- As you might expect from someone who works in tech support for Ableton Live, Massimiliano Pagliara is not afraid of showing his geeky side. The three tracks on the Berlin-based Italian's latest outing for LARJ are named after the serial numbers of the equipment used to make them. So "JP4-808-P5-106-DEP5" features Roland Jupiter-4, Prophet 5 and Juno 106 synths, an 808 and Roland DEP5 FX.
"JP4-808" sounds like a showcase for key old-school dance music hardware, opening up from its early portentous bass rumble and industrial whirr into a field of shimmering keys, echo and sparse snares. Heading for a blissed-out dance floor, "MS20-707-M/P-P6-SPX90" fuses stun-gun oscillations and soft-focus 707 pitter-patter. "LM2-JP4-106-606-BL-303-SDE2000-P6-TX81Z," has more in common with the low-slung techy disco and neo-coldwave grooves of much of Pagliara's past work. It throbs with elegant, shimmering synths, intermittent acid shudders and stately bass prods. In contrast to the unwieldy (if helpful) track titles, this is a graceful release.
Tracklist A1 JP4-808-P5-106-DEP5
A2 MS20-707-M/P-P6-SPX90
B LM2-JP4-106-606-BL-303-SDE2000-P6-TX81Z