KUNSHI
16’05”
INNER8, IT
DIGITAL RELEASE
CATALOGUE: F90114
RELEASED FEBRUARY 10, 2015
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MASTERED BY DANIELE ANTEZZA AT ARTEFACT MASTERING (BERLIN, DE).
PHOTOGRAPHY BY FABIO PERLETTA.
1. Kunshi
Kunshi is the first solo EP from Italian and Berlin-based sound artist Inner8 (Daniele Antezza, who is also known as one half of the duo Dadub) on Farmacia901, despite his contribution to "Quark: How Does The Invisible Sound?" project and the invisible relationship with the label since its establishment.
The inspiration behind Kunshi originally derives from Antezza’s interest to the “eight consciousness” developed in the tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. According to this tradition, they enumerate eight consciousnesses: the first five are the sensory consciousnesses (visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory and tactile), the sixth is the mental consciousness, the seventh is the afflicted or emotional consciousness. Kunshi (kunshyi namshé) is the eighth consciousness which has the function to store all the memories of past and present experiences of the body and mind and represents the basis of the other seven.
Kunshi explores the aesthetics of deep listening, the juxtaposing of synthetic texture and natural timbres creates a complex soundscape, where frequencies overlap to create interwoven paths of sound. The structure is an ongoing blend of recognizable and undistinguishable sounds emerging from the deep, drawing the listener into an immersive journey.
Created in 2008, Kunshi’s sound palette recalls the Dadub’s experimental side but pushing the boundaries outward in a denser, deeper direction and more ambient terrain.
Inner8 is Daniele Antezza, a multi-faceted thinker and electronic music producer, member of Dadub duo, co-founder of Artefacts Mastering Studio and Holotone label manager, whose regular invocation of the term praxis begins to hint at his creative aims: a primary synthesis of contemplation and action that, in turn, encourages a secondary and entirely unpredictable set of syntheses dependent upon the listener's unique interpretation.
Though the Inner8 moniker has been in existence for several years as a private nickname for, as Antezza puts it, his "experimental anarchist sounds," a full-length LP and a brand new 4 tracks EP are just now surfacing which will reveal just how much this project has to communicate.
Like many transplants to Berlin's pulsating sonic underground (Antezza moved there from Italy in 2009), his past work seems to communicate traces of the ecstatic with the argot of technical precision and / or scientific rigour. However, Antezza is not what one would call a 'Berlin artist' despite sharing these traits in common with the city's most visionary producers: his work gives off an impression of restless nomadism that has little to do with representing a localized scene. Rather than carrying on the territorial / parochial projects of reinforcing an arts scene's geographic boundaries (or even redefining the boundaries of a musical genre), Inner8 is more concerned with a holistic "deconstructive approach" through which "it's possible to reveal the paradoxes of the dominant thought, the paradoxes behind the status quo." His fascination with concepts as diverse as asymptotes and particle physics, though often trendy among those looking for a seat at the table of the avant-garde, is a heartfelt fascination - moreover, these interests merge perfectly with his relentless theroetical questing.
Antezza's relationship with that city's Stroboscopic Artefacts techno label has been a particularly fruitful one, to the point where his sound work prior to Inner8 is almost synonymous with SA's own development. As one half of the psychonaut duo Dadub along with Giovanni Conti, Antezza has sculpted deep and immense tracks that mesmerize with their harmonious interplay of force and ambiguity. These features can be heard on standout releases such as the full-length You Are Eternity, their untitled SA EP, and also their growing body of remixes for other artists. This same partnership also acts as Stroboscopic Artefacts' in-house mastering unit Aretfacts Mastering, where Antezza lends his sonic signature to an eclectic variety of electronic recordings. That signature can be identified by its hyperreal sense of presence and immediacy, qualities that have become crucial to the presentation of a music that generally relies on only a few sonic elements per track to communicate its message.
Antezza also takes pride in the ritualistic quality of Inner8's live sets; a mobile laboratory of dynamic tension in which his theories manifest as massive physical vibrations (here we can also see / hear / feel just how well Daniele has absorbed the lessons of the dub "sound system" aesthetic). A similar approach also informs his recent sound installations, particularly one showcased at Berlin Atonal festival 2013, “Ilya Machine” (realized in collaboration with Daniele De Santis and Giovanni Conti): a mesmerizing system of four feedback generators comprised of eight 18" speaker cones.
Words: Thomas Bey Williams Bailey
SERGE TIMMERS / MERCHANTS OF AIR
While I was browsing through my massive pile of albums waiting to be reviewed, I found two gems, released by Farmacia901. These two have been hiding there for quite some time until they resurfaced last night. I immediately loaded them into my media player and decided I would share my thoughts on these beauties. Inner8 is Daniele Antezza, and Italian composer and sound artist, currently residing in Berlin. He is a member of Dadub duo and co-founder of Artefacts Mastering Studio. So yes, he knows a thing or two about playing with sound. This release, a sixteen minutes lasting ambient anthem, is almost an otherworldly piece of work. Inner8 moves somewhere in the region between noise, drones and ambient, a bit like acts like Zoviet France or O Yuki Conjugate do. This song is a slowly lingering and somewhat spooky piece of music, creeping up on the listener and turning everyday activities into gloomy, sometimes impending adventures. This certainly is an interesting piece of work, one that will find the way to my media player on many evenings to come. Ambient, and dark ambient, fans should obviously check this out, certainly if they like the experimental version of the genre. You simply can’t go wrong with Inner8 I think, and I’m certainly looking forward to hearing more.
BEACH SLOTH
A vast sea of sound defines the amorphous lush sound of Inner8’s “Kunshi”. Existing as a wonderful shadowy swirl of delicate textures, Inner8’s piece resembles a force of nature reimagined for the digital world. Moments within the piece feel quite tactile as Inner8 hints at ever larger worlds just on the edge of the spectrum. By opting for this approach Inner8 creates a glorious sound, the sort of thing that shows that the experimental can possess create emotional heft. For much of the piece the way that Inner8 relies upon the small gestures to create such great effects gives the song a vibrant feel, as if the song contained an entire unknowable universe.
Small spacious pings introduce the piece. From these echoes hints of drone emerge as if they were dust unsettled by movement. The way the song retains a sense of lightness is testament to the intricate arrangement. Melodies are deeply embedded throughout the spacious sound but never are directly noticed. Rhythms too make their presence felt as Inner8 opts for a casual approach to the song’s movement. With such a quiet style the way that Inner8 creates the heart and soul of the piece comes from the many ever glimmering layers of sound. One after another the way that these drones seeming sprawl into the infinite. By the finale of the piece when Inner8’s many separate elements come together to create a symphonic sweep of sound, it feels entirely earned and reveals a little about the purpose of the aural journey.
Beautiful in its carefully crafted atmosphere, Inner8’s “Kunshi” has a mystical quality to it, one that is fully explored over the course of the piece.