge to create evolving soundscapes“ is fulfilled beyond any doubt with this album. Scaioli works with many different synthesizers as well as several Tabla’s, small percussion from north-Indian music culture.
Germoglio (sprout) sets the mood, with wonderful, roomy patterns of synthesizers moving through the (big) room, accompanied with impulses of Tabla or other percussion, plucked as well as bowed strings or short bass progression. Aspettando il tempo (waiting for the weather) is a well-crafted and patiently composed piece. Roles are switched here, a strong focus on percussion throughout the whole piece, joined by short string-like (sometimes sword-like) synthesizer play, chords and further percussion with loads of reverb, instills a longing to hear it in a vast space right upon the first listen. Ponti (bridges) takes another, different direction altogether. Slowly moving layers of heavily reverbed soundscapes, barely any percussion and peaceful harmonies. A wonderful, peaceful way to end this first chapter of (hopefully) many on this new, promising label.
