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Released 29th May on Bungalo Disco
1st single Chasing Shadows released 16th May
Vintage synth fetishist Italo Brutalo brings you his superb sophomore album Second Horizon, released 29th May on his and his girlfriend’s very own Bungalo Disco label. The German producer possesses an incredible armoury of retro analogue synths, and he certainly knows how to use them and push them to their limits. Congratulations, listener. You are about to step into an alternate electronic universe.
Kicking off with City Sight, every synth is a joy. Warm tones, clear, crisp symbols and snares. A beautiful melody intertwined with acid tweaks and dreamy vocoder vocals, sounding almost more keys than voice. And that 80s drum machine line. There are five different decades where this modern classic would feel right at home.
You want it darker? Here comes Memory Sync, bursting through your loading screen like an end of level baddy. Press ‘play’ and you will know exactly what I mean. The hi hat and kick drum pattern on Digital Freedom is to die for, the acid bass and Italo disco melody giving your day an instant serotonin boost.
Surveillance State kicks the tempo up more than a notch, this eerie 3-D soundscape makes you feel as though you are being watched by a Machiavellian force. You can literally feel the paranoia oozing from your speakers. Technology is like a souped-up Kraftwerk 33 played on 45. Close your eyes and imagine stop-frame footage of robots in a car factory. Heiss Oder Kalt (Hot Or Cold) is a perfect title for this lush mix of warm and cool synths, with a vocal sample reminiscent of a mad scientist.
Chasing Shadows, the first single to be released from Second Horizon, is just damn well exciting. It’s like you’re driving K.I.T.T. on turbo boost, in pursuit of the Midnight Express. Strap yourself in as Italo Brutalo hits the TB-303 button on the console for an acid fuel injection. Just when you thought it couldn’t get better, the joyous robotic vocal kicks in. I dare you to try and stay still whilst Chasing Shadows plays. It’s impossible.
Free To Move takes the tempo down a notch, robotic melodies dancing with each other in beautiful synchronicity, giving life to a beautiful android, leading perfectly into Black Gold, a soundscape rich enough to deserve to grace a Hollywood masterpiece.
Human Code is a perfect companion piece to City Sight. Drop this one in a club and see the reaction. Pure bliss. Then comes dark and sleazy low tempo I am a creator, which pulls you into the thought process of Italo Brutalo. Finally, Tonight finishes this perfectlong player off to a joyous, satisfying conclusion.
Musical visionaries often find it difficult to write that difficult second album. With Second Horizon, Italo Brutalo has brought you an original masterpiece. Enjoy.
Single Bandcamp link: https://italobrutalo.bandcamp.com/album/chasing-shadows
Album Bandcamp link pre-order: https://italobrutalo.bandcamp.com/album/second-horizon
