Technophonic Chamber Orchestra
Nemoretum Sonata

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I'm returning to an old love of mine: ambient-electronic music, and I'm returning with this 2004 album, the Italian Technophonic Chamber Orchestra after "Beats And Movements" two years earlier, the debut album that garnered significant interest even abroad. In this "Nemoretum Sonata" there are 12 new tracks, including a cover of "Radio 4" by Public Image Ltd and two remixes, one by the skillful hands of Mexican artist Murcof (whom I've previously reviewed, label Leaf - UK), the other by the multifaceted California-based Daedelus (Plug Research - USA). In "Nemoretum Sonata," produced by Minox, the many and varied experiences of the minds of other projects on the label converge, such as Minox itself, Drama, Spin Boldak, and there are many cultural and historical references to movements, characters, and atmospheres that hover between hypnotic beats and expressive musical designs. The basic idea underlying this CD is the fusion between the world of modern electronics and that of classical music, which, at first glance, seem as far apart as possible. In simple words, it's about combining the danceable rhythms of Aphex Twin and fragments from Pan Sonic with orchestral instruments like piano, clarinet, and strings.

The sonic textures are delicately woven by melodies of clarinet or piano that, duetting with harmonic flows of strings, connect without any particular artifice with minimalist techno beats, with clicks that dictate with discreet authority, the marking, the passing, the transcending of time. An appealing and ambitious project, which initially leaves behind the usual inferiority complexes that our artists tend to carry as soon as they have the chance to confront the outside world. The first part sets the rules of the game with a sequence of soft and calm tracks where technological structures reminiscent of Autechre’s glitch music support melodic phrases intoned by a string quartet and a clarinet. The record expresses all its variety in the second part, where a remix by Murcof, the Public Image Ltd cover, and a remix by Daedelus follow each other, episodes that multiply viewpoints among German electronics, British new wave, and generic free-jazz influences abound. Among these tracks stands out "Kicks & Gigs," whose inflections closely recall Germany's Tarwater, but whose classical inserts are particularly pronounced, especially due to a soprano voice as emphatic as it is balanced.

The trio of musicians behind the group’s name is primarily involved in electronic manipulations, aided by a string quartet that serves as both accompaniment and melodic base of departure and arrival in minimalist tracks, brushing the territories of contemporary music. Balancing between atmospheres dear to both Tuxedomoon and the more introspective Aphex Twin, the Technophonic Chamber Orchestra shows they can move between tensions and creative surges in favor of a masterly production, an essential trait for the genre-non-genre that is this ambient electronic music. The album flows solidly in a mood of truly enviable rigor and coherence, strong also thanks to two remixes that perhaps unintentionally avoid bringing the listener back to less aseptic territories, making both of them appreciable. Being "pedantic," only two small flaws limit the extent of this record: a certain repetitiveness of the individual tracks and an excessive seriousness of the classical scores, small "blemishes" that are more than compensated by the crystal-clear beauty of all the rest. After all, even so, "Nemoretum Sonata" remains one of the best "made in Italy" records I've come across in recent times. And excuse me if that's not enough...