Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Massimo Discepoli: Last year, the next day

10

Massimo Discepoli: Last year, the next day

By

Sign in to view read count
Massimo Discepoli: Last year, the next day
While most good drummers know how to use texture and subtlety (or at least should), you won't find many who take the idea quite as far as Massimo Discepoli. While his rhythm parts have a recognizable and compelling pulse somewhere, that usually isn't the half of it. The point is the entire soundscape. His recordings are craftily packed with sonic detail, however busy or airy they happen to be.

The last time Discepoli appeared on record with The Right Place on the Wrong Map (Dof, 2019), it was at least 80% atmosphere with any more earthy parts making traces in the ether. Last Year, The Next Day generally shifts the ratio closer to half and half (and sometimes tips it over the line into borderline post-rock). While the overall tone is somewhere under the ambient umbrella as always, its hypnotic trance could be either a pleasant background listen or a full-out immersive experience. There's a gripping immediacy to these grooves while the scope remains vast.

Sometimes the rhythm even takes the form of an actual drum beat under the swirling clouds; more often there are still plenty of stray rattles or clatters to fill in the sonic palette while synths build to towering heights. There's still a beating heart underlying everything in either case, and it's enough to keep the sound from getting too forbidding even when the tone leans chilly. When it gets warmer, particularly in the highlight "Cycle of Coincidences" with its swirling peak of jungle-gamelan minimalism, it's dynamic enough for an actual rave floor without needing to actually go heavy. Discepoli's simple recipe is one good for all manner of expansive concoctions, as elusive as they are electric.

Track Listing

Parallel clouds; Layers of echoes; Pattern of change; Listening to the fog; Remains of a reflection; The meaning of floating; Cycle of coincidences; A question to forget.

Personnel

Additional Instrumentation

Massimo Discepoli: drums, fretless bass, guitar, xylophone, bell tubes, steel tongue drum, kalimba, udu drum, darbuka, electronics.

Album information

Title: Last year, the next day | Year Released: 2021 | Record Label: Dof Label

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Sensual
Rachel Z
Over and Over
Tony Monaco Trio
Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.