One of the great joys of my vocation is discovering musicians I would probably never otherwise encounter. Enter Corrado Maria de Santis, courtesy of our dear friends at Lost Tribe Sound:
“Corrado Maria De Santis, an Italian guitarist, skillfully combines the raw spontaneity of improvised guitar with computer-generated sounds, crafting captivating sonic landscapes characterized by ambient drones and glitch-infused textures. Having contributed to various notable music labels, he now presents his inaugural album on Lost Tribe Sound.
‘Over a Long Time,’ is a deeply personal collection for Corrado, capturing an extended and challenging period of life surrounding the passing of his father. Through this recording Corrado was able to journal some of the pain, confusion and emptiness he experienced because of this loss. The sound palette of raw, churning noise, buried rhythms, and minimal classical inflections can be intense, but also quiet life-affirming. At LTS, there is a focused interest in how repetitive noise and low frequencies seemingly have the ability to cut through or alleviate the poisonous cycles our minds often fixate upon.
‘Over a Long Time’ is a brilliant example of low-end droning and rhythmic noise can hold both structure and a sense of musicality in equal standing. Corrado has done a great service to this music, allowing it to be both searing, heavy, and abysmal, while still offering some hope and some catharsis, which allows for new life to take root in the charred soil.
The more recent and crushingly gorgeous works of Rafael Anton Irisarri come to mind while listening to ‘Over a Long Time,’ as well as some of the raw, gritty arpeggio-based sound of Jon Hopkins. The album was a hard-fought effort, from the subject matter to finding the right texture or ear-feel for the final sound. A lot of subtle decision making and deep listening lead to the creation to this entrancing work.”
