There’s really no “simple” way to ease into this, so let’s just dive right in here, shall we?
Official press on the subject describes Caterina Barbieri’s new album as one that “revolves around the creative use of complex sequencing techniques and pattern-based operations to explore the artifacts of human perception and memory processes by ultimately inducing a sense of ecstasy and contemplation.”
Call me crazy (and perhaps a naive believer in unusually articulate drug dealers), but that sounds an awful lot like what the “official press” would theoretically be from those currently inclined to traffic in illicit substances.
The SHAPE alumna’s music isn’t an illicit substance, of course, but apparently its effects are such that you might easily be found staring at the tiny LED lights on your electronics once you get done listening to one of her albums. Her 2017 release Patterns of Consciousness got a fair amount of justified attention from our journalistic compatriots, and then last year, Born Again in the Voltage arrived as a follow-up worthy of year-end lists, thanks to the Italian composer’s seamless and intriguing mix of Buchla 200 electronics and cello drones happening deep beneath the water’s surface.
Let’s just thank the Berlin-based Barbieri for giving us a heads-up about her tenacious intent to mind-fuck. Otherwise, stunning new tracks like “Fantas” (listenable below) might prove detrimental if we’re removed from a prepared and comfortable environment.
Ecstatic Computation is out May 3 on Editions Mego, and you can pre-order it here.
Ecstatic Computation tracklisting:
01. Fantas
02. Spine of Desire
03. Closest approach to your Orbit
04. Arrows of Time
05. Pinnacles of you
06. Bow of Perception
More about: Caterina Barbieri
