Fades
I dischi di angelica

«...with precision and carefully, minimally elaborates a music wherein everything is in motion, rich and subtle, and in constant transformation....elements of ambient for another architecture:  a house of sound, a tiny bell introduce to listening, suspended invites to the astral, looks at the spheres and refind the color, soft and piercing...»
- Massimo Simonini -

REVIEWS



Tokafi
In the work of an honest composer, his true personality will always shine through. Which is why Antonio della Marina hasn’t even tried to present himself as someone he isn’t, admitting his “naturally slow disposition” right away in the booklet introduction to “Fades”. It has indeed taken quite a while from his first experiments in sinosoidal sound synthesis in 1999 to the homonymous audio installation and this CD, out on the colourful and slightly Jazz-tinged “i dischi di angelica” label. In fact, this disc represents his very first release and compared to the statistics of acts like Aidan Baker or Bjerga/Iversen, who have managed to publish their music faster than the average consumer can possibly digest, the results of his seven-year plan do look quite meager. That is, until you actually start listening. For there is a special quality about sine sounds – they are pristine and pure, very direct and yet intensely deep, dry and simultaneously shimmering and above all, they evoke strong physical sensations akin to Junge’an archetypes: Feelings of home and comfort in the lower end of the spectrum and of transcendence in the upper registers. Della Marina explores all of these different capacities and states and the result is an exactly one hour long track which glides through several different stages like a child skidding down an endless slide at the flank of the Himalayan on a clear blue-clouded day. Pitch and timbre are the focal points, but he treats them with love and dedication, not the gloves of a scientist. What at first appears to be an academic exercise has got you travelling in your seat after three minutes, as the quiet harmonies embrace, melt and dissolve again and again. “Fades” is a caleidoscopic piece, with the eyes fixed to the shining pieces of red, blue and yellow glass, while Antonio’s hand slowly turns the knob.
- Tobias Fischer -



Phosphor Magazine
This debut album shows that Antonio Della Marina's many years of exploration and investigation have paid off. Each sound seems to have been put in the right spot. The music breaths an overall calmness, as if the external world has no influence. And this ambient music in a complete state of balance. Peaceful and sophicticated, this ist he perfect sound to let go of all stress and worries.
- Paul Bijlsma -



kathodik
La riduzione su CD limita inevitabilmente le possibilità di percezione della casualità insita nell'installazione (24 tracce ridotte a due); l'effetto ottenuto è comunque pienamente riuscito. Il suono pulsante e la mescolanza di fading in e out riescono a costruire un'ambiente che pulsa, quasi come il colore nei quadri di Rothko, un'instabilità statica che riesce a staccarsi dall'astrazione compositiva per sfociare in un'organicità invisibile ma palpabile.
L'ascolto richiede molta pazienza, soprattutto per chi non bazzica per i territori ambient, ma una volta superata la barriera della mezz'ora il drone si impossessa di noi e non ci lascia più.
- Marco Braggion -



Vital Weekly
The piece lasts one hour and is a beautiful sine wave like piece along the lines of 'Music On A Long Thin Wire' by Alvin Lucier. Sounds move slowly around, fading in and fading out, reappearing every now and then. Unlike Lucier, whose pieces can be menacing at times, Della Marina plays everything with a much softer touch, more gentle. The piece itself is not really recorded very loud, but it's best to play it at a moderate volume, so that it fills your environment. If you move through your own environment you will notice small changes in the pitch. Like you are playing the piece too. That is simply a great effort. Beautiful and relaxing work.
- FdWaard -



Revue & Corrigée
"Fades" développe un environnement sinusoïdal qui n'est pas sans rappeler le "Music for a thin wire" d'Alvin Lucier, mais à partir d'un ordinateur et d'équations mathématiques. Enregistré en intonation juste (qui varie la perception selon l'emplacement où l'auditeur se situe, recréant ainsi partiellement le principe de spatialisation d'une installation), "fades" procure un sentiment de sérénité.
- Pierre Durr -



Others (external links)

Sands-zine
- Salvatore Borrelli

Neural
- Aurelio Cianciotta