Laima Adelaide – Mulièbre
(PhonoTropismi, 2021-05-15)
PhonoTropismi is back after Polygonia’s resounding EP. We’ve been wondering how much the mysterious Italian label was linked with Midgar, having its spearheads Ruhig regularly in charge of the mastering and Jacopo of the artworks, until we found out that PhonoTropismi’s owner is “the one and only” Antonio Severitano: Jacopo’s father. With such a family in command, no surprise that both labels are boxing in a comparable upper class of production, Phonotropismi with the current top contemporary artists such as Doctrina Natura, Einox, Elle, The Alchemical Theory and Worg.
Now we can also count on Stuttgart-based Laima Adelaide: she joined the crew last year with a couple of tracks on “Continui Flussi Mentali” and “La Malìa dei Voli Pindarici“, two remarkable VAs, where she showed impressive skills. She released then a memorable – very poetic – album on Annulled, an efficient EP on Virescence and has plenty of ongoing projects. We believe here that she’ll grow very fast.
Her talent can also be sensed in her mixes, such as the one for Savage Sessions: she just “got it”, she knows how to create instant connections with the sound, how to bring subtle vibes in the middle of fresh grooves, she has the “H – Hypnotic – Factor”, building her own underground version of the X.
Now she’s back on PhonoTropismi with “Mulièbre”, a release entirely made by her for our greatest pleasure. With storytelling developed through six tracks, the namely “EP” could de facto be considered an “LP”, with its global journey depicted through well-written chapters. Minimalist, deep (so deep!), all in restraint, Adelaide’s tracks create the essence of what the hypnotic techno aesthetic is all about: a safe vehicle to the inner thoughts. It’s easy to get lost in Adelaide’s music, even if, from time to time, the wonder of a bassline or of a creative sequence brings back the focus on the music.
Her drones, very linear, remind the ones from Milena Kriegs, at least when in front, but most of them hide subtly in the back, as part of the ingenious mixing process. The pads play the guidelines of the tracks; their sonic colours bind all the elements together; they highlight the exceptional sets of percussions, original, creative, carrying the album to another important dimension: the discovery, the innovation.
On top of being amazingly well-designed, Adelaide’s work is interesting for being different, intriguing. It does not comply with its experimental touch, it takes the listeners by the hand and brings them to the artist’s subtle musical world, a fascinating art museum made to be visited and revisited.
WRITTEN BY: CEDRIC FINKBEINER | 24 MAY 2021
