Netherworld: Alchemy Of Ice (Glacial Movements)

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.

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