Thru The Leaves - Nocturne
We reviewed the album Eleven Faces and Forty Two Arms by Stefano Bertoli in 2020, and now we get to review a new project with him called Thru The Leaves with the album called Nocturne. This project/release has been made with Erica Volta, who plays the electric harp, while Stefano does all the electronics.
Also released by Italian Industrial Ölocaust Recordings, on cassette and on CD. Two tracks on it, with 47 minutes in total. The CD comes in a standard jewel case, accompanied by a thick and textured booklet inside. The artwork depicts a planet undergoing the cycle of night and day.
The first track is called Thebit. Not sure what the title is, maybe the recorded audio on the track itself explains it. Pleasant electronic glitch-sounds, tweeps, and bleeps like an alien radio-recording. The playing of a harp adds to the sound and gives the listener the impression of watching the moon on a cold, starless night. I'm not really a huge fan of harp, but this kind of playing really suits me. I think it´s kind of improvised, and it tries to work together with the sound of otherworldly electronics. And yeah, it´s a pretty good match! A mesmerizing sense of ritual-purpose where time just goes... slow. Which is a good thing really, beause it´s a long track! It´s utterly beautifully done, like floating on something in a state of absolute bliss. Love the ethereal synth work aswell.
The second track, Purbach. It might be the name of a large crater on the moon, or the surname of an Austrian astronomer. The harp continues its cosmic journey with some really excellent psychedelic space-ambient soundscapes. Very similar to the former track, but it really doesn´t mind... I wouldn´t mind if these two could just continue playing without end.
Nocturne works best when it´s night, when u are alone. The moon is out, some clouds, and some stars. And the way it´s quiet in the nighttime, the sound of a hedgehog or a fox... the wind through the pines, the crashing of waves on the beach. You all know it, it´s quite more easy to relax in the nighttime... mainly because most people are sleeping. I really like the nighttime in that way, in the same way I like this album. Everything works between these two people, I don´t know if it's improvised or planned or anything.. but it works.. and yeah... magical stuff is happening aswell.
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