Kluster Cold
The First Halogenous Lights

The musical project curated by Turin's Carlo Ponte has gone through various names and phases, with mixed fortunes. The most prolific and interesting phase is definitely the one called Kluster Cold, which saw the release of two or three CDs of good substance, unfortunately distributed on a budget and with the usual difficulties that outsiders face in the national market.

"The first halogenous lights" is a collection of a dozen tracks ranging from the most traditional synthpop to dark-tinged ambient, centered around solid drum-machine lines and predominantly analog keyboards. The charm of vintage electronics seems to have bewitched Ponte, who dresses his productions with images reminiscent of the Kraftwerk "Radioactivity" era; and this is reflected in his music with a playful desire for citations and melancholic suggestions of the very early electronic new wave.

This CD, published in a few hundred copies, is certainly his most enjoyable and significant work, if only because it encapsulates the whole Ponte-Thought in less than an hour and offers it in an immediate listening experience, which is no less emotionally profound. Right from the opening track "Requiem", there is indeed a sensation of traveling through cosmic spaces or flying at sunset over desolate lands of unknown worlds. More than a gothic-themed requiem, it is a kind of mysterious evocation with a cosmic touch. Beautiful sounds, never convoluted, make the atmosphere tangible yet elusive, with very low synthetic choirs celebrating the end of an era now lost among memories.

Then, a handful of more danceable tracks, which evoke bands like Xymox, but also certain arabesques of This Mortal Coil. Basslines and drums take center stage, and a melodic vein that, if at times seems a bit naïve, is reinforced with excellent electronic sounds and non-trivial arrangement solutions. Moreover, some tracks bear the production mark of artist friends like Daniele Magarelli (formerly with Runes Order) and the alchemist Deca. From these tracks emerges an intriguing richness that captivates fans of vintage technopop with percussive analog basses and immediately catchy melodies. "Chrome Chromosome" and "Metra-life" are the titles to highlight.

The album then continues up to the syncopated notes of "In His Whimper Rain", a technological ballad that seems always on the verge of being off-beat and is actually so jerky as to be misleading. Certainly original in its rhythmic development, even if not for all tastes. To close, a sort of experiment based on the sound of an old telephone and the hypnotic formulation of a voice losing its human features: here the references range from Yazoo to the usual Kraftwerk, even though Carlo Ponte seems to aim at resolving a conflict between technology and thought that finds no outlets, except in an enigmatic representation of progress and its contradictions.

Kluster Cold signs his most successful chapter here, at times repetitive and perhaps penalized by the absence of vocals; which, on the one hand, would have trivialized some pieces, but on the other hand, would have placed them better in a still trendy cultural context.

A good album of homegrown synthpop nonetheless, sitting within the average of the genre and leaving some memorable traces of subtle and constantly shaded emotions.