Articles
2009 Ten Favourite Labels
Simon Scott's Navigare
Traxx's 10 Chicago Tracks

Albums
Aerosol
Andrasklang
Aquarelle
Matt Bartram
Bassnectar
Bell Horses
Broadcast & Focus Group
Angus Carlyle
Celer
Ytre Rymden Dansskola
Do Make Say Think
Dorosoto
Isnaj Dui
Shane Fahey
Jan Garbarek Group
Lisa Germano
Rachel Grimes
Halogen
Hellothisisalex
Christopher Jion
P Jørgensen
Leyland Kirby
Klimek
KZA
Elisa Luu
Mountain Ocean Sun
Marcello Napoletano
Andy Nice
Nicolay
port-royal
Rameses III
Sankt Otten
Danny Saul
Simon Scott
Sleep Whale
Susanna & Magical Orch.
Syntaks
Traxx
Claude VonStroke

Compilations / Mixes
5
Crookers
Favourite Places 2
Music For Mathematics
Snuggle & Slap
Sander Kleinenberg 2
Y9

EPs
DJ Bone
DJ Nasty
Duque and Baxter
Filterwolf
Ghenacia & Djebali
Ikonika
Kez YM
King Roc
Vadim Lankov
Lavender Ticklesoft
Lo-Fi Soundsystem
Niko Marks
Seuil
Subeena
Mark Templeton

Elisa Luu: Chromatic Sigh
Hidden Shoal

It takes mere moments for Elisa Luu's Chromatic Sigh to make a strong impression when its title track blossoms like some brilliantly hued meteor shower, its metallic materials slowly exploding into a panoramic field of glistening haze. That such an auspicious and confident opening should be the inaugural piece on her first full-length release makes the accomplishment all the more significant.

Interestingly, the Rome-based Luu (real name Elisabetta Luciani) started out as a jazz-fusion sax player who performed with various groups and participated in Berklee Jazz clinics, but Chromatic Sigh is anything but a fusion album with saxophone as the lead instrument. Instead, it's a full-blown plunge into digitally-crafted electronic composition, with Luciani weaving flute, sax, and guitar sounds into the quietly radiant fabric of her material. Moments of blissful reverie are captured in “Perhaps” and “Arteline,” both of which breathe like the softest of sighs, while the ruminative “Slow Bass Flute” carves a slow and stately path through a sleepy forest, its tranquil calm punctuated by sudden swoops. Coupling vibraphone accents with synthetic whooshes, “Warn Plate” ends the project on an ethereal note. Chromatic Sigh is, however, anything but wallpaper music, as the pulsating post-rock attack of “Pixie Space Rock” demonstrates when Luu conjures the illusion of a full ensemble by overlaying an electric guitar solo over a driving bass-and-drums combination. At forty minutes, Luciani's album is also admirably concise and to-the-point, and ultimately registers as fully-formed music-making that blends melody-based song structures and bold instrumental arrangements into a thoroughly satisfying whole.

November 2009