Com Truise
Galactic Melt

I'll probably feel more comfortable talking about Com Truise with a nickname like Rosco Vassi, Paura Lausini, or Nanna Giannini (I discovered after I came up with them that I wasn't so original, someone else had already thought of them), or if I were allowed a bit more license to do even better, perhaps, with the name Rurico Neggeri, Raos Ermazzotti, or De_Odore Bannato, the appearance of being a genre enthusiast would be a cover under which I could somewhat hide the lack of expertise. It's not so easy for those without a trained ear to identify modern electronic music elements that allow one to classify a piece or an artist in a particular genre. Perhaps it's worth listening to Workhorse, who suggests approaching new stuff with a mind free from stereotypes, claiming that, given the current state of the art, it makes little sense to talk about genres. And indeed, I'm convinced that as an initial approach, it's the correct one, but then, as you delve deeper into an artist, I believe that reference points are still useful to more easily understand their message. But finding them just by listening is not that simple, at least as far as I'm concerned.

For me, it was already quite a mess to understand from a simple listening how to recognize these artists under the synthwave hat from the vapor. From the advice that the good MikiNigagi gave me some time ago, I allowed myself to deduce that the vapor are collage experts and the synths are artisans, and the music they produce is all made from their own ingenuity.

Following other paths, some find gray areas of connection between synthwave and IDM. Two worlds that, as far as I know, should be at opposite ends, one looking to the past, the other which until recently constituted one of the avant-gardes of music. I read a review on ondarock of this album (forgive me great Pdor, I know it's a sin to mention that name around here) where C.T. is accused of a change of direction, a farewell to synthwave due to the seduction by the Warp record world. And some of the elements highlighted to support the analysis are convincing. In particular, some solutions regarding the rhythm. Indeed, a bit of extra effervescence in this aspect compared to what seems to me to be the average level of pieces attributable to synthwave is appreciable. There are various stop and gos, sometimes even abrupt (Ether Drift), that can give a sense of an IDM aroma, and the choice of some sound effects can also contribute in this sense. Nonetheless, I believe it's more about contamination rather than a definitive change of course, because, in the end, even in this album, Com Truise offers what you'd expect from a synthwave artist, electronic music made with eighties sounds.

All the pieces are mainly put together with three synth lines and a drum created with the drum machine. The bass line is almost always accomplished using what seems to me to be the sound of the minimoog model D, probably filtered. This line interweaves with another synth line on high frequencies creating quite original dynamics (e.g., Air Call) and which, together with the drums, form the basis on which melodic phrases realized with the third synth line, always on high frequencies, find support. Various sound effects are grafted into this sound body. In general, there isn't much variety in the solutions used, the most popular consists of filtered, slowed, and accelerated voices. An exception in this regard is 'Futureworld,' which in fact reminds me a lot of what I happened to hear in the IDM field.

There's never a start at full throttle with things like the powerful synth slashes of Kavinsky; all the pieces start slowly and then evolve continuously. Even in this aspect, there are exceptions like the orgasmic moans of a woman from which 'VHS Sex' starts and the brief initial acceleration followed by a sudden tempo change in 'Air Call.' Despite all this chatter, my proposal is from someone not very competent in the subject and is primarily motivated by the fact that it is a pleasant album to listen to, characterized by good melodic and rhythmic ideas. Cerea madamin e monsù.