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NETHERWORLD "Alchemy Of Ice"

Reviews

Ice is not inert: it moves and it speaks. And beneath the glacial ice the landscape lives on. Italian electronic musician Alessandro Tedeschi takes as his starting point a series of field recordings, many of them made deep underground, and weaves them into mesmerising soundscapes using analogue synth technology.PSYCHOGEOGRAPHIC
L'avventura tra i ghiacci di Alessandro Tedeschi continua senza sosta, la sua Glacial Movements è ormai un simbolo per gli amanti di certa ambient rarefatta e dal forte potere suggestivo. Un orgoglio tutto italiano che gode del massimo rispetto in territorio internazionale e che nel tempo ha ospitato i più grandi interpreti di queste minimali vibrazioni. Con la ragione sociale di Netherworld, Alessandro ha messo in musica tutte le suggestioni che nel corso del tempo lo hanno sedotto fino a fargli concepire un prodotto musicale dedicato ai paesaggi nordici ed alla loro ipotetica sonorizzazione, ed è estremamente piacevole constatare come questo suo nono album sia forse uno dei dischi più belli ed intensi dell'intero catalogo.

 E' un lavoro che riesce a suggestionare grazie ad alcune coraggiose scelte che escono prepotenti dalla rappresentazione sonora fatta attraverso drones e pads stiratissimi, non che siano assenti, ma al contempo l'artista mette in gioco una serie di accorgimenti melodici di gran pregio. E' così che tutto il lavoro può esser tanto vissuto come una sonorizzazione da contemplare tutta d'un fiato, quanto scomposto in brani distinti che riescono a regalare altrettanta magia anche se presi singolarmente. Dall'iniziale “Alchemy Of Snow” dove la potenza musicale è espressa con una cassa soffocata sotto le scie di synths stretchati e gli accenni di piano, alla successiva, meravigliosa “Polo Nord dell'Inaccessibilità”, dove il suono di quella che sembra essere una tromba irrompe tra i ghiacci con un'iniezione di calore che materializza un tramonto difficile da dimenticare. 
“Icepulse” gioca con il silenzio sovrapponendoci il pianoforte, dei battiti e dei pads eterei e fumosi materializzando uno scenario notturno illuminato dai brillanti riflessi di un cielo stellato. Sembra proprio di trovarsi in uno di quei paesaggi norvegesi fotografati in una notte invernale. Il suo suono è fondamentalmente classico, la costruzione dei brani “rispetta” quei canoni stilistici tipici di questo versante dell'ambient, con registrazioni ambientali e tappeti di synth che creano atmosfere dilatate, ma in questo caso è bene dire che tutto l'arrangiamento e la stesura delle melodie sono ad un livello di completezza e generosità paragonabile a grandi nomi dell'ambient moderna come Biosphere o BvDub. 
Netherworld ha trovato la giusta alchimia miscelando suoni, campioni ed intuizioni in un modo che credo soddisfi il suo gusto pienamente, e di fatto ci regala un album la cui bellezza è oggettiva, uno di quei lavori che toccano le corde della sensibilità accendendo la mente e facendola viaggiare incontrollata tra le emozioni che risalgono dall'anima.ELECTRONIQUE.IT
Paradoxalement, si l’on s’est souvent intéressé dans ces colonnes à l’ItalienAlessandro Tedeschi pour son travail d’orfèvre aux manettes de Glacial Movements, jamais un mot sur son projet musical Netherworld qui contribua pourtant parmi d’autres tels que Biosphere ou Oöphoi à forger cette esthétique "glacial ambient" à laquelle le label donne depuis 6 ans ses lettres de noblesse, artwork polaire à l’appui comme pour cet Alchemy Of Ice en écoute intégrale un mois avant sa sortie officielle en CD.
Oubli réparé donc, et c’est justement au regretté Oöphoi, décédé ce mois-ci, qu’est dédié le successeur d’Over The Summit, mastérisé à l’époque comme la plupart des opus précédents par ce stakhanoviste transalpin du space-ambient malheureusement peu connu en dehors du cercle d’initiés. Basé sur des field recordings captés dans des caves du Latium en 2003 et des textures générées en live l’an dernier lors de concerts donnés parNetherworld dans plusieurs festivals (dont le fameux Störung barcelonais consacré à l’électronique expérimentale), Alchemy Of Ice fait ainsi appel à Denis Blackham (Fennesz, Pan Sonic, Chris Watson, Hildur Guðnadóttir...) pour rendre justice à la profondeur de champ de ces six instrumentaux brumeux et craquelants, comme il avait su le faire l’an passé sur le captivant Descending Into Crevasse de Retina.it avec lequel l’album qui nous occupe ici a plus d’un point commun.
Alchemy Of Ice commence en effet par un travelling sans fin sur l’étendue immaculée d’un continent sans vie (cf. le morceau-titre avec ses marées radiantes dardant le sol gelé au rythme des pulsations sourdes émaillées d’accords de piano pastoraux), pour finalement en sonder l’envers, pénétrant la brèche de sa cover pour suivre les gouttelettes qui suintent dans la pénombre tel un spéléologue des grands froids (Polo Nord dell’inaccessibilità), élégie pour le déclin d’un écosystème qui rend son dernier souffle (Icepulse). Quoi de plus beau pourtant que ce silence quasi lunaire semble nous dire ce témoin privilégié sur White Silence, avant de descendre en rappel dans ce boyau claustrophobique où le soleil laisse place à la luminescence des nappes opalines et des percussions de cristal (85°50’S 65°47’E 08:35), dernier sanctuaire d’une grâce alchimique à la beauté fugace (Hymns To A Melancholic Sunset)INDIE ROCK MAG
Got a recent batch of Glacial Movements CDs that convinced me these Italian drone purveyors are for Real. Haven’t had the chance to write one of those up yet, but I did want to share a track from an upcoming album on the label:Alchemy of Ice, by Netherworld, which drops unassumingly May 20.
Turns out Netherworld is the facade of Alessandro Tedeschi, who runs Glacial Movements, and “Polo Nord dell’inaccessibilità” is frosty as fuck, as indebted to cold climates as Dolphins Into The Future is to aquatics. As impatient as I tend to become when drone invades my ear-peace, Tedeschi’s is a more spiritual drift in the vein of William Cody Watson and (yep, I’m mentioning it again) that goddamn Riceboy Sleeps record that no one else cares about. Labelmate Aidan Baker also is a kindred spirit, along with the other Kranky addicts out there.
If you feel your limbs tighten up, get up and walk around a bit before you lose a leg...GUMSHOESGROVE
Kis jelentéktelen kiadóként tűnt fel pár éve aGlacial Movements, és mire észbe kaptunk, már olyan nevek voltak a zsebében, mint Oöphoi,Lull, Bvdub, Pjusk vagy Loscil. A nevéből is sejthetően “téli” kiadóról van szó, melynek lemezei valahol a -10°C-os átlaghőmérséklet körül mozognak, és csak elvétve látnak napfényt. A legújabb kiadványt egyenesen a főnök, Alessandro Tedeschi szállítja. Az Alchemy of Ice nem sok meglepetést tartogat, de ezzel együtt is meglepően erős. A winter ambientről azt szokás állítani, hogy a norvégBiosphere és a német Thomas Köner már elmondott róla mindent, a Glacial Movements mégis mindig bizonyítja, hogy vannak még érintetlen hóbuckák. Az Alchemy of Ice nagyon mély hangokat használ és lassan építkezik, mindezt viszont képes úgy tenni, hogy egyszer sem válik egysíkú, unalmas mormogássá. Akárcsak egy jégtáblák által borított tenger: folyamatosan hömpölyög.KULTBLOG
In Scene Report, musicians from all over the globe fill us in on what’s going on sonically in their hometowns. This week, Netherworld gives us the scoop on Rome, Italy. Netherworld’s latest album, Alchemy Of Ice, is out now.
Rome has had in the last 20 years several experimental/techno music scenes from the musical developments of the early ’90s with Lory D., Andrea Benedetti, Leo Anibaldi, Marco Passarani right through until you get to the sounds rock, pop and dance music. However, parallel to this there has also been a scene developing more sophisticated and deeper sounds and several festivals and multimedia installations have helped to give greater visibility to this phenomenon.CMJ
Sweeping ambient electronics from Glacial Movements Records boss, Alessandro Tedeschi. Six tracks of slow moving and richly sonorous field recordings made in caves of Lazio, Italy, and weft with subtle electronics in sparse arrangements. Mastering was expertly handled by Denis Blackham (Coil, William Basinski, Biosphere) out at Skye Mastering for optimal fidelity. RIYL Thomas Köner, Geir Jenssen, Deathprod.BOOMKAT
Alessandro Tedeschi runs Rome's Glacial Movements imprint, a self-described purveyor of "glacial and isolationist ambient" music. As Netherworld, Tedeschi takes his label's frosty philosophy even further. Alchemy of Ice is a feast of benumbing sonic textures unfolding at the pace of an advancing glacier. Piercing beauty envelopes these six extended, drone-filled passages, akin to the playful rays of sun that bounce across an ice-covered body of water in the wintertime. Gorgeous church bells toll to infinity on "Alchemy of Snow," while "Icepulse" attempts to hide a delicate melody beneath a blizzard of ambiguous tones. The effective use of field recordings — some sourced from a cave in Lazio, Italy — anchors the music to the material world, a facet that's sometimes lacking in modern ambient music. Alchemy of Iceultimately succeeds by emphasizing the comely aspects of its subject and not leaving the listener out in the cold.EXCLAIM
Er zijn vele ambientlabels, waardoor het soms lastig is de specifieke identiteit ervan duidelijk te krijgen. Het Italiaanse Glacial Movements label van muzikant Alessandro Tedeschi, zelf actief in Netherworld en Liquid Ghosts, richt zich glashelder op de ijzige en isolationistische ambient, die vrijwel altijd op experimentele wijze aan de man gebracht wordt. Hiermee weten ze zich te onderscheiden, of het nou om Rapoon, Aidan Baker, Oophoi, Lull, Francisco López, Bvdub, Loscil, Pjusk, Retina.it of Celer gaat, het ijzige aspect maakt het verschil. Daardoor verschijnt ook niet alles van een bepaalde artiest op het label, hetgeen te prijzen valt. Als er één iemand het ijzige meester is, is het Tedeschi zelf wel. Met zijnNetherworld brengt hij al sinds 2004 releases uit met een bepaalde filosofie.
“Into the deepness of my essence there is a wired, dark, silent, glacial and eternal place. This imaginary place contains a sort of parallel reality that I've named Netherworld. Netherworld manifests itself to me as a kind of faster abstract sensation that I feel instantly and I catch up through the making of my music.”
Hij brengt dan ook organische ambient, die je totaal uit de hedendaagse realiteit haalt; een soort sprookjesachtig neverland voor ambientliefhebbers. En er mogen vele woorden voor sneeuw bestaan, voor ijzige releases is de variaties ook groot. Inmiddels heeft hij 9 albums, waaronder diverse cd-r’s en een split met Nadja, op zijn naam staan, vol met de betere dark ambient. Icebient zou een mooie term zijn om zijn muziek te duiden.
Zijn tiende cd Alchemy Of Ice verschijnt twee jaar na zijn vorige album. Tedeschi dompelt je vanaf de allereerste seconde weer onder in een ijsbad, dat je desondanks meteen weet te omarmen. De muziek is namelijk alles behalve kil. De kristalheldere sounds worden gecreëerd met behulp van samples en synthesizers, maar ademen iets menselijks uit. De basis wordt gelegd door een permafrostachtige ondergrond, waarop hij zijn gelaagde muziek verder uitbouwt. Dikwijls ook met waterige pianoklanken. De desolate atmosfeer van deze verstilde muziek met de uiterst droefgeestige ondertoon weet diepe snaren te raken. Maar Tedeschi levert bij dit alles ook voldoende proviand en dekens om niet onderkoeld te raken. Hij schept een prachtige subrealiteit, die rust en bezinning brengt. Muziek die zich tot diep in je onderbewuste nestelt en allerlei wonderlijke gedachtestromen op gang brengt. Ik ga hier ook zo in op, dat ik de woorden moet typen zonder de muziek. Een alles absorberende spons der schoonheid, die herinneringen oproept aan Thomas Köner, Biosphere, William Basinski, Deaf Center, Celer, The Caretaker, Loscil, Human Greed en Deathprod, al neemt Netherworld een geheel eigen plek in. IJskoude kristallen, die schitteren en weten te emotioneren. Een overrompelende ijsplaat!CALEIDOSCOOP
Dalla chimica del ghiaccio alla metafisica: questa l’ulteriore transizione concettuale sottostante all’incessante ricerca sonora di isolazionismo ambientale di Alessandro Tedeschi, così come da ultimo espressa in “Alchemy Of Ice”.<br/Le sei tracce del lavoro vedono l’artista romano addentarsi in un universo di frequenze abissali, percorso da morbide stille armoniche (nell’iniziale “Alchemy Of Snow”), gelide folate di vento antartico (“85°50′S 65°47′E”).
Dall’apparente stasi di soffi ambientali in crescendo (“Icepulse”) al breve scorcio nel quale il silenzio sfocia quasi nel rumore (“White Silence”), “Alchemy Of Ice” è un nuovo viaggio di Tedeschi nelle profondità concettuali del suo elemento d’elezione ispiratrice, al culmine del quale lo stesso elemento traslittera in essenza pura, da materiale a simbolico. In questo senso gli oltre nove minuti di “Polo Nord dell’inaccessibilità” possono riassumere alla perfezione l’estetica complessiva di Netherworld, che mai come in quest’occasione è riuscito a rendere espressiva un’incomunicabilità soltanto apparente.
Dedicato alla memoria di Gianluigi Gasparetti (Oöphoi).MUSIC WON'T SAVE YOU
Calme, onirique, froid, Alchemy Of Ice porte vraiment bien son nom. Netherworld est conseillé à ceux qui ont la patience d'écouter Eno.DUMDUM
ROCKERILLA - JUNE 2013
Glacial movements is a well established Italian independent label known for their catalog entirely devoted to spacious- environmental unobtrusive dronescaping experiences. they notably sign works from the notorious Oophoi, Rapoon, Lull et al. Alchemy of Ice is the third album from Netherworld (Alessandro Tedeschi) published by the label. The music embodies a perfect aesthetic fusion between discreet micro-tonal melodiously articulated elements and macro-cosmical textural drone resonances.Following the musical course ever approached in previous efforts, this last Netherworld consists of supreme-crystal like sounding dronescapes, brief acoustic motives, quasi geological-field recording embellishment. Each piece is strongly and gradually enveloping, admitting rare moments of transparent beauty. Very consonant and with timbral charged atmospheres, a few completely absorbing and cycled evocative melodious lines escape from the dense sonic sounding tapestry. The musical identity sounds like a cross between the contemplative soothing ambient pieces of Brian Eno’s ‘On Land’, Olhon’s empirical-hauntingly geological drones and the otherworldly isolated piano-like sounding quality of Harold Budd’s chordal minimalism, everything melted into a large spectrum of ambient textures of (reminiscence of Sinke Dus and Vestigial to name a few contemporary ones). Alchemy of Ice is an abstract ambient rhapsody which reaches the listener in a state of spiritual ravishment, of absolute quietness and emotional plenitude. A marvelous, sensuous and delicate electronic cold drone pearl. A very enjoyable listening moment, highly recommended for all intimate music lovers.IGLOO MAG
Après plusieurs années d’abstinence (et de saturation il faut bien le dire) à suivre ce qui se passait dans le cercle de l’ambient music, un label a réussi à me montrer que ce style de musique est et restera intemporel. Et c’est Glacial Movements qui en est le déclencheur. Alessandro, patron de la boîte, est aussi le compositeur de Netherworld, son projet personnel. Alors que le temps de Myspace est révolu, où il n’est plus question de tricher avec trois, quatre titres "composés" sur un logiciel gratuit et postés sur un lecteur virtuel, les vrais continuent leur bonhomme de chemin, comme si on était revenu à la grande époque des sorties de Steve Roach ou Robert Rich. Vous savez, ces instants où on partait chercher son disque dans les grandes distributions aux rayons "world" ou "indus", et bien voilà que je retrouve ces moments d’excitation. Ce sentiment d’entrer dans une terre vierge, épurée, où la mélodie prend forme dans une esquisse de prise de sons naturels, de drone soyeux et de notes éparses diluées en fonction des éléments.
"Alchemy Of Ice", c’est de l’ambient music qui réussit à ne pas se perdre dans l’étiquette du dark. Son orchestration est précise, ses répétitions subtiles, son atmosphère aussi légère qu’une brise et aussi pesante qu’un brouillard. Ce qui en ressort ? Une beauté cristallisée, mélancolique, une déambulation dans la toundra, les mains qui effleurent les épines des arbres, le vent qui se glisse dans le cou, le regard qui se perd dans un soleil de minuit, alors que des volutes de neiges semblent tomber au ralenti. Le temps est comme pris, maintenu par une main serrée, comme si on se refusait qu’il se déroule. C’est la nature qu’on entend respirer, un horizon infini qui s’offre, un paysage sans présence humaine, ni regard. Une description minimaliste qui en dit plus dans ses silences, l’imagination prenant le relais, que dans l’étirement d’un drone illustratif. Les complaintes d’un Biosphere ou la quiétude métaphysique d’un Robert Rich ne sont pas loin. Une musique pensée, apaisée voire cinématographique, où chaque son donne son importance au suivant.
Un travail d’orfèvre dont Alessandro peut être fier sur son dernier bébé tant l’album se révèle dépaysant et aussi réglé qu’un coucou Suisse. Un disque touchant au final, faisant montre d’un savoir-faire évident et contagieux. Le genre d'album qui donne envie de se remettre un glaçon dans son verre…
Jérémy Urbain (8/10)CLAIRE ET OBSCUR
Nel whiteout di Alessandro Tedeschi il ghiaccio è la coesione dei cristalli che lo compongono, come la musica è la coesione delle note, il corpo delle cellule, una discesa verso l’infinitesimale, verso la purezza molecolare della materia, sia musicale, sia tra le fredde pareti cellulare dell’acqua cristallizzata.
Alchemico perché in grado di proteggere, preservare, immota energia latente potenzialmente distruttiva, affascinate landscape che toglie il respiro, che acceca nei bagliori.
La musica di Netherworld narra quelle sensazioni, ampliate nei grandi spazi, nel sole accecante, nelle zone d’ombra, nelle aurore boreali, scherzi atmosferici, dipinti delle lunghe notti artiche, album dopo album, dal 2004 ad oggi, dando credibilità alla sua musica ed alla sua label, stabili riferimenti mondiali nella musica che dal permafrost trae ispirazione.
Difficile diventa non replicarsi e fortunatamente non è il nostro caso: “Alchemy Of Ice” rispetto ai lavori precedenti del musicista romano, incontra un gusto sinfonico inedito, quasi minimale, “Alchemy Of Snow” apre l’album immobilizzata su sensazioni cupissime, lentamente fiorendo come una lunga alba pronta ad irradiare luce, suoni che in “White Silence” generano lo stupore che senza eccezione cresce dentro guardando attentamente soundscape estatici, estesi, talmente estesi da perdersi nelle note, nello sguardo.
Ma ostile: il permafrost è avverso e Netherworld ne sottolinea l’aspetto più ostile con glitch ed implosioni arrivando agli spazi di tempo notturni in cui l’incanto si tinge di pericolo, la musica di nero profondo, “85°50'S 65°47'E” sono le coordinate di una traccia death pulsante nel buio profondo, “Hymns To A Melancholic Sunset” è arida nel suono allungata nei piccoli suoni protesi verso la perdita dei sensi, dolce sensazione d’abbandono prima di chiudere gli occhi, distesi sulla purezza mortale, guardando ancora una volta il punto dove Cielo e ghiaccio si toccano, si perdono, sino all’ultima, prolungata nota del nuovo album di Netherworld.Soundsbehindthecorner
There's something a little odd about a Glacial Movements release appearing during the swelter of summertime, but that's perhaps the only strange thing about the Italian label's latest release. Created by label head Alessandro Tedeschi (aka Netherworld) using the analog sampler Roland VP9000, Alchemy of Ice is a beautifully crafted collection of ambient tracks—though it's maybe misleading to characterize it as such. That's because the six settings are not just static, sonic-tinting soundscapes but instead compositions that evolve through multiple dramatic episodes.
What also distinguishes the recording is that Tedeschi shows great circumspection in his arrangements and in how he assembles his elements—minimal piano figures, synthetic washes, deep rumbles, ambient textures, field recordings (some made in 2003 at underground caves in Lazio, Italy), ample doses of reverb and echo—into entrancing, oft-melancholic wholes (“Hymns to a Melancholic Sunset” an explicit instance). In a typical track, he uses haunting melodic motifs to establish a foundation and then carefully builds upon it by overlaying textures and additional phrases.
As an example, “Polo Nord dell'inaccessibilità” weaves multiple melodic fragments into a complex, softly exhaling mass until a shift into a more melancholy realm occurs during its final third via the emergence of hazy synth textures. “Icepulse” likewise warms its deep-freeze electronic textures with the acoustic glow of a piano, even if it's one drenched in reverb. Yes, Alchemy of Ice is ambient music, and, consistent with the Glacial Movements norm, it's to a large degree isolationist, too. But it also elevates itself above the ambient-electronic norm by its superb sound design and assembly, both of which suggest that Tedeschi invested great care in fashioning the recording's material.TEXTURA
Se c'è una particolarità che ha sempre contraddistinto la seminale opera di Alessandro Tedeschi è quella di aver portato avanti il proprio discorso centrale – legato indissolubilmente all'estetica sonoro-visiva del glaciale – sia musicalmente in prima persona che per tramite delle uscite della sua Glacial Movements.
Un caso più unico che raro in Italia quello della label romana, forse la maggiore (anche se non unica) portabandiera del macrocosmo ambient nel Bel Paese, che è riuscita nella complessa impresa di curare così a fondo i dettagli delle proprie uscite da ottenere un catalogo che sfiora da vicino la perfezione.
Quando Tedeschi abbandona temporaneamente la cabina di regia della sua macchina, ecco rispuntare fuori Netherworld, ovvero la sua incarnazione come musicista. Non capitava da due anni, da quel 2011 che aveva segnato l'approdo della Glacial Movements fra le big a livello internazionale in campo ambient e nel quale il musicista romano aveva pubblicato l'ottimo “Over The Summit”.
A fargli da successore oggi è “Alchemy Of Ice”, già dal titolo un viaggio soffuso nelle profondità dei ghiacci. Quel che Netherworld tenta con successo di fare è dunque – come anche suggerito dalla (ormai usuale) splendida immagine di copertina – inabissarsi in una sorta di fessura tra lastre gelide, munito di una macchina fotografia dalla capacità espressiva formidabile: la sua musica.
Le coordinate massime raggiunte durante l'immersione sono date dal titolo e dallo spirare gelido e oscuro di “85°50'S 65°47'E”, che nella sua seconda parte comincia una risalita verso terre più umane in un crescendo sensazionale. L'ambient-drone di Netherworld pare qui rifarsi più che mai ai nomi storici californiani (Steve Roach in primis), così come allo scorrere limpido degli Stars Of The Lid e alle architetture emotive di Celer.
Mai la sua visione del glaciale era stata tanto “umana”, tanto descrittiva dal punto di vista emozionale: in tal senso, la vetta mai raggiunta può essere individuata nei sette minuti di “Icepulse”, sorta di culla melodica racchiusa in un igloo, e nell'ouverture di “Alchemy Of Snow”, dove arriva a far capolino pure il pianoforte. La più breve “White Silence” spezza il flusso cercando e trovando l'effetto-soundtrack, prima che il finale di “Hymns To A Melancholic Sunset” torni a solcare le atmosfere intangibili tipiche del marchio Netherworld, senza disdegnare uno sguardo ai saliscendi placidi di Helios.
“Alchemy Of Ice” evolve le polaroid dal Nord di Tedeschi verso il mondo dei suoni organici, in un contatto spesso sfiorato ma mai avvenuto con tanta naturalezza nei suoi lavori precedenti. Una delle migliori uscite ambientali dell'anno in corso e l'ennesimo colpo in canna del catalogo Glacial Movements.
Un'evoluzione per certi versi inattesa anche se talmente sfumata da non risultare poi così sorprendente, che riesce però a colpire ancora più in profondità. Ciò che emerge dall'alchimia del ghiaccio è dunque che anch'esso ha un cuore pulsante. E qui sta forse la vera, grande sorpresa.ONDAROCK
Alessandro Tedeschi aka Netheworld is so obsessed with icy landscapes and the sounds of cold that he set up a whole label dedicated to these themes. For these six tracks he conjures sometimes stunning vistas of sound, as desolate and beautiful as the polar landscapes. It’s not all headphone soundscapes, though - the use of subs and space in this could make useful interludes for skilled DJs. 7/10 MIXMAG
Many musics have stylistic markers that become the signposts of their specific genres. These then calcify into repetition, bordering on clichés. Sometimes, artists then simply overstep the mark and construct a series of those predictable markers. The resulting music feels like you’ve heard it all before, no matter how tasteful and well crafted it is.
Netherworld, Alessandro Tedeschi, has created an album in Alchemy Of Ice which leaves me with that exact feeling. It’s constructed expertly, the sounds do what the artists put them there for, yet there is a hollowness at the core. If you are making an ambient album, things like ‘glacial’, ‘cavernous’ and ‘expansive’ are the kind of adjectives that have become the clichés. When you begin calling your tracks things like ‘Polo Nord dell’inaccessibilita’ (The Inaccessible North Pole), ‘Icepulse’ and ‘White Silence’, you really are walking, knowingly, straight into some of ambient music’s most overused refrains. You really need something special with which to inhabit those ideas or run the very real risk of falling headlong into the abyss (groan). But Netherworld gives us exactly what we might expect from the titles, based on what we know has happened in countless ambient releases before this. Every sound is washed in long reverb. We are given space, but only the one, cavernous space. There is no sense of depth that different length reverb tails might evoke. Bottom end comes by way of deep groaning sounds. Hazy synth washes blur in the background. Lonely piano figures break through periodically, to melt (or, perhaps, freeze) into the atmosphere. A distant voice three quarters of the way through the album, during ’85@50′S 65@47′E’ – unclear radio contact? lost directions? – place humanity in the midst of the expanse but, again, what is being evoked are such stock, ‘cinematic’ qualities that they really struggle to lift the music.
In Netherworld’s defence, he really does succeed in creating what he has aimed for onAlchemy Of Ice. And the album is released on Tedeschi’s own Glacial Movements label, a label dedicated to the very sounds of icy regions, so there is no questioning his ability to hit his stated target. The problem is, that aim has become a stock standard. The recording is exquisite, everything is balanced beautifully, many of the melodic snippets are lovely. But metaphors of ice, glaciers and space have been covered pretty much exhaustively across the history of ambient music, from Tangerine Dream to Wyndham Hill’s early 90s heyday through to contemporary advances in field recording (and, indeed, right across Glacial Movements’ catalogue) and, here, are treated in exactly the way you would expect. If you’ve never heard Eno before, some of Alchemy Of Ice might sound groundbreaking. But, if you have, I can’t imagine you finding too much here that you haven’t heard done with much greater subtlety and exploration elsewhere.CYCLIC DEFROST
You may be melting on your Florida vinyl car seats, but there is still a place you can go to cool off. That would be the "North Pole of inaccessibility," a spot on the dwindling Artic ice pack equidistant from hot spots like Barrow, Alaska, Elsmere Island, and the ever rocking Franz-Joseph Land. This is another disc from Glacial Movements, my go-to label for relaxing ambient chill music. Created by Alessandro Tedeschi, this dedicated label puts out a steady stream of rhythm free, lyric free and possibly caffeine-free music that reminds you of what the arctic would sound like if you were Werner Fassbinder. There's six tracks here, but they add up to an hour's worth of product, theming around a spare set of piano notes, some synthetic wind blows as rising and falling chords mimic the northern lights. Titles are suitably obscure; the lead track is "Alchemy of Snow," which is the main subset of "Alchemy of Ice." "Polo Nord dell'inaccessibilità" is NOT located at "85°50'S 65°47'E," that's the Southern Pole of Inaccessibility. Say what you will about this style of music, Mr. Tedeschi will bring out the arm chair traveler in you. This is calm stuff here, my friends, and if you really want to get in the mood I suggest a nice cup of chamomile tea and a few unsalted crackers.INK19
NETHERWORLD / Alchemy of Ice (Glacial Movements - merci à/thanks to John Bourke P.R.)
Alessandro Tedeschi est le fondateur de Glacial Movements, une étiquette dont le nom décrit parfaitement son esthétique : une musique ambiante axée sur le froid, le blanc, les vastes espaces, le vent, le silence et les lents mouvements. En ce sens, Alchemy of Ice atteint une perfection stylistique difficile à surpasser: tout ce qui s’y passe participe à l’atmosphère décrite ci-haut, avec pour résultat une écoute qui joue entre l’attention au détail et l’intégration au quotidien.
Alessandro Tedeschi is the founder of Glacial Movements, a label whose name perfectly describes its aesthetics: ambient music evoking coldness, whiteness, vast spaces, wind, silence, and slow movement. In this regard, Alchemy of Ice achieves stylistic perfection the likes of which could hardly be surpassed: every detail contributes to the atmosphere described above. The result is a listening experience that both draws attention to detail and settles in the background of your daily life.MONSIEUR DELIRE
BLOW UP (July-August 2013)
Somewhere on the edge of our drawn maps lies our planet’s southernmost continent, Antarctica. This is a place where temperatures drop to -90°C, with almost all of its territory covered by ice. On the opposite pole of our planet lies the Arctic, a region consisting of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost. These frozen landscapes are the source of inspiration for an Italian label, Glacial Movements, specializing in glacial and isolationist ambient music. The founder and curator of the label, Alessandro Tedeschi, produces and releases his own works under the Netherworld moniker, and Alchemy Of Ice is his tenth full length release; a third for his own label, after Mørketid(2007) and Over The Summit (2011).
For the album, Tedeschi uses some new and previously captured field recordings from underground caves of Lazio, Italy, to create a spacial and textural atmosphere of slowly evolving drones punctuated by the deep rumbling of the subterranean earthly core. The minimal and looped passages echo the sounds of water in all of the molecule’s stages, its pure desolation and absolute void. The track titles hint at the explored seclusion with places such as “Polo Nord dell’inaccessibilità“, which is the northern pole of inaccessibility in the Arctic Ocean, being the farthest from any land mass. Another track, titled “85°50′S 65°47′E” parallels the theme by referencing the southern pole of inaccessibility in the Antarctic ocean. And in between these two points there’s the alchemy of ice.
“The conceptual elements highlighted in the new work of NETHERWORLD are Alchemy – a view from the metaphysical point in both spiritual development and liberation – and the ice, the natural element essential for the achievement of eternity.”
On many of the pieces from the album, Tedeschi approaches my favorite works by Biosphere, William Basinski, Coil, Celer, Loscil, andStormloop. Indeed, the last three mentioned artists have made an appearance on Glacial Movements along with Aidan Baker, Pjusk,bvdub, and Retina.it. The label is steadily building its reputation among the purveyors of minimal and reductionist ambiance, and its exciting to see that its founder stands tall among the roster of world acclaimed names. For more from Tedeschi be sure to pick up his past releases on labels such as Fario, Angle Rec, Umbra, and Taalem. Recommended for a dark and rainy day…HEADPHONE COMMUTE
An Italian fellow loves the sound of cold things, spacious things, things a bit bleak. He records cold oceans and dark caves... looking for the sounds in silence; he then adds analogue and digital technologies and creates big swaths of lush cold sound. We open the show with his work.SOUND QUALITY (abc.net.au Radio)
THE WIRE
36 degrees Celsius outside, the temps still move up, my head is burning, however I am ready for another aural journey and I can't imagine better album than "Alchemy Of Ice"... Alessandro Tedeschi, the leading soul behind amazing Glacial Movements Records, has released during May 2013 his newest album "Alchemy Of Ice". So after "Mørketid" (April 2007) and "Over The Summit" (January 2011), it's time to fully experience another breathtaking sceneries of vast open icy landscapes of the polar regions, unmistakable trademark signature of all Glacial Movements releases.
Precisely selected track titles with traditional photo and image wizardry by Bjarne Riesto and Noah M swiftly transport and transcend each listener into stunningly spectacular places even before pressing play button on your CD player. Aural pleasure follows as soon the title track "Alchemy Of Ice" invades my listening room and the temp drops down. Encircling icy abyssal hums immediately give exercise to my speakers. Bells provide slightly mysterious images while raising and falling drone tensions take center stage and do their deeply embracing mission. Occasional piano motifs and distant low heartbeat join as well. Images of snow capped church somewhere on forgotten remote arctic land emerge... Silent mystery of "Polo Nord dell'inaccessibilita*" is masterfully counterpointed with murmuring rumbles and then magnificently interrupted by hissy winds and appealing voice transmissions, all wrapped by hauntingly melancholic blankets and slenderly lighted by moonlight with icy fog. Splendidly minimal, but all the time monstrously immersing, this is certainly Netherworld at its most crafted, bravo, Alessandro!!! "Icepulse" introduces slightly modern classical-infused piano melody, but drone rumbles and alien breaths keep the composition within immense arctic panoramas. Slow drone walls increase and decrease, all ingredients, although always sparse, attract with the synergy, harmoniously bridging warm acoustic motifs, sonorous drones and eerie dissonances. Another big one!!! Shorter "White Silence" blends distant monochromatic drifts with intense sonic spirals and frightening harsh ruptures. Some strange sounds enter, maybe it's the wood frog before drifting into a deep, frozen sleep... "85°50'S 65°47'E" moves slowly into warmly glimmering and colossally wide-screen glacial ice fields. Chasmal roars, ghostly reverberations, slowed down heartbeat, tinkling embellishments and background voices color this fascinating journey to explore incredibly desolate sheets of billowing whiteness. Netherworld keeps on ruling!!! The closing composition, "Hymns To A Melancholic Sunset", again perfectly demonstrates Netherworld's trademarks, sublimely ebbing and flowing drones, strongly focused on soothingly interacting evocative tapestries with crystalline silence. A truly gorgeous finale!!!
After nearly 44 minutes I should leave these highly refreshing Frigid Zones, but I don't really want to go away, more please!!! Renowned Denis Blackham did the mastering job. I think "Alchemy Of Ice" is a magnum opus by Netherworld and it tops any of his bigger label-mates' releases on Glacial Movements. And wait until "Alchemy Of Ice" will reveal all its magic during the time, when snowflakes knock on your window... Congratulazioni, Alessandro!!!RELAXED MACHINERY
The latest from Glacial Movements boss Alessandro Tedeschi is a dreamy blend of field recordings and atmospheric electronics. At the base of most tracks are field recordings of underground caves that Tedeschi recorded 10 years ago, manipulated, layered, and then added to with synth pads and effects. The result is an icy, dreamy wash, sounding like the chilly counterpart to a warm, 90s ambient label like Silent. Despite the minimalist drones of the opening of the album, most of these six tracks are far more layered and dense and active than one might expect. “85°50’s 65°47’e" evolves into a deep, ebbing tide of sound, anchored by a rumbling low end thud and accentuated by metallic chimes in the distance, while “Polo Nord dell’Inaccesibilità" gradually reveals itself to be a melancholy, stately dreamer of a track. The massive low-end of “Hymns to a Melancholic Sunset" lends it a strange gravity in contrast to the washed out, airy pads that otherwise comprise it. Tedeschi isn’t exactly breaking new ground with Netherworld, but he is quite good at shaping his ideas into chilly passages of sound that envelop you. The contrast of warm and cool in his excursions is like icy hot for the ears.EAR INFLUXION
Dopo sette anni di produzioni l'italiana Glacial Movements si è guadagnata un posto tra le maggiori etichette ambient in attività, nonché quello di miglior label di ambient isolazionista e ipotermica. A coronare risultati eccezionali torna a farsi sentire il padrone di casa Alessandro Tedeschi con il suo monicker personale Netherworld, ormai attivo da circa dieci anni. La nuova fatica "Alchemy Of Ice" trova come di norma il suo fulcro nel tema del ghiaccio perenne, descritto in una tranquillità serafica e 'cantato' nella sua immanente realtà, opposta forse a tutto ciò che passa e viene cancellato dal tempo. Le coordinate stilistiche rimangono le solite: drones leggeri e piccoli rumori evocativi, sebbene in questa circostanza ci sia una chiara apertura verso il melodico, tra rintocchi di piano, motivi geometrici e temi che nella loro permanente circolarità diventano litanie glaciali. L'insistenza sulla questione dell'inaccessibilità, sottolineata dalle tracce "Polo Nord Dell'Inaccessibilità" e "85°50'S 65°47'E", diventa volontà di spingersi verso una solitudine totale, dove l'unico essere vivente ed eterno sembra essere il ghiaccio. I soffi dronici mimano i respiri, i palpiti ripetuti in loop si trasformano nei battiti di una creatura incontaminata e monumentale la cui grandezza stimola una calma piatta da cui traspaiono silenzi ipotermici, tonalità minimali e una sterminata linearità. Forse uno degli album più vitali di Tedeschi, sorprendentemente segnato da una musicalità creata ad hoc che, a tratti, lascia da parte la descrizione naturale degli ambienti per trasformare il paesaggio polare in simbolo, dotandolo di un'anima che diventa mezzo di confronto e limite di un'umanità affascinata e sopraffatta da qualcosa di superiore. Netherworld contempla con uno stile sinfonico-ambientale, ricordando sia alcuni minimalisti americani che la classicità di Eno, entrambe amplificate da quel tocco polare che contraddistingue da anni l'opera e la concettualità di Netherworld. Un altro tassello imperdibile nel prezioso scacchiere della Glacial MovementsDARKROOM MAGAZINE
I was a little disappointed with this CD at first. Still keeping in mind the phenomenal “Over the Summit” I began to suspect that Alessandro arose only briefly above fair and very decent, but still just craftsmanship. He touched genius with the creation of “Magma To Ice” and “Over The Summit” only to return to a safe, reliable ambient work. After a few weeks I still generally think so, yet at the same time I must admit that flashes of brilliance are discernible here and there, and the album gets better with each subsequent listen.On “Alchemy Of Ice” which is dedicated to Gianluigi Gasparetti (Oophoi), Alessandro Tedeschi mainly uses a Roland VP9000 analog sound sampler, but also wove in some field recordings recorded somewhere in the Lazio caves. What first caught my ear, is a certain emotional temperance resembling “Over The Summit”. Alessandro uses similar means of expression, the sound also is not particularly far from that obtained in the previous album. But I was moved by each sound there, each nuance caused a rapid heartbeat, sometimes even squeezed a tear from my eye, a tear which, incidentally, immediately froze. “Alchemy Of Ice” is slightly different. In terms of weather it’s a bit warmer here. More sun and clear blue sky, although the temperature is still well below zero. Emotionally “Alchemy Of Ice” seems to be colder. A winter soulstorm as such isn’t presented here, it rather soothes and favors an inner tranquility. I don’t feel like I’m about to freeze to death, I rather stand on the side of a safe and warm place, admiring the beauty of the Arctic landscape.“Alchemy Of Ice” is comprised of six tracks, for a total duration of less than forty-five minutes. Not a particularly long album, at least for the ambient genre. In the title track, specific Netherworld drones introduce the atmosphere of the disc. In the second part of the track this devoid of human presence bliss subtly becomes distorted by scraps of piano melodies that have no beginning, development or end. Just out of context, scattered on the snowy carpet. “Polo Nord dell’inaccessibilita” is a canvas of silence skimmed with a few soundspots of different provenance: indistinct pulsations, ice rumblings… In the following part one of the few moments appear that are reminiscent of what happened on the previous album. Reflective drones, a fragment of human voice… Nothing, just lie down in the snow and wait until the frost gently wraps you around in its warm shroud.In “Icepulse” you can actually hear the lazy, distant pulse constituting a barely audible background for piano sections, paradoxically warm textures and single swishes of cold wind. “White Silence” is the shortest and at the same time very distinctive fragment for Netherworld works. A looped piece of melody, specifically sounding background and a pinch of field recordings. A brief piece, dwelling on it isn’t particularly essential here.Night falls. Aurora Borealis lights up the clean, immaculate and uncontaminated land, the sky is painted with colors and echoes of human voices are floating in the air; lost transmissions that never reached their destination. ” 85°50′S 65°47′E” is without doubt the most beautiful part of the disc – in this case, the snow muse gifted Alessandro with exceptional inspiration. “Hymns To A Melancholic Sunset” flows slowly into the sunset heralding the end of the album and our return to wrangling with the prose of everyday life. At least it ends in a very pleasant and warm manner that is inviting for further listens.For me personally, it’s not as good as “Over The Summit”. That doesn’t mean that Alessandro slipped on the frozen puddle. Just that the previous album was so perfect that it was hard for the Italian musician to overcome himself. He did it only for a few minutes, in the penultimate track. Overall “Alchemy Of Ice” is a solid piece of glacial ambient, confirming the uncommon skills of this nice Italian, that allows us to look forward to future releases with hope on the blue and white horizon. All this to the accompaniment of “Alchemy Of Ice”, of course.SANTASANGRE
Glacial Movements è solo secondariamente un’etichetta, è prima di tutto l’incarnazione della filosofia di Alessandro Tedeschi/Netherworld: i lavori prodotti sono caratterizzati da un concept che vuole richiamare e ricreare quelle componenti elementali legate all’immaginario del “grande freddo”, il tutto sotto un vessillo ambient. È un progetto, questo, attorno al quale si sono avvicendate molteplici realtà delle scene musicali italiane e internazionali legate in qualche maniera alla cosiddetta sound art (Retina.it, Lull, Aidan Baker,Francisco López, Rapoon e il recentemente scomparso Gianluigi Gasparetti/ Oöphoi, al quale è dedicato questo lavoro), a riprova di come il microcosmo Glacial Movements sia, a dispetto del nome, tutt’altro che ibernato.
La sortita di Alchemy Of Ice, successore di Over The Summit e Mørketid, è insomma pronosticabile, ma tutt’altro che scontata: ricordate? “Ascoltatori attenti si sorprenderanno di quante tonalità abbia il bianco”. Le luci boreali attraverso ghiacci olofoni (“Hymns To A Melancholic Sunset”), i manti gelidi dalle cui incrinature riemergono echi di ricordi lontani (“85°50′S 65°47′E”) e i crepitii di zero assoluto dai quali riaffiorano campionature formato archi (“Polo Nord Dell’Inaccessibilità”) sono elegie di cristallo create per le nevi eterne. I ghiacci di Alessandro però conoscono anche piccole primavere, come in “Icepulse”, nella quale lo schiudersi melodico del piano, presente anche in “Alchemy Of Snow”, ricorda un gioco muzak Satie/Roach.
Qua l’inverno è arrivato già da un pezzo.THE NEW NOISE
Co by nás mělo na italských Glacial Movements čekat jiného než ledo­vý vichr, svištící po zasněžených arktických pláních, a to už po osm­nácté? Vždycky jde pouze o přístup, s jakým kdo základní zadané téma uchopí. K těm, kdo tak činí nejbez­prostředněji, patří Netherworld, pod kterýmžto pojmenováním se skrý­vá sám zakladatel labelu Alessan­dro Tedeschi (viz oceňované Over the Summit z roku 2011). Na jeho nové Alchemy of Ice nás tudíž ne­zaskočí simulované sněžení v huči­vých poryvech větru, táhlé suges­tivní mrazivé pozdvihování, nabírající postupně sílu a proznívající dle záko­nitostí ambientní prostorovosti do nahloučení zesamplovaného, zma­nipulovaného a zmixovaného ma­teriálu. Na obalu najdeme konkrétní údaje, kde nahrávky vznikaly, hlav­ní práce však probíhala na Rolandu VP9000. Do širokodechého proudu hudby se jen občas zatoulá klavírní tón nebo dva či drobná nádivka po­dotknutí, zvuková šarše v melancho­lizujících hymnech s typickými názvy jako Icepulse nebo White Silence se poloproměňuje, setrvává však ponu­ře zglajchšaltovaná výdržnost, ne­rouhavě velebná vlečnost, nosnost zvukových ker je pouze protkána ob­časným pableskováním v šinoucí se ledové mase hudby. Připadá mí to jako ustavičné procitání bez procit­nutí, jako ledoslužebnost, pořádaná se zatajeným dechem. V této záduš­nosti na sebe sem tam narazí ledové zřícenky nebo se sesune tající blok se zvukovou výdutí, což situaci tro­chu zdramatizuje, ale třeskutost srá­žení se minimalizuje v přejemnou, a tudíž obtížně slyšitelnou burácivost a zimolezové prochládání zapadá a znovu se vynořuje ve vlnách vra­civé melancholie. Nacházím v tomto neběžném běžícím pásu pokorného šinutí a vrstvené ztratnosti vsuvky, které připomínají lept nebo suchou jehlu, ale v hudebním provedení. To vše, dokud slunce poslední kompo­zice nezapadne a nenastane konečné zatmění. Samozřejmě zimavé. Někomu se tříštění ledu už po osmnácté může zajídat. Ale Nether­world ze své severské výpravy opět vyšel se ctí – už pro představy, které nám navodil.UNI MAG.CZ