BRUNO SANFILIPPO - Unity

Bruno Sanfilippo is an Argentine composer with classical training who has spent years producing albums that move between repetitive minimalist piano, modern classical, ambient, and the occasional electroacoustic touch; to date he has released around twenty albums that try to bring together, in a single melting pot, the modern classical of Max Richter or Jóhann Jóhannsson, the ambient atmospheres of Harold Budd, and the “sacred” minimalism of the Estonian composer Arvo Part. “Unity”, released by the Russian ambient-specialist label Dronarivm, is imbued with the great simplicity typical of Sanfilippo, enriched by mystical and classical elements, with touches even of magical esotericism that lend the album aspirations which, if not exactly innovative, are at least distinctive.

Piano and strings dominate almost the entire record, with the exception of the opening track “Spiral”, a brief cosmic journey in the style of Vangelis, with lyrical synth choirs, a blend of sacred music and deep space. It's as if cosmic music stopped being restless and instead saw in space the grandeur of a divine creation; the sacred and the scientific coexisting.
From there we move fully into modern classical territory, where the echoes of Richter and the late Jóhann Jóhannsson are almost constant. Among these are the sparse, repeated piano notes of “One”, a perfect example of absolute simplicity paired with tremendous communicative power, the light, childlike pattern of “Lux”, and the slow undulations between Arvo Part and Erik Satie of “Oneness”.

A cinematic quality runs through nearly the whole record, but the violin and piano often also recall the pairing of Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, for instance on “Entity”. “Cyclical” – as the name suggests – plays on the repetition of a very long, slow pattern, like a wide circle that eventually manages to close. The closing track is, along with the opener, the most ambitious; “Unity” abandons modern classical conventions to stretch out across ten more varied minutes, rich in electronics and sacredness, in mysticism à-la Popol Vuh, with synths, violins, cellos, and piano that are never excessive or restless, but remain faithful to an ambient path with bucolic, comforting tones similar to those of the master Harold Budd.

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27/04/2018