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THE REVIEW
One of the most influential cross-disciplinary artists on the European music scene - all the more influential as he remains elusive, as befits - marks his new endeavor with a further leap in production quality and a conceptual approach that challenges the perception of life on multiple levels, both as an individual journey and as an "expanded entity." It also offers an astonishing experience in terms of sound and composition, if only to emphasize the authority of the title that critics have bestowed upon him for years: the Sound Alchemist.
"Automa Ashes" is the testimony of a never-satisfied evolution that develops ambient and cosmic contaminations using the most congenial methodologies to an avant-gardist in love with the piano and synthesizers. Thus, the tracks on the album meld chamber atmospheres with caustic blends of advanced electronics, vocal elaborations and urban noises, with an extraordinary overall compactness that simultaneously sparkles with a myriad of insights and details. This is music that is not immediate, not for all tastes, engaging only with a relaxed and continuous listening. It is pointless to attempt to appreciate tracks like "Arcanaut Paradox" or "Taumash Estamau" while washing dishes or working on the computer. There are too many undertones and dreamlike and subliminal hooks. One must also reach the final piece with the mind saturated with all those that precede it because it is a hyperbolic blend that mixes them together simultaneously at exponential speed.
Music for visionaries. Music that manages to be innovative without demolishing centuries of musical culture, where both Romanticism and the cosmic unknown are present.
Deca is Italian and has a large following of enthusiasts in Italy. Abroad, collectors circulate his early vinyl at prohibitive prices. In 2002, he released a cornerstone of electronic discography, that "Simbionte" which synthesized thirty years of evolution in technological sound in thirty minutes and set a new boundary for times to come. However, he seems more interested in producing and experimenting rather than resting on the laurels of such an honored career. "Automa Ashes" is further confirmation of this.
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Summary by Bot
Deca’s 'Automa Ashes' represents a significant leap in production and conceptual depth. It blends ambient, cosmic, and electronic elements with chamber atmospheres, requiring immersive listening. Praised for its complexity and evolution, it cements Deca’s status as a pioneering visionary in electronic music. This album is best enjoyed deeply and thoughtfully, rewarding listeners with intricate and dreamlike sonic textures.Tracklist
Deca
Deca is the stage name of Federico De Caroli, an Italian composer, producer, and pianist/keyboardist from Savona (Ligurian origins), associated with ambient, electronic and experimental music. Reviews describe a four-decade career beginning in the mid-1980s, moving from early Jarre/Vangelis-influenced electronics to darker industrial and later esoteric concept works, alongside piano-only releases. He is frequently nicknamed the “sound alchemist” and depicted as an uncompromising, low-profile cult figure with collector-valued early vinyl.19 Reviews
Other reviews
By Breus
This new album 'Automa Ashes' introduces instruments and vibrations of earthly tradition into alien landscapes.
The closing track 'Ashesehsa' superimposes all twelve previous tracks at hallucinatory speed, ending with a relaxed and ancestral murmur—brilliant and speechless.
