happyorangeballoon
unique

THE REVIEW

happyorangeballoon is a project by Danilo Romeo that began in 2007 when he started developing and spreading a series of experimental and underground productions. His second LP, released last October 14th, is titled 'unique' and was created with the collaboration of guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Rob Wheatley ('Driving Through Las Vegas', 'Traffic Orange Jam'), Nick Munt ('Sanatorium'), and vocalist Fiona Harmon, who delivers a great performance in 'Sanatorium'. Here, underground and suburban obsessions are encountered, reminiscent of David Bowie's '1.Outside' with a certain funk in continuity with the central theme of the self-titled debut LP released in 2012, where experimentation in the electronic field sought a meeting point with pop and easy-listening sounds.

A theme that seems surpassed in 'unique', where instead complete space is given to experimentalism and avant-garde. This is true both in the ambient sessions 'Hello?' and 'Uscita numero due', which Danilo composed as a sound installation for the personal exhibition in New York of Swedish artist Hawk Alfredson and which clearly refer to a minimalist style akin to Philip Glass, nodding to Brian Eno; and in terms of the obsessive-compulsive and almost grotesque electronics of tracks characterized by a certain abstractionism such as 'Incoming Clouds', 'Icons', 'Brief Encounter', or 'Otherworldly'; the thrilling 'The Theme Of Moral Conscience'; the no-wave of 'Traffic Orange Jam', and the Hunter Thompson hallucinations of 'Driving Through Las Vegas', probably the two most interesting moments of the album besides the aforementioned ambient sessions.

'unique' is an album conceived, written, and produced by Danilo Romeo himself, who once again utilized Mark Kramer's expertise (who had already collaborated on the production of the first LP) for the mastering phase. The album had a very long gestation, but this probably allowed happyorangeballoon to rise even higher by pumping more gas and propane combustions into the project, viewing the world directly from a future time like a kind of post-modern Montgolfier steam-punk.