MAX BONDI : M
Tartaruga Records
You might say Max Bondi and Tartaruga Records are inextricably linked, but on the other hand, “M” is the very last record that could be dubbed a vanity project, simply because it’s so beautiful and powerful… it deserves its secret corner in the public ear. The description of this album as at times sounding “as if the room itself is being played” is spot on; it’s a really disorientating listening experience, with sounds emerging from below and behind, and shapes often containing hidden with them opposite and antagonistic movements.
That’s not to suggest that “M” is a relentless noise experiment – sure, ominous, aggressive, interruptive stabs of fuzzy sound punctuate and re-direct tracks such as the mighty “A Desperate Threnody”, but overall this is a reflective album, carefully piecing together textures and then tempting the listener between the threads with swooping drones and airy, meditative sounds. The opening track “Aleph, Bet” prepares you for this dreamy side, with its car-horn sunrise, wind chime shimmers and warm, delicate movements. It’s a mood that repeats, in the sad, looping strings of “Alina” and in the almost pastoral later sections of “Threnody”.
I like “M” because, like the best ambient/experimental music, there’s nothing blatant about it and yet it seems to resonate (literally) with some fundament of human experience… how is that? Maybe it’s the way it offers such a complicated array of emotion, or perhaps it’s the realistic way in which your mind’s serenity, which might sound a little like the rich synth movement at the beginning of “Elenco”, is destined to be savaged by a filthy, inexorable wash of static at some point during your life. Maybe I’m feeling overly poetical… but whichever is the case, it’s true that Max Bondi summons something remarkably rich with guitar, keyboard and found sounds.
This is a genuinely different ambient release, harnessing the power of drones but deploying them with an emotive cunning in between dazed dreaminess. That it’s a debut makes it doubly impressive, and I hope that Max will continue to innovate along this odd and vibrant path. Being a Tartaruga release, a sumptuously organic package is part of the deal for “M”, adding to the experience. Don’t miss this one, experimental fans…
