Giuseppe Ielasi / s/t

“The first time I started playing the new Giuseppe Ielasi solo CD, I walked away for a few minutes, and when I came back, I heard some sort of minimal dub-techno rhythm. I was confused. Had I started to play something else, and mistakenly thought it was Ielasi? I took out the CD to confirm that this was the Ielasi and started playing the thing again. When I was fully there again, and starting again, the first piece (all untitled) took me also by surprise: a slow rhythm, scraping violins and all of a sudden a beautiful, dramatic horn section. The second piece is that dub-techno thing that doesn't look at of place with the rest when one has heard the entire album. The rest of the pieces are perhaps a bit what we could identify as the Ielasi trademark sound: guitar picking along the lines of Oren Ambarchi, but with the addition of percussive, electro-acoustic sounds that expand the sound of Ielasi a lot. Before it was very good, now it's great. Compared with his previous solo albums, as well as some of collaborative albums, this is a major leap forward for Ielasi, who proofs that he has excellent musical skills, both as a composer and as an improviser.”
Frans de Waard, Vital Weekly

Following last year’s incredible ‘Gesine’ comes Italian experimental guitarist Giuseppe Ielasi’s latest full-length, an album which may come as something of a surprise to fans of his earlier work. The obvious inclusion of electronic elements comes at an odd time when the majority of experimental musicians seem to be moving further away from anything electronic rather than embracing it, yet Ielasi manages to infuse a glitchy almost minimal techno frame with the most intriguing guitar structures this side of Derek Bailey. The opening track begins with clouds of ambience, field recordings and distant brass before introducing a light, brushy 4/4 beat. Don’t turn away now, this is 4/4 in the way that Signer so effortlessly managed on the seminal ‘Low Light Dreams’ album; faded, slow and driving rather than geared towards any dancefloor you can bring to mind. The second track takes a more clattering and complex beat structure but retains the haunting orchestral ambience we witness on the opener – it is almost comparable to Philip Jeck’s magnificent ‘7’ as realised by Basic Channel, two distinct worlds of thought meeting somewhere in the middle in a refreshing compromise. Distinct and cinematic, Giuseppe Ielasi should appeal to fans of Es, Deaf Center, William Basinski, Pole and the more subdued releases from the Scape label - but this musician’s true talent resides in his ability to unearth a distinct voice within a murky swamp of influence. Highly recommended.
Boomkat

	Giuseppe Ielasi “s/t” Häpna H.28, CD 5 tracks, 41 minutes
	Listen to: “untitled #4” Reviews: Release date: May 2006

The new untitled album by Giuseppe Ielasi lives in a land of lights and shades. The mist lies thick but close to the ground it’s glowing and sparking. Reflections shoot wildly in ambiguous patterns. The log-cutters are working with their loved and hated timber. This is GIs most complex work to date, both in regard to instrumentation and compositional form. A well-prepared decoction of dark cinema, wanderlust and experimental sound manipulating techniques.

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Reviews
“The first time I started playing the new Giuseppe Ielasi solo CD, I walked away for a few minutes, and when I came back, I heard some sort of minimal dub-techno rhythm. I was confused. Had I started to play something else, and mistakenly thought it was Ielasi? I took out the CD to confirm that this was the Ielasi and started playing the thing again. When I was fully there again, and starting again, the first piece (all untitled) took me also by surprise: a slow rhythm, scraping violins and all of a sudden a beautiful, dramatic horn section. The second piece is that dub-techno thing that doesn't look at of place with the rest when one has heard the entire album. The rest of the pieces are perhaps a bit what we could identify as the Ielasi trademark sound: guitar picking along the lines of Oren Ambarchi, but with the addition of percussive, electro-acoustic sounds that expand the sound of Ielasi a lot. Before it was very good, now it's great. Compared with his previous solo albums, as well as some of collaborative albums, this is a major leap forward for Ielasi, who proofs that he has excellent musical skills, both as a composer and as an improviser.” Frans de Waard, Vital Weekly Following last year’s incredible ‘Gesine’ comes Italian experimental guitarist Giuseppe Ielasi’s latest full-length, an album which may come as something of a surprise to fans of his earlier work. The obvious inclusion of electronic elements comes at an odd time when the majority of experimental musicians seem to be moving further away from anything electronic rather than embracing it, yet Ielasi manages to infuse a glitchy almost minimal techno frame with the most intriguing guitar structures this side of Derek Bailey. The opening track begins with clouds of ambience, field recordings and distant brass before introducing a light, brushy 4/4 beat. Don’t turn away now, this is 4/4 in the way that Signer so effortlessly managed on the seminal ‘Low Light Dreams’ album; faded, slow and driving rather than geared towards any dancefloor you can bring to mind. The second track takes a more clattering and complex beat structure but retains the haunting orchestral ambience we witness on the opener – it is almost comparable to Philip Jeck’s magnificent ‘7’ as realised by Basic Channel, two distinct worlds of thought meeting somewhere in the middle in a refreshing compromise. Distinct and cinematic, Giuseppe Ielasi should appeal to fans of Es, Deaf Center, William Basinski, Pole and the more subdued releases from the Scape label - but this musician’s true talent resides in his ability to unearth a distinct voice within a murky swamp of influence. Highly recommended. Boomkat