Putting on ear on 1.15K for the first time made me think of Kelly Moran’s Bloodroot. a piano that with impressionistic colors that might be mistaken for George Winston if not for the abrasive, unexpected timbres that often accompany the notes. But unlike Moran, this isn’t the work of a cleverly prepared piano, this is the straight-up piano of Samuele Strufaldi accompanied and altered by the live electronic effects of Tommaso Rosati.
This atypical duo from Italy seeks and succeeds in forging a holistic union between acoustic and electronic, analog and digital, baroque and coldly space age. Which, by the way, explains the title: 1.15 Kelvin is the lowest temperature in the universe known to man.
Over eight tracks lasting 39 minutes, this marriage of sonic opposites attracts attention by the invasion of alien sounds into Samuele Strufaldi’s pretty, delicate piano work. Piano notes are often decayed, clipped, reversed, and tortured in every way imaginable, but Rosati is always careful not to upset the melody or disturb the groove. Sometimes Rosati is the one making the groove, and he occasionally creates percussion, as on “Pulsar.” Other times, Rosati is just playing alongside, as with the recurring, approaching synth drones that add drama to “Orbital.” The syncopation between the two on “Particula” is pleasingly intricate, and “Loop Quantum Gravity” is Strufaldi’s densest piano on the album, made increasingly dense by looping that adds layers upon layers of piano that Rosati mutates into a unified, artificial murmur that he uses to accompany the original piano figure.
It’s fascinating not just because of the colliding of two musical worlds, but the creativity that went into it, which raises the music well above gimmickry and comfortably into the realm of 21st century art.
Samuele Strufaldi and Tommaso Rosati’s 1.15K is now available in digital-only form from the Italian label Auand.
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