Andrea Belfi - Ore (2017) [Hi-Res]

The latest in an extensive schedule of Andrea Belfi album releases comes courtesy of Float, a new platform founded by Erased Tapes label manager Sofia Ilyas. The Berlin-based Italian is no stranger to conceptual whims – see his clutch of Room40 LPs for evidence of that – but ‘Ore’ is less concerned with such matters.

Instead it finds Belfi honing in on a detailed study of percussion and rhythm, recorded at the Saal 3 chamber music room of Berlin’s Funkhaus. As soon as the drum roll kicks in on Anticline, Belfi embarks on a devious session where rhythms fluctuate with intensity but remain central to composition, underpinned by queasy strains of electronic manipulation. If you can imagine Nils Frahm conducting Cologne Tape, you’re halfway to getting a grip on this Belfi album.