Random Numbers is proud to present the latest release of fellow Italian Steve Pepe, real name Manuel Cascone. A?er a couple of brilliant EPs on Hivern Disc and Macadam Mambo, we are honoured to have him over for the album that has already enchanted us.
“Arabia per Delfina” opens the dance with a languid sound, which slithers in slowly but persistently. Protagonist is a solitary synth whose bright and sensual frequencies rise from the darkness, lighJng up the room like the sultry moon in the summer nights.
The Arabic influence is clear, supported both by the Jtle and the sonic Jmbre: anything but stereotypical, is reinterpreted by Steve Pepe through his New Wave sensibility.
What follows, “Sospesissimo”, so?ens the iniJal intensity slightly through its wobbly and playful groove. Here the guitar strings seem to move in slow moJon, conveying a slight feeling of dizziness. Elements from jazz and downtempo music are expertly arranged into a bizarre and synaestheJc choreography of gestures.
The percussions hinted in “Sospesissimo” become more insistent, almost unruly, in “El Pelusa”, which pushes us effortlessly towards a freneJc and liberaJng dance.
This cornucopia of LaJn-infused sounds marks the contours of an iconic character, Diego Armando Maradona, AKA Mano de Dios, and culminates in a carnivalesque explosion of euphoria.
"Carpenter" enhances the peak reached by its predecessor with a more reserved and introspecJve verve, but no less fascinaJng. As a composiJon with oneiric nuances, deep volumes and chiaroscuro, "Carpenter" demonstrates the double-edged nature of this album and, consequently, the wide emoJonal spectrum that Steve Pepe manages to convey in his producJons.
Almost sneaking up on us is “Verso”, with its classical violins and the fearless cacophony challenging the harmony of the track. Fearless is also Steve’s voice, which channels the intensity and excitement of a journey that’s about to begin, but whose desJnaJon is yet unknown.
A slight hint of existenJalism comes into play just before we approach the next track, "ZimaNeta", which marks the end of this sonic journey.
Here it is again, that very same languidness grasped in the opening. If “Arabia for Delfina” lets us glimpse the moon, “Zimaneta” goes straight for the enJre Milky Way with its mulJtude of glimmering dots. In this spacey exploraJon made of a thousand colors, all the musical elements encountered along the way are revealed once again for a final farewell.
