Eraldo Bernocchi and Shinkiro – In Praise Of Shadows (CD Album – SSSM)
Genre/Influences: Experimental, IDM, industrial.
Background/Info: This album resulted from a meaningful collaboration between Italian musician Eraldo Bernocchi (who got fame and recognition with the legendary Italian formation Sigillum S) and Manabu Hiramoto aka Shinkiro (who’s a Japanese artist active in the wider fields of dark-ambient music and who collaborated with numerous famous artists).
Content: “In Praise Of Shadows” is a surprising album, which mixes multiple influences. It’s a rather complex creation revealing great sound treatments and a real sonic intelligence resulting in a few tracks with a real IDM approach. It sounds industrial as well and even trip-hop like a surreal, but fascinating symbiosis between Portishead and Autechre.
Some passages are pretty dreamy while others are dark and sophisticated. There’s a great progression running throughout the tracks accomplished with subtle noise treatments.
+ + + : This album reveals a visionary approach in electronics. The work has been accomplished by an impressive sonic canvas and a truly passion for sound creation and manipulation. There also is a meticulous progression in the writing reaching a climax on “Hikari”. The opening cut “Fluorescent Memories” and the IDM-like “Shadow Ghosts” both are other attention grabbers. There also is a kind of transcendental feeling emerging from the final cut (cf. “Black Magic Train”).
– – – : This is the kind of album where you will not find any minus point except if you were expecting a more ambient and or experimental style.
Conclusion: Eraldo Bernocchi and Shinkiro are pure chemistry! They achieved a creative album, which I can only, but call a masterpiece!
Best songs: “Hikari”, “Black Magic Train”, “Fluorescent Memories”, “Shadow Ghosts”, “City Vultures”.
Rate: (8½).
Bands: www.facebook.com/eraldo.bernocchi / www.facebook.com/ShinkiroOfficial
Label: www.geocities.jp/coolanatomy / www.facebook.com/sssmrec
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