THE DIRECTOR’S CUT – LIVIO IMPROTA – FONDAMENTALISMI [TIELLA SOUND]

Tiella Sound is on a mission to blur the boundaries of electronic genres and provide something new and unique. Off the back of their long-standing radio show and guest mix series, Tiella Sound launched in 2023 with a self-titled LP from Perugian artist VAISA, setting the scene perfectly with its lo-fi maelstrom of field recordings, obscure rhythms, and tribal textures. Livio Improta follows suit with ‘Fondamentalismi’, a 10-track exploration of broken, slow-motion rhythms coated in vinyl crackle and layers of atmospheric dust.

Livio Improta has landed on Bosconi Records and Rawax, had his tunes included on Fabric 71 mixed by Cassy, and explored ethnomusicology and experimentation under the name Baldovino. From Neapolitan wave to world music, Italo-disco to house, disco, and funk, his sound is rich, unpredictable, and varied, as he proves here with ‘Fondamentalismi’.

Opener ‘Alpha’ is a broken dub rhythm coated in lo-fi chords that makes for an atmospheric start before dubbed-out broken beats on ‘Posidone’ and the deep, glitchy analog drums of ‘80123’ immerse you in a world of hazy pads and dusty sounds. The title track is another brilliantly heady and sparse sound world where wispy pads float above warm bass and malfunctioning drum patterns before ‘Comunicando’ gets more physical but remains miles under the surface with its smeared melodic loops and jolting kicks.

‘Cuma’ layers up more prickly hi-hats and busted kicks with off-grid percussion and diffuse synth lines that glow like fireflies, while ‘Intransigenza’ suspends you in amongst muffled chords and lumpy rhythms that are heavy and off-balance. ‘Ibis’ layers up some gurgling acid and hallucinogenic synths with beatdown drums from Detroit, and ‘Marechiaro’ has an infectious dub house swing beneath soft focus melodies that are full of melancholy. ‘Omega’ shuts down with three minutes of knackered loops and heat-damaged synths topped with Italian spoken word vocals.

‘Fondamentalismi’ is another superb album that announces Tiella Sound as a vital new label.

How to listen: There are a couple of ways to proceed. First, you can listen to the whole album, which you will find below, and then read the notes. Or, read the notes as you listen to each track. This will completely change your perspective on the whole release itself and bring you closer to the artist and their work.

1) ALPHA – Sun rises amid gloomy clouds, portent of storm before a sea that begins to churn. Thunder in the distance mingling with a muffled, closed kick, the storm is near.

2) POSIDONE – Poseidon bursts in with all its power and the storm rages, the rhythmic part is the protagonist of the track, the incessant hats speak of restlessness and restlessness, elements that characterized the period in which “Fondamentalismi” took shape. The first dub forays appear, brief sighs in a nervous and agitated track.

3) 80123 The break drums provide a pulsing rhythm over which the first melodic forays develop, giving more breath to the narrative.
The stay and discussion with Luca (aka Sameness) in his studio in the hills of Giovi was more decisive toward this new rhythmic direction than in the past.

4) FONDAMENTALISMI The album’s title track, a mood that becomes somber again where the broken rhythmic blending with the deep and irregular bass line leads to an extremely hazy and muffled landscape.

5) COMUNICANDO – Just as in “Fondamentalismi”, the deep bass line dominates the soundscape, lashed by dub and lo-fi melodies that create a feeling of spaciousness and breath that captures the attention compared to the album’s progression.

6) CUMA – The culmination of the sonic storm, “Cuma” is a throwback from a rhythmic standpoint, granting the track a pulsating, stern, and tight pacing where dub and hypnotic atmospheres dovetail to create an engaging, hypnotic, and enveloping atmosphere.

7) INTRANSIGENZA – These are the last remnants of the storm, the pacing is repeatedly interrupted by richly echoing samples that add a feeling of warmth to the listening experience, shy rays of sunshine cutting through the froth of the still churning sea.

8) IBLIS – The spaces become wider, the sounds change giving new breath and relaxation to the listening.
The echoes and bass line create a captivating blend of electronic and melodic elements.

9) MARECHIARO – An extremely enveloping close, the lo-fi production adds a touch of nostalgia to the entire track, an invitation to immerse oneself in the suggestions of a soundscape that

turns to serenity after the storm.

10) OMEGA – It is definitely the most intimate and personal track on the album, when everything seems to have returned to calm, new restlessness rips through the quiet and heralds the call not to give in to shortcuts, compromises, and recommendations.