Shapednoise

Deafening Chaos Serenity EP

BY Bryon HayesPublished Nov 16, 2016

8
It is serendipitous when the title of a release aligns completely with the sonic content within, and Deafening Chaos Serenity — the latest barrage of electronic noise bombs from Italian producer Shapednoise (aka Repitch Recordings co-owner Nino Pedone) — is an exquisite collection of eardrum-melting pandemonium, tempered with just a hint of placidity.
 
For this EP, Pedone has returned to the always top-notch Type imprint, which released his Different Selves full-length in 2015. It's an apt pairing, considering the label's been straddling genres for years now, releasing albums spanning the noise-electronic spectrum by acts such as Pete Swanson, Hair Police, Work/Death and Mike Shiflet. Shapednoise offers up three of his own tracks this time around, and on the longer pieces has collaborated with like-minded ear masochists Roly Porter ("Resistance to a Harmonious Vision") and Rabit ("Pulling at the Seams of Existence"). When on his own, Pedone pursues a singular, addled vision of semi-structured, noisy and blown-out narratives ("Delusional Path", for example). The Porter track is equally damaged, and barely discernible from the solo material save for a slight melody appearing off in the distance.
 
Rabit offers the only serenity on this release, casting a net of drone across Pedone's explosions. It's this subtlety and restraint that keeps Deafening Chaos Serenity from being truly vertiginous — it leads the listener to the edge of the cliff without pushing them off into the abyss below.
(Type)

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