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Aglaia — Altitudes
(Projekt no#, 2026, DL)

Aglaia — Immortality
(Projekt no#, 2025, DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2026-09-24

Altitudes Cover artImmortality Cover art

Gino Fioravanti (Aglaia) has been busy the last five years or so releasing some of his finest efforts, though what one sees on the Projekt label only represents about one third of his output, the remainder coming out as private releases. The two releases at hand represent his final Projekt release of 2025, Immortality, and his first Projekt release of 2026, Altitudes, and as far as I can tell both releases are download-only, even though the tracks of Immortality are divided into disc one and disc two on the Bandcamp page — perhaps done so that listeners who burn their own CDRs can use it as a guide. Aglaia’s music is most definitely ambient, though not in the same way as synthesizer practitioners such as Steve Roach and Robert Rich present, instead opting for a rich carpet of acoustic instruments (bells, santoor, strings, zither, and more, plus electronics as well) while eschewing any sort of meter or cadence, the pieces just float freely and beautifully on the solar winds, never quite settling down.

Immortality begins with three very long pieces: “Transcendance Is Blue,” “Immanence Is Yellow,” and “Permeability Is Green,” each around twenty minutes in length, give or take a minute or two, subtle and powerful with gentle waves and sparkles echoing throughout the fabric of each piece, each a perfect dreamlike escape tailor made for meditation, wholly immersive. Perhaps Alio Die might be a good reference point for these works, they just float the listener along like a leaf on a river, sometimes smooth, sometimes restless, but always with a purpose, bristling with imagination, and imminently enjoyable. The second half, or disc two, as it’s labeled, is a collection of eleven shorter vignettes, the longest around four minutes and some quite a bit shorter, that are said to be a synthesis of his repertoire from earlier years, as he says in the notes: sounds that are older but still contain premonitions; fragments of memories perhaps, they tend to be to the point, still quite excellent but certainly not as immersive as the first set, perhaps fine-tuned for those with shorter concentration spans.

With Altitudes, six long tracks are presented, 85 minutes in total, each with enough playing time to be considered immersive. I would add powerful and gentle to that, sparkling bits of tonal color that exist within a strong synth undercurrent, again without any discernable cadence, drifting freely like a soft wind that carries the imagination to new horizons. The fourteen minute opener “Unicorn” exemplifies all of these qualities as well as setting the stage for the rest that follow. Some of the pieces utilize synthesizer to a higher degree, for example the 21-minute “Novilunio” drifts along gently, with occasional outbursts of rich, slow moving tonal beauty, amid a shimmering backdrop that defines immersive. “Anemoi” is a middle meeting, synth based and powerful, yet ornately touched with acoustic sounds, the extreme low end synth sounds demand headphones! Swirling out of the darkness, “Lines in the Sky” unleashes ribbons of scintillating color, bending and swerving with a magical beauty, full of lush radiant soundscapes that reach out in all directions. Set closer “Advent” reaches inward with a shimmering beauty, amorphous and mysterious, full of magical sounds, both acoustic, electronic and unknown. Both Immortality and Altitudes are as essential as they are different from one another.

Filed under: New releases, 2026 releases, 2025 releases

Related artist(s): Aglaia

More info
http://projektrecords.bandcamp.com/album/immortality
http://projektrecords.bandcamp.com/album/altitudes

 

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