By Keith Walsh
After abandoning his previous electronic project Autobam, Italy’s Simone Lalli returns with K R A N G , a four track set of electronic stories. It’s no surprise that there’s some debt to Kraftwerk, yet these sounds are thoroughly products of 2023, with brilliant sound design and clever mixing.

One cool feature is the percussion, which is peculiarly buoyant in sound. While at times on K R A N G there are definite beats and rhythms that propel the melodies along, the sounds seem to be self-styled and quite far from traditional drum sounds, especially on the two intro songs, “Spuma” and “Coda.”

The titles are Italian, and suggest something sinister, and that’s born out by Lalli’s predominant use of minor keys and darker sound textures. As Lallia suggests, there’s a story behind each song, and that’s understandable as there are some similarities to movie soundtracks. There’s also a distinctly Italian melodic flavor on the final piece, “Ci Rivedremo Al Lago Acido.”

These tracks follow Lalli’s previous releases “Marefermo” (2020), “Muta/Larva.” (2021), “4CQ$N3RA” and “F.E.G.” (both 2022). Bandcamp is a good place to hear these and support Simone Lalli, as it rewards the artist without the hype and ads of streaming services.

simonelalli.com
Simone Lalli On Bandcamp.com

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