If playing back the four vinyl sides of Forse 1 at skull-rending decibel levels earlier this year hasn’t already resulted in neighbors’ complaints, police intervention, and the relocation of your loved ones to a “Volume Safe Zone” outside of the range of your audio setup, it’s not too late: Alessandro Cortini is set to release two more 2xLPs (!!) in his Forse series on Important Records. The Nine Inch Nails collaborator and Trash Audio collective member got down to work in what I imagine could only be an insulated subterranean bunker crammed with rack-mounted electronics and exotic synthesizers to cook up dozens of solo synth sessions throughout the course of one month — 10 of which constitute Forse 2, due November 26. Like the last volume in the series, Cortini executed these tracks on a lone Buchla Music Easel, a synth as legendary for its expansive analog tones as for its extremely limited edition. Only 13 original Easel units are presently accounted for — that is, until Buchla’s 40-year anniversary edition hits the market and like anyone can just wake up one morning and jump on the Buchla Bandwagon, amiright? Imagine: lil’ would-be Subotnicks patching their rigs together on every street corner; Don Buchla (and Bob Moog) namechecks in Top 40 hits; the cruel memes issued from both sides of the 1/4-inch vs. 1/8-inch patch cable debate.
“Canta,” our first taste of Forse 2, is the rare promo track that almost renders the forthcoming album unnecessary in its shadow. I.E., I could loop “Canta” five or so times straight through at max volume and consider that 45-ish minutes a successful listening experience. Hit play on the SoundCloud widget below and allow the rhythm of Cortini’s steady oscillations to become the intrinsic rhythm of your brain. Cutoff knobs turn, and both lower- and upper-register phrases thicken into the high-protein versions of their former selves. Chord progressions propelled by arpeggiated lead lines and massive bass notes cover more harmonic ground here than in any other Forse session so far. As long as Cortini continues to fill sides of wax with sublime slo-mo narratives sculpted from the elemental tones and limited voices of a decades-old synth system, I will continue to turn up the volume well beyond reasonable levels.
• Alessandro Cortini: https://soundcloud.com/alessandrocortini
• Important Records: http://www.importantrecords.com
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