- It's a wonderful thing to watch an artist carve out his or her own niche; Saele Valese, a former Berliner who recently moved to Turin, has accomplished just that in two records. In Your Rosary, his debut 12-inch that surfaced at Hard Wax in late 2014, comprised a pair of deep, droning techno cuts that stood apart for their restraint and nuance. (Notably, it grabbed the attention of Alva Noto, Felix K and Svreca.) His next effort, the four-track You Cannot See Me From Where I Look At Myself EP, is also released by his JSMЁ label, and is further refined in all the right ways.
Like In Your Rosary, the tracks here are untitled—the only visual cues are the EP's name and Valese's striking self-portrait. Dark, slowly shifting drones and reverberations cast a thicker pall, while the percussive footprint is lighter and more elaborate. The A1 extends the tendrils of its increasingly ominous atmosphere over a sparse and skewed broken beat, while the A2, propelled by minimal 4/4 drums, locks into a taut, dungeon-ready groove. The B1 is a dark-ambient cleanse, its low blasts of noise suggesting the collapse of some far-off industrial infrastructure. You Cannot See Me's finest moment is the B2, its subdued percussive pulse and beautifully wilting pads making for a comedown that tugs at the heartstrings. It's easy to feel a strong sense of purpose in Valese's work, however esoteric it might be, as if the best is yet come.
TracklistA1 Untitled
A2 Untitled
B1 Untitled
B2 Untitled