CD Review: Stendeck - Scintilla

Written by Sebastian Huhn Sunday, 22 May 2011 14:23

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Artist: Stendeck
Title: Scintilla
Genre: Electronic
Release Date: 21st March 2011
Label: Tympanik Audio

Album Review

Before ‘Sonnambula’ dropped two years ago, it seemed to me that merely a handful of people knew and appreciated the project from Lugano. The album helped getting the word out and exposing Alessandro to a wider audience. Several postings on Facebook indicated the new album is being worked on heavily over the past years and now it’s here. The new baby is called ‘Scintilla’ and instead of a nature panorama draped in light mist it’s the hyper-speed photography of a city at night on the front cover you’re looking at first. Alessandro still hasn’t lost his sense for track titles, summarizing a song’s mood aptly. The opening is made by ‘hold my hand high in the sky ready for the deep dive’ and we’re being transferred to a cliff somewhere far away with a guy standing atop ready to take off. The pounding drum cascades preluding him jumping off and as soon as he’s immersed in water the sonic scenery changes around him, filled with a feeling of weightlessness with wet, glitch beats incorporated. Whenever he surfaces, however, the sound becomes increasingly harder.

‘feel the flames burning inside me’ introduces a barrage of literally heavy beats, stark noise attacks mutilating them, all them being shrouded in a veil of melancholy feelings. ‘Catch The Midnight Girl’ is the third and thus far clubbiest effort, carving broking patterns and jamming noises into an otherwise seamless construction of looped piano and soaring pads. ‘tired figures wave goodbye in the backdrop of a sinking boat’ opens with a shower of noise giving way to an intricate series of rhythms. The best thing about the track is undoubtedly the way it captures the feeling of leaving something precious behind that ultimately grabs your soul. ‘Like snowflakes on my fingers’ treats us to a wonderful mélange of strings, pads and glockenspiel that’ll detach us from the real world for merely 2 minutes. I reckon some might have watched the video ‘Run Amok (Against Time Rebels)’ but for those who haven’t: It’s movement. It’s someone running and while listening you can almost see him doing so. So the track is taking you on a cerebral journey.

Time to conjure up some contemplative moods and first track we do that with is ‘Last night an angel fell on a motorway’ living on the density of its plaintive layers and the ascending piano lines. You’ll find yourself lost in thoughts as long as this song’s running and a miraculous event is gaining contours in your mind. The soul is gone and a body’s left to decay and silence comes, only to be broken by grief and sorrow that comes naturally with death, in case there’s actually someone grieving for you. The only thing giving ‘the silence after this’ a feeling of movement is the subtle beats kicking in halfway through. They just can’t hide the world stops for quite a time. ‘The last in a long line of tunes is ‘crimson clouds cascade’ that rips through the quietness with glitch-infected noise break beats regularly alternating with synthetic rays of bright sunlight, appearing when the clouds are finally going to clear.

‘Scintilla’ indeed is passion and fire; in some parts stasis and melancholy. It’s whatever the song needs in its various incarnations. The beatwork’s gotten overall more heavy and refined; the melancholy deeper than before on some songs. But also there’s light, hope and confidence. To sum it all up: It’s the natural evolution of the STENDECK sound and was well worth the wait!


Tracklist

01. hold my hand high in the sky ready for the deep dive - 5:05
02. feel the flames burning inside me - 5:17
03. catch the midnight girl - 4:21
04. tired figures wave goodbye in the backdrop of a sinking boat - 4:20
05. tight around her throat she slips away - 4:00
06. like snowflakes on my fingers - 1:45
07. run amok (against time rebels) - 4:42
08. swimmers in a sleepless hour - 3:49
09. voiceless wishes flicker in the shattered mist - 4:39
10. six-door bedroom - 3:54
11. that foolish fascination of a ghost light collector - 3:47
12. why did we get so far? - 4:01
13. learning how to walk through walls - 5:32
14. last night an angel fell on a motorway - 2:54
15. thieves of watercolour memories - 5:45
16. the silence after this - 2:34
17. crimson clouds cascade - 4:52


Line-Up

Alessandro Zampieri


Website

http://www.facebook.com/stendeck


Cover Picture




Rating

Music: 9
Sound: 9
Extras: -
Total: 9 / 10