This eight track mini-album is an interesting first release from this newly started Italian label called Mousike Lab. They’re based in the South Italian city of Naples and they are part of Avatar 41° – an electronic music and arts collective. The opening track “Muschià” is a beautiful composition starting off with amplitude of atmosphere and eerie soundscapes. A solid stab surprises with its entry and the way that it is accentuated is effective to say the least. “Enchantillateur Digitale” moving on towards the harder sounding domains, still keeping the minimal approach adapted in the first song, but with more intensity. “Aitan” features a more classic take on things and lending some from Mitek it would probably best be categorised as Micro-house. It’s a well-crafted song, but in all honesty it’s not exactly my cup of tea, missing some grit. In “Jeninbophal” the dubby elements and great atmosphere enhancing soundscapes return, quite dark atmosphere, crystalline sounds and a hint of processed vocals. It’s minimal, raw and quite dubby. “Mundo Taku” contains a understated bassline fused with glasslike percussive elements mixed so high that you get the impression that they will fall out of the speaker, land on the floor and shatter into a cloud of shimmering dust. Slowly building melody (reminiscent of the inimitable Seefeel), clever use of vocals adds body to the minimal sound setting and then there’s that brittle sound. It’s very nice, very nice indeed. “Lenticchie” forward moving beats, bassline to go around, some glitch and nice melody makes you like this song instantly. “Toledo” features straighter and harder beats, more techno oriented in structure and aimed at the dance floor, some trickery makes the track shuffle along in a steady pace. Ending the “Opinio Omnium” mini-album is “Hermanas y Hermanos” with its beatless experiment there’s some extreme treble action going on in this one, watch out if you’re going to play it out! The first release on Mousike Lab is worth looking up.
electronic desert ≡ revisited + extended