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by Sylvain Lupari · gutsofdarkness.com & synth&sequences.com
The Argentine Bruno Sanfilippo is a musician, a sculptor of sound
and a composer since nearly 20 years. Similar to Vangelis’, his
music floats above our dreams with soft harmonies which wind around
sometimes abstracted, ambient or simply melodious structures. Subliminal
Pulse is his12th solo album since his very first one realized in 1991(Sounds
of the Light) and his very 1st to be released by the Californian label
Spotted Peccary. He depicts Subliminal Pulse in these terms; "Sometimes,
the poetic language of music reveals what cannot be seen. It shows
a reality that has nothing to do with words. With my electronic instruments
I take the universe's 'Subliminal Pulse', and I try to build a bridge
between my inner pulse and the pulse of the outer space." It’s
a very nice way to define this very poetic and oniric album, among
which 9 tracks enclose delicate harmonies which move like feathers
in space.
The Third Geometry introduces to the soft poetic universe of Sanfilippo
with a very fine ethereal line of synth which oscillates of its sparkling
chant on a delicate structure livened up by a mix of soft percussions
and pulsations. It’s a mixture which shapes a soft and suave
rhythm with strikes that roam in an iridescent synth mist, weaving
an eclectic unreal universe both ambient and tribal. A musical world
imprints of mystery with this electric mist which bewitches on a sparse
rhythmic structure and a soft synth so near astral singings. Santa
Luminosa’s intro is tearing by a heavy metallic reverberation
before finding again the tranquility settled by The Third Geometry.
It’s an oniric peace of mind with this soft and bewitching astral
singing that the synthesist who now live in Spain likes to sculpt
from his synth. A little as on The Third Geometry, the delicate rhythm
of percussions and the twinkling arpeggios which skip among pulsations
is ennobled by synth layers which sing as celestial mermaids and lamentations
of violin, creating a thousand of illusions and passion from a Middle
East tribal universe. Continuing in the same vein, but with a clearly
more ambient approach, Spirit Allies flood our ears of a sulphurous
melody which bewitches with its lamentations sculptured in the tones
of a synth with soft poetic tendencies. It’s a superb track impregnated
by a strange serenity, quite as Slipped Time and its piano from which
solitary notes pierce drill a beautiful mellotron mist as well as
Pulsum Sacrum and its great choirs which float around astral bells
and synthesized pulsations à la Vangelis. It’s quite nice!
It’s with long synth breeze in slow oscillations that Intrinsic
Fluctuations begins. Synth layers are interweaving to form an oblong
mist procession where the echoes of an odd tribal world can be heard
midway. Delicate lonely arpeggios sparkle there and skip delicately
on a glass fauna, among misty flute breathings that sound like Berber
tribes tones and of repenting souls walking towards an enchanting
world where oasis are outlining on the horizon. Imprint of mystery
Subliminal Pulse evolves on nice pulsations surrounded by oniric spectral
chants. Like in Alchemical Powers, the rhythm is hardly present if
it’s for a delicate alternation in fine pulsations which beat
in a universe buried by a subliminal tenderness. Mantram is another
delicacy coming from Bruno Sanfilippo's hybrid tones synths. Between
tearful lamentations of heart-rending violin and a mystic morning
mist, Mantram unwinds as an ode to sadness or a call to melancholy.
As Bruno Sanfilippo describes it so well; Subliminal Pulse is an astral
musical journey where inner impulsions try to converge on those more
cosmic. At this level Subliminal Pulse is an opus of an infinite tenderness
where astral chants are moulding perfectly well to the soft ambiances
of a world of which tribal fragrances seem to be the key of our spirituality.
Like most of the Spotted Peccary label works, Subliminal Pulse sails
between celestial ambient and progressive New Age, evolving through
a strange and stunning fusion of a cosmic and tribal universe with
delicate rhythms, breaths and Berber lamentations and a synth divided
between its singings of celestial sirens and the tears of its violins
which shape strangely unreal odes. It’s a nice nightly opus where
reminiscences of Vangelis can be heard here and there, but on more
honeyed than complex structures
by Marius-Christian Burcea "Journeys to the Infinite Radio"
While many electronic artists today tend to explore the dark, more
rampant possibilities of sound, Bruno Sanfilippo is going in the opposite
direction with his new album "Subliminal Pulse". He tames
the instruments, gently drawing a sonic topography that is slowly
emerging into articulate awareness. The arrangements speaks to the
mind with an inherent eloquence that is subtle and emotional. From
the first pulse to the last vibration, the music linger in the air
as if carried on a luminous breeze that takes away the shadows of
thoughts and the intrinsic fluctuations. This is music that cannot
be expressed into words, yet cannot remain silent.
Bruno perform all the pieces using his improvisational talent in developing
intuitive harmonies, refining and dissolving the elements like an
alchemist in search of spiritual gold.
In a way that comes close to being magisterial, Sanfilippo weaves
the strands of our boundless reality into a tapestry that "for
those who have ears to listen", is truly beautiful and liberating.
"Subliminal Pulse" is a profound work, an important and
much-needed achievement in ambient music. I highly recommend it !
by John Shanahan · Hypnagogue
Bruno Sanfilippo continues his run of excellent CDs with his latest
release, Subliminal Pulse. Sanfilippo's tour this time moves through
nine tracks that follow a soul-pleasing path of reducing themselves
slightly in complexity as they go, from the starlight shimmer and
mathematical rhythm of "The Third Geometry" down to the
prayer-like sighs of "Mantram." Within that framework each
piece stands on its own, but the whole still carries a strongly unified
feel, an unwavering continuation of intent. The difference in tracks
comes off as less of a change of direction than the way the mind courses
from one thought to the next, taking up an idea and moving off with
it. The centerpiece here is the 14-minute "Intrinsic Fluctuations,"
a thoughtful landscape of sound that keeps folding in on itself to
find new identities. It passes through quiet spaces, spacey quietude,
shadowy moments and the border of rhythm (with some nicely understated
percussion), each transformation modestly making itself noticeable.
My problem in trying to write this review has been that every track
borders on being too lovely for words; they simply must be heard.
"Santa Luminosa" has a hint of gypsy violin mourning through
its sad song. The title track begins with a music-box-type melody
and gently builds from there as misty washes ease in at the edges.
It feels like remembering. "Pulsum Sacrum" will absolutely
carry you off with it, a slow-breath drift centered by two repeated
sets of three notes-one set rising, the other falling, both carrying,
as the title suggests, a sacred-music feel. This is a deep prayer
for the soul, and a balm for the mind. Loop just this track and you
may be setting yourself up for a religious experience. As always,
Sanfilippo's mastery of sound textures enriches the experience of
each track. Deep, focused listening reaps incredible rewards and opens
entirely different worlds. Quite simply one of the best CDs of 2011
so far, and definitely a Hypnagogue Highly Recommended CD.
Por Roberto Vales · A Ultima Fronteira Radio
Bruno Sanfilippo es un músico que ya no necesita presentación,
es uno de esos nombres reconocidos por su estilo y por su buen saber
hacer,
que siempre nos deleita con sus trabajos, que siempre nos hace sentir
con su música.
"Subliminal Pulse" es su nuevo trabajo y la primera y gran
sorpresa, es que no está publicado por su sello de toda la
vida, sino que da un salto más en su carrera y está
publicado por Spotted Peccary Music, uno de las grandes referencias
de la música Electrónica Ambient de la actualidad.
La otra sorpresa, es que el compositor, abandona por unos momentos
el piano para retornar a los sonidos electrónicos, a los ambientes
subterráneos, a las atmósferas envolventes,...
Nueve composiciones son las que nos encontramos en este trabajo, un
disco lleno de bellas texturas electrónicas, de preciosos paisajes
musicales que poco a poco te van atrapando, te van envolviendo en
su sonido de forma que no eres capaz de separarte de él. En
este trabajo vuelve a estar presente elementos electrónicos,
samplers y sonidos a los que no nos tenía acostumbrados en
sus últimos trabajos, pero demuestra, que no se ha olvidado
y es que además de un grandísimo pianista, es una grandísimo
compositor.
Bruno siempre ha demostrado un especial saber hacer para crear esos
paisajes sonoros y en esta ocasión, no es una excepción,
sus bellos sonidos vuelven a estar presentes, su delicadeza musical
es embriagadora, es sin lugar a dudas uno de los grandes creadores
de paisajes musicales de la actualidad.
Resulta muy complicado destacar algún tema de este trabajo,
todas ellos forman parte de este conjunto, de este poema, de este
pulso subliminal y nada mejor que dejarse llevar, dejarse sumergir
en el mundo de la música de Bruno Sanfilippo, un creador de
paisajes sonoros, un creador de sueños.
by Chuck van Zyl · STAR'S END Radio
Argentine synthesist Bruno Sanfilippo has released a significant number
of CDs, both as a solo artist and in collaboration.
Subliminal Pulse (67'40") may well possibly be his finest. In
creating nine unique and distinctive synthetic compositions, Sanfilippo
has realized
an album that attracts and calms the mind of the listener - as he
embraces the ethereal side of his creativity.
His music has been made in a kind of modern simplicity.
At its most basic, this work is merely form, theme and variation taking
place over time. But what this artist does with these core elements
is quite engaging. Reverberant piano trips across an ever opening
synth pad while resonant tones whisper gently above delicate nature
sounds.
Other parts of this disc are not so sleepy. In one place heavenly
voices and ceremonial drum augment the purring and murmuring electronic
emanations.
Then, on another track, a squawking modulation makes way for ethnic
percussion runs and breathing strings.
With so many interesting sounds and timbres unfolding at such a contemplative
pace, the listening experience is a pleasant one - revealing much
about the composer. Subliminal Pulse is not at all about the strive
toward virtuosity. It is an exploration of the inner self. For Sanfilippo
music seems a tool used to interpret what is inside him.
by Morpheus Music
Mostly beatless, melodic ambient music. Bruno Sanfilippo here combines
silken synthesiser tone, twinkling sequential patterns and elegant
string formations. The tracks are mostly without beats, yet often
not without rhythm; cycling motifs ripple in regular time, dancing
arpeggios bright and prominent in places, subtle in others, hypnotic
in repetition. The opening track does have a percussive beat; deep,
sonorous ethnic hand drums reverberating in layered patterns and there
are a few other percussive flecks here and there. There are a number
of drifting passages without any obvious metre where undulating drones
gather into profound intensities; within these restful, shadowy zones
Sanfilippo artfully places just the right sparcity of piano touches,
spectral voice atmospheres or reverberating metallic chimes. There
are some environmental recordings in places; a low grumble of thunder,
water movement, distant bird or insect calls; Alchemical Powers especially
drawing a lot of its exotic mystique from these sounds of nature.
The concluding track Mantram is a charming piece where dreamy string
lines ebb and flow against the idle tide of warm synth pads - very
introspective, very beautiful.
ARTWORK Subliminal Pulse is delivered in a card digipack of three
fold-out panels. The imagery throughout is comprised of swirling loops
of yellow/orange light of varying lustre. Irregular forms yet crafted
and purposeful; some like spinning flames, others like pulses of electric
light. On the front cover, complete cycles are visible in middles
distance of similar hue to the titles. On the rear cover the loops
are close up and layered. Here, track titles with their times are
numbered by a series of increasing dots. The final outer panel holds
a brief explanation from Bruno as to the concepts behind the music.
Within a single spread of close-up light loops runs across all three
panels. All are without disturbance except for the left most where
credits, a gear list and website address can be found.
OVERALL Although Argentinean electronic ambient composer and recording
artist Bruno Sanfilippo has been releasing distinctive instrumental
music for around two decades, clocking up fourteen items on his discography,
and although he is presently based in Barcelona, Spain, Subliminal
Pulse is his first official US release. Presented via the well-known
Spotted Peccary label, the disc contains nine mid-length tracks all
hovering around the six/seven minute mark apart from Intrinsic Fluctuations
which takes in a second over fourteen minutes. Promotional material
suggests: "By blending lush dreamscapes, darker spaces and a
timeless universal quality into a classic sound with a purity that
speaks to the soul, Sanfilippo re-invigorates the sub-genre of SPACE
MUSIC with his first release on the Spotted Peccary Music label."
That's well put since this album treads a graceful line between an
earth-bound sense of the sacred and galactic immensity. Bruno himself
says of the album: "Sometimes, the poetic language of music reveals
what cannot be seen. It shows a reality that has nothing to do with
words. With my electronic instruments I take the universe’s “Subliminal
Pulse”, and I try to build a bridge between my inner pulse and
the pulse of the outer space" Spotted Peccary have sound samples
for each track on the label website.
by Bert Strolemberg · Sonic Immersion
Sometimes, the poetic language of music reveals what cannot be seen.
It shows a reality that has nothing to do with words. With my electronic
instruments I take the universe’s “Subliminal Pulse”,
and I try to build a bridge between my inner pulse and the pulse of
the outer space".
This is the comment given by the talented Bruno Sanfilippo on his
first US-release “Subliminal Pulse”, which again is an emotional
ride through richly layered electronic sphere paintings. Things curl
and shapeshift into various dimensions and levels of depth, as the
string and atmospheric sections spread their wings. By this, the recording
opens a doorway to organic-based spacemusic with a dynamic, occasionally
percussive but overall tranquil soundscape tapestry continuously morphing
underneath.
While the space is simply found between the fine curved lines moving
between the dark and the light, the intrinsic pulsations within Sanfilippo’s
soaring mood music create a sense of awe and pleasant hypnotic state.
Nevertheless, the peculiar sonic alchemy of this free form ambient
recording demands focussed listening, due to Bruno’s profound
and quite adventurous exploration of new sonic approaches, strategies
and ideas.
by Scott Ericson · Music Sojourn
Masterful ambient excursions that evoke the classic ambient masters
such as Robert Rich, Steve Roach, Klaus Schulze and even early Tangerine
Dream. These complex and intricate compositions range from airy to
intense, haunting, mysterious and droning to harmonious and ethereal.
Taken in its entirety, the album might be interpreted as a journey
from the beginning of time through the formation of life, or a similar
evolutionary or developmental theme. Bruno Sanfilippo is an accomplished
electronic artist and his many years of composing and performing yield
another excellent ambient collection here.
Bruno Sanfilippo may be new to some ambient listeners as “Subliminal
Pulse” is his first release in the United States, due to his
joining with the excellent “Spotted Peccary” label.
I personally had the pleasure of playing from many of his prior releases
starting from the early releases “Suite Patagonia,” “Visuala”
and “Indalo” for “Ambient Caverns” (Music Sojourn
/ Coolstreams) thanks to the artist sending them over. Many of these
albums have now been made available on Amazon.com in the US (though
most show the add dates there of 2010 or 2011). For newcomers, I recommend
starting with the current “Subliminal Pulse” and working
back through his catalog.
By Track:
1. The Third Geometry – (5:52) – Opens airy and soaring
becoming infiltrated with heavier layering, droning and percussive
elements, punctuated by tubular or heavy string like pulsations, drifting
off into an airy void with some spooky vocalizations barely audible
at the fade
2. Santa Luminosa – (6:40) – opens with a generator like
pulsation takeoff into an airy, ascending, ethereal layered flight
traversing past a variety of sound posts before climaxing into a dissonant
sounding spiral out
3. Spirit Allies – (5:47) – opens with an electro- mechanical
sounding pulsation becoming woven with increasing harmonious layerings
of soprano and baritone synths and shadowy vocalizations
4. Intrinsic Fluctuations – (14:00) – opens soaring and
hovering while added layers build a sense of conflicting themes, eventually
descending into darker, brooding pulsating textures with metallic-like
droppings and lathe cuttings, with a spooky spirit-like riff permeating
the ending minutes
5. Subliminal Pulse – (5:58) – dark, spooky, and mysterious
with dissonant keyboard-like riffs and chords and other-worldly vocalizations
woven through various intricate layerings
6. Slipped Time – (7:29) – smooth, textured intro into an
evocative, familiar piano-like riff and soaring textures, very reminiscent
of past masters
7. Alchemical Powers – (6:29) – Opens dark and mysterious,
suggestive of experimentation or origination and alchemy with boiling,
bubbling underlayments, progressively more dark & dissonant and
punctuated by bell and percussive soundings, degenerating into life
sounds accompanied by thunder and ran backdrops, suggestive of primordial
formations
8. Pulsum Sacrum – (7:21) – opens smoothly textured quickly
augmented by male-like and then female-like vocalise layerings along
with Tibetan bell-like soundings and explosive backdrops, use your
imagination based on the title
9. Mantram – (7:58) – opens with smoothly textured layers
joined with a soaring but morose cello-like layering, somewhat sad
in emotion but harmonious in sound, a musical mantra as the title
suggests.
by Richard Gürtler · Bratislava
Bruno Sanfilippo's landing on sympathetic Californian label Spotted
Peccary Music was a really nice surprise for me and also a very good
kept secret. Really nice move that can be only much fruitful and challenging
for both sides. Bruno Sanfilippo is a very prolific ambient/modern
classical composer, born in Argentina, Buenos Aires, but since the
year 2000 residing in Spain, Barcelona.
"Subliminal Pulse" is Bruno's 11th solo album, but he has
on his credit also few collaborations with Max Corbacho and Mathias
Grassow and one "Anthology" compilation. From the very first
notes "Subliminal Pulse" is a very rich and skillfully sculpted
sonic palette floating from slightly melodic ambient ("The Third
Geometry", "Santa Luminosa") to deeper space travels
("Intrinsic Fluctuations", "Subliminal Pulse"),
from modern classically sounding arrangements ("Spirit Allies",
"Slipped Time", "Mantram") through darker minimal
experiments with strong environmental feel ("Alchemical Powers")
to more monumental sacral texture ("Pulsum Sacrum").
Each composition is crafted with highest precision, incorporated are
various fragments like melodic EM ingredients, various distant voices
and ethereal choirs, ethnic and modern classical influenced passages,
few sonic outbursts and carefully used field-recordings.
Surprisingly, this wider variety of sounds and tapestries works together
more than effectively, the sonic panoramas are beautifully warm, emotional,
joyous and elegant. And when adding crystalline sound quality and
nicely fitting digipak artwork, we get absolutely sophisticated piece
of electronic music, "Subliminal Pulse" is one of the best
2011 releases so far!!!
Muchas gracias, Bruno, for taking me with you to this gorgeously hypnotic
and tranquil journey!
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