d'arcangelo: audiovisual designs

This is the fifth album by the D'Arcangelo twins (Fabrizio & Marco aka Monomorph) in a career stretching back nearly two decades, on a new electronic music imprint, Audiovisual Designs. The brothers present two CDs here, 26 tracks in total but sorted into two distinct and separate parts. The first 14 tracks evoke many thoughts, moods and traditions of classic synth pop and electronica made between the late '70s and early '90s, while managing to stay current or even futuristic. The second CD reveals a darker, colder, more industrial and upbeat selection. The sentiments behind all the music are widely experienced and positive throughout. The moods range from smooth, deep and relaxed to strong and taut; the natural talent and individuality of the music shining throughout. It is quite a braindance coincidence that a D'Arcangelo album always seems to appear around the time of new releases from Autechre, Boards Of Canada, and Daft Punk, even. Recent appearances at the Moog in Barcelona to Bangface 2012 in Cornwall, and at the Free Field Festival in Turania, Italy, with artists such as Leo Anibaldi, DJ Rephlex Records and Buzz Goree (UR). The D'Arcangelo story is thoroughly entwined in the roots of Rephlex -- with the two brothers Fabrizio and Marco coming together through a love of the British new wave, leading to a hard techno venture alongside DJ Max Durante at the dawn of the '90s before things settled down with their eponymous EP for Rephlex in 1996. Since then they've been at the gut of Rephlex, casting melodic fibers around a techno core that gives a nod to their favorite decade without ever dipping into the kind of ugly neon sloganeering that has come to pass as nostalgia in some parts. With the duo back on a roll, the full-length Eksel (REPH 188CD/LP) landed in 2007, followed by some remixes, an EP for 030303 Records Cradle and GO! and their Rephlex album The Album. They have gelled aspects of electronica, techno, and electro to create a distinctive sound. Vintage synthesizers are accompanied by computerized snares, PC melodies are coupled with 808 drum beats. This gives the album a rounded and reflective tone -- electronic music produced with past electro knowledge while looking forward.