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Aglaia — Essences Referable to Nothingness
(Projekt ARC341, 2025, DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2025-06-24

Essences Referable to Nothingness Cover art

Gino Fioravanti, a.k.a. Aglaia, has been extremely busy creating powerful and immersive electroacoustic sound sculptures since his beginnings around 1998, some with his former creative partner Gianluigi Toso (before 2012) and many collaborations as well, with the likes of Alio Die, and over time has released around 75 full length releases, most on private labels like Hic Sunt Leones (Alio Die’s label), others on Bandcamp; but around 2022 he began to release some (but not all) of his material on Projekt Archive, and to date we have covered four of those releases, Essences Referable to Nothingness being the fifth. While his works here could be classified as meditative electroacoustic ambient informed by world music elements, those world music elements mostly come from his choices of acoustic instrumentation (harp, zither, strings etc.) that accompany the blanket of textural electronics and synthesizers, heavily effected electric guitars perhaps, and a gondola full of studio effects. Sounds seem to appear out of nowhere, and fade into oblivion just as quickly while others take their place, all in the service of the dreamy feeling and mysteriousness that permeates it all. There are only five tracks herein, but each one is the length of an LP side, and together eclipse the capacity of a compact disc by about ten minutes, each a beautiful homage to a shimmering wonderland of the imagination. This is not the type of floating ambient music that slows down the mind in preparation for slumber, but instead a bed of beautiful textures and forms that call to the spirit in service of wandering deep meditation, a peaceful and tranquil world but a stimulating one as well, where the listener may not even recognize the passage of time — and dare I say psychedelic. A piece like “Evening Meadows” drifts freely through a number of portals for around twenty minutes without any cadence to anchor it down, just elements of a sonic tapestry that seemingly float in free space. The sixteen minute closer “Hidden Levels” is almost like the soundtrack to a dream, with powerful acoustic sounds and seemingly infinite electronics offering signposts through a misty cloud of wondrous effects. Essences is a stunning cornucopia of sound, a beautiful place you won’t ever want to leave.

Filed under: New releases, 2025 releases

Related artist(s): Aglaia

More info
http://projektrecords.bandcamp.com/album/essences-referable-to-nothingness

 

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