Drm
Haiku

THE REVIEW

A bold and intriguing project, materialized just under two years ago, in the electro/transversal japan-fashioned (albeit Italian, Pisa, the inspiring operational base) work, simply titled, "Haiku". An unexpected maturity and electro-material expressive competence unfolds irrefutably upon careful listening of the first (and probably only) digital cry over the infamous long distance, from the three insightful sound de-constructors. A leaden timbre (often minimal), often paired with elegiac, synthetic, and unprecedented percussion, symbiotically intertwined with a conceptually (thus only underlying) "rock" attitude, stripped of any overused vintage-sounding veteran-referentiality. It seems like a sort of stripped-down trip hop in the making, ever more shadowy, at times translucent and enveloping, at times densely enchanting and never numbing, borne from an improbable recording session forged in a hyperbaric sound chamber.

DRM, possibly/probably a pseudo-onomatopoeic reduction of the dreamy Anglo-Saxon suffix, contains some of the most "dreamy" and intriguing tracks forged in recent years within the substantial neo-electro scene of central Europe: a fertile humus, without significant (and banal) acoustic proclivities/intents aimed at the dance-floor, even though attracted to the more "alternative" and non-mannered one, a perfect synthesis of deconstructed and "underground" E.B.M. instances. A sort of electro/pop-glitch singer-songwriter style, manipulated by neo-unlikely Pankow, almost entirely free of numbing industrial clangor and stubbornly intent on highlighting the rarified and humaniform aspects of its expressive mode.
The singing, expressed exclusively in the Italian idiom, often warmly whispered, albeit highly expressive, is surrounded (never invaded) by modern tones, rhythms, and timbres, voluntarily and elegantly non-distracting; what emerges is an oblique neo-electro form fleetingly and perspicaciously twisted onto itself, enveloping and clear: a substantial starting material being progressively stripped down, deconstructed, and positively regenerated through subtraction rather than aphasically piled up. What emerges is a new acoustic modus operandi (especially if referring to the meager national confines), basically synthetic, unimaginably vital, and intriguing. To exemplify this simple yet deviant "poetic composition," one could easily cite the climbing/nebulous, beautiful "Stamina", the subtly audio-parcelled "Come Icaro" or the compelling dub-percussive "Voodoo". Each of the twelve fragments released in this intriguing context could be easily called upon for its distinct peculiarities and felicitous audio-insights.

The three "DReaMers" manage with great competence and apparent simplicity and ingenuity in the arduous task of encapsulating and making coexist, in such a limited expressive space (not even fifty minutes), a deep intriguing intuition and a very contemporary possible material and musical development.