- Spiritual techno from a true believer.
- GiGi FM's 2022 debut EP, Magnetite, was a masterclass in the art of the techno slowburn. Like her DJing, the record was built on simple, hypnotic grooves and meticulous sound design that expanded and contracted in unexpected ways. The tracks shifted tone almost imperceptibly. Her follow-up, Kiwi Synthesis Diary Vol. 2, is even more entrancing and detailed. On the record's centerpiece, "Spazio Teletrasporto," she starts with a sighing synth line and a simple syncopated drum pattern that slowly comes into focus. The track suddenly blossoms into a vortex of bleeping machines, knotted 303s and swelling feedback and just as quickly contracts back into heads-down funk.
The other tunes work with a similar eye towards subtle detailing and changes. "Househopping (Keroppi)" is the record's most supple cut. Hand drums sweep across the stereo field like chasing the tail of a shooting star, while synth patterns burst out before getting lost to the sneaker-squeaking motif that centers the tune. She goes a bit bigger on the slow burning "Amadamushies." Over its central loop, she adds snippets of hand percussion and a quivering synthesizer, before a dramatic breakdown where she cuts the drums briefly to launch into a minute of what could be fevered dancing around a campfire.
Kiwi Synthesis Diary Vol. 2 is the debut release on GiGi FM's new label, Sea~rène. Channeling her own spirituality, she's described the label as "an extension of my intergalactic mermaid identity... it represents my artistic soul expressing without boundaries and sharing my cosmic journey."
In lesser hands, this might come off as trite or cliché, but with GiGi FM it feels sincere, even evangelical. Who else, after all, can make seven minutes of horoscope readings sound so funky? This is techno for the soul and the spirit.
Tracklist01. Amadamushies
02. Tevora
03. Sly Xupete Di Barcelona
04. Spazio Teletrasporto
05. Househopping (Keroppi)
06. Tsuru