Dino Sabatini – Concentrica

After inaugurating the ‘Opera’ sub-series of his Outis Music label with the sublime ‘Omonimo’ double LP this April, Dino Sabatini has invited some choice allies to help define the vocabulary and expand the vision of the new imprint. The aforementioned album, which wove together Sabatini’s atmospheric conjuring skill with the piano flourishes of Antonello Salis, already exhibits the label’s commitment to dismantling the ‘either-or’ logic of contemporary genres by successfully merging a variety of supposedly irreconcilable styles, talents, and worldviews (e.g. both mythological and the technological perspectives). The follow-up EP, ‘Concentrica’, draws on the material from ‘Omonimo’ and delivers it into the hands of additional remixers in order to continue the Outis Opera voyage. The leadoff contribution, a variation on ‘Sometimes Back’ from Howie B, unwinds slowly and undulates gracefully, luring the listener into a dense thicket of sound foliage before a surprise entrance from sonic beasts made of thick distortion and delay effects. The deceptively light percussion touches and keystrokes give this cyborg dub a deceptive tranquillity that contrasts delightfully with the growls and feverish swells of the ‘lead’ synths. This fades into a re-imagining of ‘If’ by Sabatini, augmenting the original’s ambience with all kinds of new elements…  more