BRUNO SANFILIPPO ambient music | electronic soundscapes

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			AURALSPACE
	Music by Bruno Sanfilippo Recorded and mixed at Onix Studio, Barcelona, 2009		mimosa hostilis imagined reality auralspace divine moments poema electrónico pampa surreal sense

	CD released by ad21music ad110
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This new CD is presented in a deluxe digipack 6 panel, 71 min. in 7 pieces that are in a practically continuous flow. The gentle whistles flows effortlessly on a soft carpet of electronics textures, slow spiraling in increases-decreases, creating a recording not to be missed by those who are curious and by those who love to fly far away on the wings of surreal environment.
REVIEWS		Track 3: auralspace		Track 7: surreal sense

by John Shanahan - Hypnagogue Expect to get comfortably lost in the breathy drifts and long-horizon washes of Bruno Sanfilippo's latest outing, Auralspace. The seven tracks here exhibit a patient grace as they're crafted in velvety tones with the occasional bit of rough edge left on for texture. Overall the feeling is one of shadowy contemplation, excellent for quiet looping. "Mimosa Hostilis" starts the disk off with the high, slightly disonant trill of a flute that fades away to long pads accented with bird sounds. (This may be one of the first ambient CDs to not only mention on the inside cover that bird sounds appear on it, but to also bother to identify the featured species--which in my book is pretty cool.) There's a church-organ feel to the synth here, bringing an appropriate sense of quiet reverence. The flute reappears toward the end, a nice touch to bring the piece full circle. "Imagined Reality" is constructed of fairly straigthtforward synth pads and downward-spiralling electro-glissandos with space for breath between them, bolstered by a simple tribal beat for a nice classic sound. The title track eases in with broad sweeps and a slowly building rhythm. I like the almost tinny sound Sanfilippo's chosen to put in the forefront here. It adds an intriguing mechanical edge to the piece. "Divine Moments" wraps the listener in a warm coccoon of sound--a perfect 10-minute meditation that eases the breathing and calms the mind with its gently wavering pads and the soft vocal samples that slip in toward the end. This moves into "Poema Electronico," where a heavy drone and urgent flute cut a path through a darker space. Sanfilippo hangs a sense of uncertainty in his pauses, and shifts the mood subtly at the halfway mark--lightening slightly while not losing the edge. "Pampa" is an easy-drift piece of long, smooth drones with the right amount of electronic tweakage at the edges to give it a spacey sensibility. Auralspace closes with "Surreal Sense," the longest track on the disk. Light and pulsing, it's a spacemusic-style journey with a subtle, implied beat. Sanfilippo takes the pulse and morphs it across the 16-minute span, keeping its identity fresh and interesting and bringing the whole disk to a quiet, satisfying close. Each piece on Auralspace has room to fully establish its identity, the shortest clocking in just to the thin side of 8 minutes. And within those spaces, there's no sense of too much or too little. It's a well balanced disk. In addition, the work is presented nicely, with artwork by Sanfilippo himself. For its quiet beauty, depth of construction and the way it just gets better on repeat play, Auralspace is a Hypnagogue Highly Recommended CD.

by Morpheus Music A suite of flowing ambient expanses - some with rhythm, some without. This series of seven tracks is arranged into a continuous fluid whole. Although each track has a distinct character of its own the connections are almost seamless as subtle sonic morphing takes one piece smoothly into the next. The various compositions are united by a tranquil drifting quality that ebbs and flows in ponderous undulation - very restful, mesmerising. Yet there are great depths here, and strong sonic colour: distant jangles, twittering birds, soaring air movements, muted whistles, echoing crystal-like electronic phrases, distorted ethnic flutes and patches of dense, heavy sound that in turn fall apart and disperse back into the atmosphere. When the music rolls into rhythmic motion the effect is one of easy transition from steady state into electro-organic groove, the percussion or sequential patterns having a timeless, placeless, universal quality about them. MOOD: The mood throughout Auralspace is one of wonder and serenity. Moments of mystery and exotic twilight are highlighted by beats as soft as the rhythms of the human body. Lighter passages seem to take the listener high into the clouds, delicate vapour trails of transparent tone wafting weightlessly past. There is often a sense of blissful abandon and pleasant warmth inviting one to let go and sail off into the seemingly endless liquid space that Sanfilippo has so carefully conjured up. ARTWORK: Auralspace is a deluxe digipack presentation - a sharp matte card gatefold in three panels. The front and back imagery features a human ear overlaid with a bold weave texture - rich additional surface layers and shadowy obscurity combine to create an impression of mystery that holds the eye. This is a tasteful object in itself. The remaining outer panel when unfolded, holds all the relevant information; a tracklist with associated timings, a quote from Jorge Luis Borges and a gear list. Within, the space is wordless, given over entirely to visuals that symmetrically fill the extreme right and left panels - a profile of a strongly grained face, partly turned away. The ear of this figure holds a bright burst of light that sends beams radiating outward. The disc itself is central, hiding a final, lush weave design. OVERALL: This album sees Bruno Sanfilippo develop his solid solo discography deeper into ambient dreamscapes. The delicate pianos of the past few releases are replaced here with gently heaving beds of tone and layered electronics. Coming as the artist's twelfth release it is delivered via his own ad21music label and will be available through Musiczeit as well as other well-known download platforms. Clips can be heard on Bruno's website. WHO WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM Auralspace will appeal to ambient fans that enjoy strong flavours and warm infusions. There is plenty to 'listen' to if you so choose, yet melody is minimal and restrained or emergent. If you have enjoyed the peacefulness of Bruno Sanfilippo's most recent albums, then that feeling is still here only this time without the piano focus.


by ElectroambientSpace Spain’s Bruno Sanfilippo makes some of the most creative cinematic ambient music around, and he has done it again with Auralspace. Seven tracks in a continuous flow tell compelling stories through sound. It’s as though Sanfilippo has written the perfect soundtrack, and now someone needs to make the movie that goes with it. “Mimosa Hostilis” starts as a brooding, pulsating piece, but after its somewhat dark beginning it glows warmly midway through, with bright metallic timbres as birds twitter in the background. The music seems to swirl around, wrapping the listener up in it. “Imagined Reality” slows things down and seems like pure floating music, ebbing and flowing not unlike Steve Roach’s Structures From Silence, until a percolating little percussion line appears. It keeps pace for the balance of the track, fading into delicate softness at the end. The title track is next, another delicate floater at first, with cool electronic twitters and pulses eventually joining in. And for ethereal floating music it doesn’t get much better than “Divine Moments.” The album has a very cohesive feel, each piece having a distinct character that warrants its inclusion, adding to the overall flow of the disc which is quite seamless and seemingly effortless. Bruno Sanfilippo is always good, and Auralspace is my favorite CD of his so far.

by Matt Howarth - Sonic Curiosity This release from 2009 offers 72 minutes of soft ambience. So many ambient releases strive to achieve a stratospheric air, but this one actually focuses on a tranquillity that exists all around us at ground-level. Pacific drones coalesce but remain tenuous and vapory, never reaching a real density. These atmospherics mimic the air we breathe. Faint rattlings and wispy whistles hint at an ethereal realm that coexists with our material world. Expansive tones create languid ripples in the fabric of reality. Subtle percussion, muted by distance, emerge from the electronic fog, soon followed by sighing electronics that lend an illusionary substance to the milieu. Some of the sounds used to punctuate the fog are, in fact, quite corporeal (in a drastically understated manner). Vibrating pulsations twinkle in the pleasant murkiness, guiding the listener through the haze, leading the way to deeper regions of introspection. Bird noises lurk within the gentle whistles, blending aspects of the real world with the coexistent realm of psychic space. A union of outer and inner territories is achieved with delicate fusion. Sanfilippo's compositions flavor a harmonic presence with melodic traces, elusive but tangible enoughto stimulate the listener's cerebellum. Auxiliary electronics wafting in the sedate flow coax the mind from a state of rest into subtle cognitive activity.

by Rik - Ping Things - Canada "Auralspace" by Bruno Sanfilippo is one of those discs that completely astounds me. I've quite enjoyed Sanfilippo's work for some time, but with "Auralspace" he's surpassed any expectations I've ever had about his music. This is quite simply a masterpiece of the ambient genre, an album where every tone, every melody, even the silence, is perfectly placed in the soundscape. To be honest, I think I'm doing it a disservice by trying to describe it in words, so do yourself a favor and go out and buy it now. But if you still need any convincing, I'll do my best to describe it. Just remember that the time you're spending reading about what I think, you could be listening to it instead... It all begins with "Mimosa Hostilis", and a silence that is slowly broken by a drone steadily increasing in volume. As it builds, there are the sounds of metal blowing in the wind and a breathy woodwind enters the soundscape, expanding the track, filling it out from the inside. As time passes, all of these tones and more blend together to create a real space, a beautiful environment ready for exploration. "Imagined Reality" follows, the track growing out of swelled tones rising up to the listener from silence. It's a very natural progression, very organic, and as time passes, the soundfield becomes more distinct, more full, until the listener is enveloped in this newly created space. The rest of the disc is equally powerful and engaging. Title track "Auralspace" builds around minimal melodies and slowly rotating pads, steadily repeating pulses creating a rhythm for the listener to identify with. The track drifts on the edge of the senses, right at that point just before awareness ends, just beyond recognition. "Divine Moments" ebbs and flows, a tidal pull of tones that slowly tugs at the senses. It's a stunning piece, a sensory experience that's sublime in it's beauty. With time it swells and grows, but never enough to be obtrusive or aggressive, always staying soft, warm, and inviting. "Poema Electronico" is built around a similar opening, a swelling pad that rises and falls amidst a collection of noises. Horn-like synths play in the distance, then fade away into nothingness leaving only a quiet percussive element to be heard amid slight melodies playing in the distance. "Pampa" begins with a rotating drone, a sound that emerges from nothing. A whistling tone drifts through, filling the sound space for a moment and then vanishing into silence. Everything happens on a very tiny, very quiet scale, and it's all very beautiful, very slight and serene. It's difficult to pinpoint particular sounds or noises or tones, instead it all comes together in a collection of sounds that work together in perfect harmony. The best is saved for last though, with the epic "Surreal Sense" closing the disc. A series of echoing tones and repeated musical phrases building up into a beautiful wall of sound where tones grow and move through the space of the track, becoming something beautiful that connects and resonates with the listener. Around the ten minute mark the track finds a new direction and the soundscape starts to change, become something else, but nothing at odds with what's been done so far. Rather it becomes something complementary to the earlier half of the track, something that fits in nicely, effectively, with the sound that's gone before. An evolution? A change? Perhaps it's just easier to say something new... Over the last few years, I've truly enjoyed listening to Bruno Sanfilippo developing as an artist and honing his craft. He's made some wonderful music to this point, some truly magical discs that never cease to appeal and inspire. And on this latest release "Auralspace" Sanfilippo has made a disc that brings together all the best elements of previous works and expands and builds on them, resulting in a stunning collection of ambient music that I cannot recommend enough. Now go, get yourself a copy of "Auralspace" and find out what you've been missing. I can assure you that you won't be disappointed.

by Roberto Vales- Lostfrontier Radio - Spain 2009 Nuevo trabajo del compositor Bruno Sanfilippo, un hombre que siempre nos ha deleitado con todas sus obras, que siempre nos ha sorprendido con sus ideas y con sus composiciones, un clásico contemporáneo. "Auralspace" es el título de este nuevo disco, presentado en un precioso digipack, con una elegante tonalidad oscura y con esas imágenes como la que podemos observar en la portada que nos indican que estamos ante algo muy especial. "Auralspace" significa el regreso del compositor a la música ambient, a esos paisajes misteriosos, oscuros, a esos mundos imaginarios que siempre ha sabido describir de forma magistral, a esos lugares que en los que nos vamos sumergiendo a medida que va discurriendo la música, que su sonido nos va envolviendo, nos va atrapando. Bruno nunca ha abandonado esa faceta, pero en sus últimos trabajos había dejado los instrumentos electrónicos para adentrarse en las tonalidades del piano, pero ahora vuelve a regresar a esos ambientes electrónicos, a esos sonidos ambientales, a esa recreación del espacio y del tiempo. Siete composiciones son las que aquí nos podemos encontrar, más de setenta minutos para disfrutar, para dejar diluir el sonido por nuestra mente, para sumergirnos en ese espacio infinito al que la música nos transporta, porque la música de Bruno Sanfilippo nos lleva a esos lugares que solo nuestra imaginación nos puede llevar, a esos espacios recónditos que de otra forma no podemos alcanzar, a ese "auralspace".

by Bert Strolemberg - Sonicimmersion - Netherlans 2009 Presented in a beautifully designed digipack, "Auralspace" marks the 12th album of Bruno Sanfilippo. The cd, which took nine long months of preparation and intense composing, offers a 71-minute spacious ambient tapestry. Its slowly spiralling, hypnotizing beds of continuous drifting synth textures (with no piano this time) are accompanied by occasional whistles, tribal rhythm, assorted sounds of nature and birds, all creating a sense of wonder. Although drifting in a minimalist manner, the music remains quite active with its cascading tones and morphing character. It keenly avoids the gap becoming new agy, venturing into deeper, surreal lands beyond imagination to keep the attention of the listener. In addition, the recording confirms the motto of the ad21music label: "we believe that the instrumental music can lead the soul into a state of sacred intimacy".