A few days ago, electro-symphonic artist Chris Ianuzzi released Olga in a Black Hole, a three-track EP providing a foretaste of his forthcoming LP, Planetaria, slated for release May 1.
Speaking about his project, Ianuzzi states, “Trip in a New Future. I have started something different for myself. Feels like a return to my roots in Electronic music. I had ventured to make song related music and now I am freeing myself of that structure and headed towards something new.”
Ianuzzi’s interest in electronic music began in a music store when he first encountered the sound of a Moog synthesizer, whose tones activated an “earlier childhood hallucinogenic memory” from a prior experience during a visit to the dentist.
Later, he was Electronic Creative Associate with Suzanne Ciani, and worked with Vangelis and a former member of Tangerine Dream, Peter Baumann, as well as Freeze and The Puppets. He released two albums while on tour in Europe and Japan, followed by heading back to New York, where he scored a variety of visual projects for HBO, MasterCard, and A&E, followed by creating I, Synthesist, an electronic songwriting and multimedia performance project.
After releasing three albums and two EPs with his I, Synthesist project, Ianuzzi decided to go in a new direction, returning to instrumental electronic music, utilizing the MakeNoise modular and B1 Brain interface.
The title track begins the EP, opening on futuristic swirls of color fused with surreal aural accents as if tuning in to a far distant solar system inhabited by monolithic complexes of hi-tech cyborg organisms. More of a sonic collage than a bricolage, the music exudes remote echoes of ambiance.
“Hello” travels on telephonic chirrups decked out by industrial buzzes, gleaming tones, and vague voices answering a phone – “Hello.” As the tune advances, mists of shushing, shuffling effects blend with sparkling runs on a piano, while a female voice reduplicates the same word again and again.
“Fork” rides eerie industrial tones pervaded by deep, trembling drones, infusing the tune with rapid oscillations akin to a skipping record, like something from The Matrix series of movies. Machine-like tension imbues the harmonics with mechanical intricacy resembling a spitting rapping flow.
With Olga in a Black Hole, Chris Ianuzzi delivers waves of idiosyncratic soundscapes reminiscent of 2001: A Space Odyssey merged with Alice in Wonderland.
Chris Ianuzzi Social Links: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Soundcloud
