Other Music (US)

A man of many faces, Giuseppe Ielasi returns to us with a slightly new approach. Last time we saw Ielasi he was handling production and mixing duties for Alessandro Bosetti’s starkly minimal Her Name, and now with August, the Italian composer/improviser treats us to something which will seem familiar on first listen but nonetheless contains extremely striking and very distinct moments of originality. Ielasi’s knack for truly hypnotic, repetitive phrases is still alive and going strong, but he never falls into the easy getaway of the outright drone, always keeping the listener on their toes, waiting for the change in tone or shape which is always anticipated yet always surprising. Several tracks stray away from the quiet, minimal work that many in Ielasi’s field stick to so fiercely, and embrace the idea of climax and decline, on occasion conjuring images of a real time Disintegration Loops, with much thanks to be given here to the two guests, Heimo Wallner (trumpet on track 3) and Renato Rinaldi (reel-to-reel on track 4). This enjoyable, intriguing manipulation of sounds is entirely worth the listen. Recommended.