Mat-101: Goodbye, Mum!

Since the early Nineties, Rome has had a florid techno scene, quite renown abroad. Producers Francesco Pierro and Francesco De Bellis are among the foremost representatives of the "second generation" of Roman techno artists, and their excellent release as Jolly Music was already posted on this blog some time ago.

Here's something a bit older instead: the first album of the duo (which back then was actually a trio, comprising fellow producer Emiliano Tortora), which came out in 1999 for their own label Balance Records, under the moniker Mat-101.
It's basically videogame-sounding IDM. Abstract, Detroit-style techno music combined with 8-bit stuff and England's most melodic post-rave experimentations. Despite the coldness of the elements and the overal creepiness of the atmospheres, the tunes are incredibly fanciful and jocose. Sometimes, they even recall some stripped-down version of Daft Punk's OuLiPo-like attitude.
Rhythm obviously plays a fundamental role, and is perhaps the most peculiar aspect of the album. Instead of treading the usual mechanical beat of techno music, it flirts with the most convulsive twists by Aphex Twin and the likes. Without sounding that alienating, though.

"Goodbye Mum!" is one of the most original Italian electronic albums. You will like it.

Tracklist:

1. Intro
2. Level One
3. Arcade
4. Crash Hero
5. English
6. Danni morali e fisici
7. Zilof
8. Spzz
9. Gabber Doze
10. 10
11. Goblin 101
12. Mennen
13. Tecnologia casuale
14. Frakken
15. Phreese

Download  (192 kbps)


Similar music on the blog:
Monomorph: Alternative Fluid (Disturbance, 1994)
Jolly Music: Jolly Bar (Nature/Wide, 2000)

Agricantus: Tuareg (Compagnia Nuove Indye, 1996)

Conceived in Sicily, recorded partly in the Mali Desert, sung by a Swiss singer in a variety of languages (from French and German to Tamachek or Lingala): "Tuareg" is the emblem of world music, and one of the greatest masterpieces in the genre. It's not just a fusion of Mediterranean musical heritage, Touareg traditions and techno-trance structures of the flourishing "rave culture" of the mid-Nineties. And the point's not that the range of influences of is much richer (trip-hop, dub, dream-pop, ambient, drum'n'bass...), nor the charming voice and technique of singer Rosie Wiederkehr (somehow reminding of Cocteau Twin's Elizabeth Fraser), but rather the stunning beauty of the music the album contains. The atmospheres it creates are unique and deeply enthralling: they sound ancient and futuristic, luminous and mysterious, warm and solemn at the same time. I won't venture in further descriptions: luckily, the music doesn't need any explanation to disclose its magic.

Agricantus were a band from Palermo, founded in 1979 as a traditional folk ensemble. During the Nineties, they got more and more intrested to foreign musical traditions and electronic music. The entrance of Swiss singer Rosie Wiederkehr greatly enriched their formula, letting them focus on multi-language lyrics and phonetic experimentation. "Tuareg" is their second long-playing and brought them many critical prizes, such as Premio Tenco, Premio Augusto Daolio, and Premio Italiano della Musica.

Tracklist:

1. Ummiri
2. Hala hala
3. Ljuljuten (Tin-Zawatine)
4. Com'u ventu
5. Carizzi r'amuri (Es Souk)
6. Azalai
7. Tuareg
8. Disiu
9. Caruvana 'i sali
10. U coni coni
11. Dune

Download (128 kbps)

I couldn't find any reliable credits for this album. The line-up of the band was, in any case:

• Tonj Acquaviva: drums and percussion
• Mario Crispi: winds and keyboards, vocals
• Giuseppe Panzeca: guitar and mandolins
• Mario Rivera: bass and vocals
• Rosie Wiederkher: vocals and keyboards

Former Picchio dal pozzo member Aldo De Scalzi should have been involved in the recording, producing or composing process in some way (but I have no exact information).


Similar music on the blog:
Calicanto: Venexia (Compagnia Nuove Indye, 1997)
Militia: Elvengamello (Materiali Sonori, 1997)

Monomorph: Alternative Fluid (Disturbance, 1994)

There are times Italian artists don't come late to the novelties of the musical world, but seem to be perfectly synchronized to them. The abstract techno-sound of "Alternative Fluid" is one of these very rare cases. Hybridating the futurist geometries of Underground Resistance and the glacial ambiences of Autechre and Aphex Twin, the album synthesizes a very peculiar - and mature - progressive electronic formula. An architectural sound, favouring structure over narration, but full of unexpected trumps: daring stop'n'go inlays, pointillist textures and weavings, dreamy melodies which can't fail to allure and ravish.

Monomorph is a project by brothers Marco and Fabrizio D'Arcangelo, known also under the names D'Arcangelo, Centuria, Intermolecular Forces.

Tracklist:

1. Geometrical...
2. Monomorph
3. Lonx
4. Exiled Ambient
5. Minimalia (Drumix)
6. ...Spherical
7. Sequon Og
8. Battletech

Donwload (192 kbps)

Similar albums on the blog:
Jolly Music: Jolly Bar (Nature/Wide, 2000)
Giorgio Moroder: E=mc² (Durion, 1979)