Silent Strike


(Copyright © 2024 Piero Scaruffi | Terms of Use )
Silent Strike (2005), 5/10
Alb (2009), 4/10
Singularity (2012), 6/10
Ghostophonia (2020), 6/10
Links:

Romanian producer Silent Strike (born Ioan Titu) debuted in the tradition of instrumental hip-hop with Silent Strike (2005). The album contains 17 ambient tableaux motorized with delicate hip-hop beats and covered with machine-generated orchestral arrangements (Deasupra, Worlds, Dus Sus, Contactor). A sense of mystery and desolation emanates from Floating Sadness, for vocal samples and skittish beats, and the exotic pieces akin to Jon Hassell's "fourth world" strategy: the African-tinged shuffle Ego and the Chinese-tinged collage The Eye. Alb (2009) feels less accomplished, despite occasional flashes of genius in the mostly beat-less pieces Alb and Levels. Singularity (2012) is his most inventive and atmospheric collection, with eccentric creations like Stay Silent, Singularity, Romania and especially Harem Surpriz, a collaboration with the electronic duo Makunouchi Bento. After the five-song EP Simtetizator (2014) of dissonant ambient hip-hop and neosoul melodies, he collaborated again with Makunouchi Bento (Romanian producers Felix Petrescu and Valentin Toma) but this time for a full album, Ghostophonia (2020), basically a remix of century-old recordings of folk music made by classical composer Bela Bartok. The result is more sophisticated and sinister (and beat-less) collages like Break From The Cellars Rhythm Of The Noose Sun Falls Silent and Fallen Hunters.
(Copyright © 2024 Piero Scaruffi | Terms of use )