[releases] afe079cd
leeza: living in a pixel

Track List:

1.  Atrop  2:00

2.  Cho_2  4:06

3.  Ermos  3:39

4.  Global System  3:26

5.  Vacuum Pulse  3:50

6.  Dav_home  3:55

7.  Living in a Pixel  3:42

8.  Phonetik Boot  2:36

9.  No Connection  6:43

10.  Ware Town [Low]  4:23

11.  Afterkey  3:38

12.  Sbooph  6:31

13.  Tlc  5:27

14.  Swithkake  3:40

Description:

Six years passed since Afe released Plasmic, Luca Di Mattei's adventorous lo-fi electronica debut disc assembled with an almost total lack of equipment.

During all this time Luca has been busy working on his many musical projects (Leeza, Hendy Van Morris, Bill Catez and Jabba) and had a few releases on Afe (including the humorous "Macrohard" by Bill Catez and his participation to the monumental Teddy Bear Remix Project) and on his own label called Moonfear.

Luca also collaborated with Kabal on many of the tracks that appeared on his self-titled debut album, and also gave him some help on the following "Alone".

Leeza's music is generated using a laptop computer and no other electronic devices. It has its main roots in what was once called Intelligent Techno, and is clearly inspired by the good records published during the '90s by labels such as Warp, Rephlex, Skam, etc.

With "Living in a Pixel", he has crafted an album of classic melodic electronic compositions which are very rarely tuneless. The disc opens with "Atrop", its shortest track (...and one of the most frantic too...), built on repetitive pads, obsessive drums and 303-flavoured basslines.

With its intertwining melodies and pads backed by distorted drums, "Ermos" is notably one of the most complex and fascinating track on the album and is a perfect example of Leeza's music.

The title track is a more relaxed mid-tempo number based on bouncing arpeggios, minimal percussive patterns and reverberd beats. "Phonetic Boot" is filled with sampled breakbeats, metallic hats and a twisted acid bassline.

"Vacuum Pulse", "No Connection" and "Sbooph" are other fine examples of Leeza's trademark twinkling tones, delicate melodies and warm basslines that make his mid-pace electronica so worth.

"Swithkake" is a sweet lullaby played on a plastic glockenspiel and laid upon a smiling discrete bassline, a last pixel still shimmering as the monitor turns black...

"If a CD can stick to a good definition, you can bet "Living in a Pixel" fits perfectly with the "Intelligent Dance Music" classification. If you've ever been into the glory days of Warp and you think Autechre before becoming a "total defragmenting machine", and Afx before getting fond of Satie and bored by the whole world were great, I think you'd better give a listen to this."
Chain D.L.K. (1) [more]

"In questo bel disco si fondono alcune direttrici fondamentali: la prima è una capacità melodica dilatante di sottofondo tipica odiernamente dell'IDM americana combinata con spunti melodici arpeggiati, la seconda quella legata alle ritmiche, essenziali ma varie, con mid-tempi e soluzioni brekkate, occhiolini ad alcune soluzioni dei primi Autechre, come quei sferragliamenti o i beats distorti di "Ermos" o di "Dav_home" e conseguenti cavalcate IDM che sembrano uscite direttamente da Incunabula."
Electroworld [more]

"...prendete una persona che ama l'elettronica ma che è rimasta alla fine degli anni '80 e che non hai mai sentito parlare di Aphex Twin, Autechre, Boards of Canada, Warp sound né di tutti i loro vari epigoni, e fatele ascoltare "Living In A Pixel": credo che non potrà non apprezzarlo... Un buon disco che davvero non vi potrà sorprendere, ma certamente potrà ad ogni modo finire in heavy rotation sullo stereo di chi, come me, ha già un po' di nostalgia dei tempi dei selezionati lavori ambient e dell'ambra di chi ho sopra nominato..."
Sound and Silence [more]

"Living in a Pixel" is a record that would fit perfectly in the Skam back catalogue. A more recent reference point would be the rosters of the Toytronic and Merck labels. A well-crafted record not to be missed by IDM diehards and nostalgics."
Chain D.L.K. (2) [more]