Oxmose is an independent label from Paris, with a discography of about 5 releases at the moment. The most recent one, Quandary, is the work of the Italian composer and media artist Michele Pedrazzi, better known by his creative moniker Bob Meanza. According to the press release, the author wanted to show listeners the connection between nature and technology. For this recording, Michele has invited guitarist Alex Baboian and a vocalist Bianca Guitton who helped the creator build his sound structures. Sophisticated listeners will notice at once that the work with looped vocals reminds very much of the art of the 12k label. It certainly looks beautiful, but the warm technique of Bob Meanza can just evoke nostalgia with a slight gasp.
I'd like to single out Flutter River, which combines virtuosic guitar playing and industrial machine sounds. It's nice to realize that the Italian composer acted as a free artist, not limiting himself in style frames. But you can definitely see that there's an electro-acoustic detailed approach to sound in these rather original textures, which the experimental Italian scene is famous for. Quandary doesn't look like a tense long journey, but rather like a fascinating process of exploring intricate sonic strands for newcomers. Graceful and masterful.
Author: Ilya Kudrin