Danilo Rispoli: Beyond
Gravite Records

One-man wrecking crew Danilo Rispoli presents two full-bore exercises in techno thunder and heaviosity on this latest twelve-inch for the Gravite label.

The A-side's stormer “Vector” emerges out of a hornet swarm with a pile-driving bass pulse and thudding kick drums and sirens shadowing the groove menacingly every step of the way. The mass barrels forth with an indomitable force until the beats drop out, clearing the way for an ominous clarion call to resound and deepen the air of psychotic dread now palpably settling into place. It's a no-holds-barred ride, a full-bodied plunge into raw, dystopic techno with Rispoli the pilot.

“TrsAnport” gradually rises from the relative slumber of its opening moments to become a seething pulsation of pounding bass drums and violent sound effects (strafings, barking dogs) that suggest the last vestiges of battle transpiring in some bombed-out city. Even with death and destruction a mere breath away, Rispoli's music doggedly asserts its presence, this time in the form of a powerful house groove powered by blistered hi-hats and a thudding bottom end. If the first cut feels dystopic, the second appears irrevocably scarred by war. Not a pretty sound by any means, but powerful and haunting nonetheless—and which would you rather have anyway?

January 2013