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  Arg 
  Animali
  (Creative Sources) 


  
   review by Max Schaefer
  2009-04-16
Arg: Animali (Creative Sources)

Graziano Lelli overlays and emulsifies electronically treated sounds into a complex musical diorama on Animali, an electroacoustic work from the opera piece of the same name. As a sort of aural theatre in miniature, its assorted pieces are of a sweeping mobility, characterized by dramatic contrasts and intricate detail. Each achieves a flow that is fresh and fluent, an ingenuity shot through with purpose.

From the beginning, it's apparent enough that Lelli is in control of the momentum of his pieces' development, in particular the rate of change in the relationships between different sounds. The nine minute "Filo Di Lana" contrasts rich, pealing tones with high-pitch grindings, before shifting its focus towards a cluster of more melodic drones, whose movements trace gentle micro-rhythms before dissipating.

Mid-way through, these currents, once made to simply roll and intertwine as a part of an incessant cycle, begin to merge and cross with newfound ease; a glinting agitated surface regularly begins to break into textured swirls and sprays, out of which spring short-lived, and unexpected, sonic objects. Even later on in the work, against a hovering, droning mass of field recordings, desiccated jolts and crisp click-tones collapse into flurries of serrated sound fragments, creating a sonic environment that is marked as much by adventure as security.

Together with the juxtaposition of these registers, these restless, fragmented exchanges are enriched and corrupted further by their interrelation with the vocal contributions of Julio Cortazar. It's a favorable context for Lelli's mutating electronic environments. More often than not, they provide an uneasy equilibrium, which Lelli can then efface with his jaggedly angular movements. Very much a work of becoming, the yoke of this album is astir with activity and thick with creativity.





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