- Roman producer Lorenzo D'Angelo made a lasting impact on the Italian techno scene in the '90s, before leaving his indelible impression on Glasgow's young ravers in the mid-'00s. That group of Scots included Jackmaster, the influential DJ and Numbers boss, but D'Angelo's low profile has kept him from getting the wider recognition he deserves. In recent years, Lory D releases have largely been for his Strange Days series on Numbers. Aside from a detour into headier sounds on edition three, each EP has featured what D'Angelo does best: frenzied, sometimes goofy acid. Vol. 4 isn't any different.
"The main characteristic of his music," Andrea Benedetti said of D'Angelo last year, "is to be hard and mental at the same time." This perfectly describe "Bass Bam," where a robot voice is brutalized by an especially nasty acid track. Its simple approach—hard drums backed by a few spiraling acid lines—is unforgiving. Each one of the drum sounds hits with exacting precision, even while D'Angelo is weaving chaotic webs above them, like a spider on caffeine.
D'Angelo is mostly associated with acid techno, but he's no one-trick pony. "Sq11" focuses on drum programming, gliding from pots-and-pans percussion to woodpecker snares. Then there's "Game Of Three Synth," an old-school number where the squelchy leads turn squeaky and slippery. These three tracks aren't D'Angelo's most inventive, but they play to his strengths.
TracklistA1 Bass Bam
A2 Game Of Three Synth
B1 Sq11