[reviews] afe068lcd
subinterior: the chrysalis secret

I have always liked Andrea Freschi's thoroughly obscure, but increasingly elegant approach to dark ambient, and it was obvious that his skills were improving more and more.

While his first two self-released CD-Rs ("Outfall" and "Insomnie", recently re-released on a single disc by Silentes) were, in perspective, still a bit rough, "Obstacles", released by Japanese Deserted Factory, was already a major step forward, but the improvement shown in "The Chrysalis Secret" is no less dramatic.

Freschi is now dealing with consistingly longer pieces (14:02, 11:33 and 18:30), but most of all there's an even stronger sense of flow (i.e. while having different nuances, the tracks perfectly work as a continuum) and really improved recording and mastering.

As always, Subinterior's soundscapes are based on slowly expanding drones, heavily altered (and mostly factory-originated) field recordings, and shades of melancholic music (possibly coming from a guitar or a piano).

Freschi's recent collaborative CD with New Risen Throne, released under the Konau monicker by Eibon, was a very good dark ambient work, but I admit I prefer his new solo release for its hypnotic flow, a perfect sonic equivalent of a pitch-black, starless night. Wonderful packaging as well.

[Eugenio Maggi]