Tiella Sound is on a mission to blur the boundaries of electronic genres and provide something new and unique. Off the back of their long-standing radio show and guest mix series, Tiella Sound launched in 2023 with a self-titled LP from Perugian artist VAISA, setting the scene perfectly with its lo-fi maelstrom of field recordings, obscure rhythms and tribal textures. Livio Improta follows suit with ‘Fondamentalismi’, a 10-track exploration of broken, slow-motion rhythms coated in vinyl crackle and layers of atmospheric dust.
Livio Improta has landed on Bosconi Records and Rawax, had his tunes included on Fabric 71 mixed by Cassy, and explored ethnomusicology and experimentation under the name Baldovino. From Neapolitan wave to world music, Italo-disco to house, disco and funk, his sound is rich, unpredictable and varied, as he proves here with ‘Fondamentalismi’.
Opener 'Alpha' is a broken dub rhythm coated in lo-fi chords that makes for an atmospheric start before dubbed-out broken beats on 'Posidone' and the deep, glitchy analogue drums of '80123' immerse you in a world of hazy pads and dusty sounds. The title track is another brilliantly heady and sparse sound world where wispy pads float above warm bass and malfunctioning drum patterns before 'Comunicando' gets more physical but remains miles under the surface with its smeared melodic loops and jolting kicks.
'Cuma' layers up more prickly hi-hats and busted kicks with off-grid percussion and diffuse synth lines that glow like fireflies, while 'Intransigenza' suspends you in amongst muffled chords and lumpy rhythms that are heavy and off-balance. 'Ibis' layers up some gurgling acid and hallucinogenic synths with beatdown drums from Detroit, and 'Marechiaro' has an infectious dub house swing beneath soft focus melodies that are full of melancholy. 'Omega' shuts down with three minutes of knackered loops and heat-damaged synths topped with Italian spoken word vocals.
‘Fondamentalismi’ is another superb album that announces Tiella Sound as a vital new label.
Tracklist
01. Alpha 02. Posidone 03. 80123 04. Fondamentalismi 05. Comunicando 06. Cuma 07. Intransigenza 08. Iblis 09. Marechiaro 10. Omega
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