Bruno Sanfilippo is an artist who is quickly developing a well-respected name for himself in ambient circles. With this in mind, the aptly titled "InTRO" is a great place to acquaint oneself with Bruno's talents. Made up of seven distinct pieces, "InTRO" presents a variety of styles and sounds that all showcase Sanfilippo's skills.
"InTROworld" opens the disc with a combination of eastern percussion and woodwinds. Voices, or maybe it's something else, play on the edges of the track, adding a mystical and engaging sound to the proceedings. A very impressive opening and a suggestion of things to come. "InTROmental" follows, drone textured ambience oscillating through the soundfield. There are some interesting layers here, each stacked one on top of the other, only visible with careful examination. It's an engaging track, one that begs further listening. "InTROsacro" has a melancholy beauty to it, the sounds of wind and chimes and all manner of beautiful tones. Slight melodies float through the track, lightly hinting at a theme or an idea, small phrases just on the tips of tongues. Simply wonderful. "InTROpiano" features lovely piano work set against a drone backdrop. It's a fascinating blend of natural and unnatural sounds, a very effective meeting of sonic worlds. I imagine that this is a track that may well have inspired or at least influenced Sanfilippo's later release "Piano Textures" as it has a very similar flavor to it. "InTROvoices" begins with a simple drone, building in volume and strength, eventually joined by the sound of a rainstorm and other sounds from nature. It's a beautiful example of spaces created through the use of sound and imagination, quite simple and quite effective. "InTROvisions" blends in directly from the last track, a slight melody played through alien strings. Slight variations on the melody play as the track increases, giving it a feeling of being a living organism, slowly undulating underneath the sun's light. Very beautiful. "InTROpassion" closes the disc, lovely piano and mournful strings overtop a quiet drone. A delicate blend of sounds and feelings combining to create a full environment and space.
Lovely work. I've often thought that the mettle of an artist is proven in their ability to work equally comfortably in a variety of styles.
With "InTRO", Bruno Sanfilippo has shown that he's capable of working in a number of different forms, moving easily between styles and sounds, showing an ear and an ability in all of the areas he presents here. Certainly Sanfilippo's reputation as an artist to watch is well deserved, and I would cite "InTRO" as a fine piece of evidence to support that claim.
