Inner8 Inner8

Philosophical and thematic ambition is on the increase in 21st century techno and electronic music, but this on its own isn’t a guarantor of strong results: it still takes careful craftsmanship and deep personal commitment in order to bind these things to music which does not simply sound like ‘hard work,’ or like intellectual exhibitionism for its own sake. Daniele Antezza, with his past work in Dadub, is one artist who holds out promise to counteract this trend: he has already shown an ability to be rigorous in technique while still creating sonic results that entice with their ambiguity. His newest project, Inner8, also relies on such a paradoxical approach to sound, and in fact uses certain philosophical and existential paradoxes as the prima materia of the project. For example, Antezza reminds us with the album’s track sequencing – beginning with “Eudaemonia” and following with “Daimon Anthem” – of the shared etymology that makes the classical state of collective virtue also a “demonic” one. The project name itself, as per Antezza, has much to do with exploring the concept of eternal recurrence (note the kinship of the “8” to an infinity symbol). It therefore calls upon from all the different modes of human inquiry – from the spiritual to the mathematical – that have investigated this concept.

From the outset, Inner8 provides a heady mix of both contemplation and action, of esoteric and exoteric elements. Eastern devotional chant, processed drones, palpably phasing electronics and other indistinct ephemera from the undulating background against which seriously dense mid-tempo rhythms – not beholden to any specific ‘dance’ genre – work their magic.

At its core, Inner8 is a much-needed project in the contemporary art / media lanscape. Its distrust of simple “givens” in everything from politics to aesthetics, and its ability to find beauty even in those areas where truth cannot be attained, provide an excellent schematic for a debut album and for many interesting discussions to follow.