HEINRICH DRESSEL

"Vicolo Cieco" marks a slight change in the Heinrich Dressel sound. The Automat, Kraftwerk, Goblin, and Tangerine Dream influences are still obvious, but this album shows Heinrich Dressel expanding on the sounds and attempting to create his own unique sound. I wouldn't exactly say that the unique sound has been entirely reached yet, but it is definitely emerging and will probably sound prominent on the next album.

"Bodoni 1977" starts the album off similar to the music on the previous albums, but much slower and remarkably less sinister sounding. The synths seem to be used a bit more vibrantly than before also. This track is decently accessible, featuring a steady beat that can encourage you to move your body in rhythm. "Fuda Da Fossombrone" is the first of the more- unique sounding tracks, featuring a bassy staccato groove on synths and some xylophone type melody. Some fading synths flow in and out of the sound, and blubbery bass tones vibrate throughout. There's also a very bright sounding synth melody that is high in the mix and reminds me of the abrasive electronic sound on Brian Eno's "Sky Saw". "Assalto A Campo Boario" is a very industrial sounding track with a vibrating pulse-like synth beat and a very dominant organ. "Vicolo Cieco" is another industrial sounding track that follows a bleak lullaby- type melody with an eclectic beat. "Retaliation" is a track that sounds like gloomy "Radio- Activity" Kraftwerk era laid over a dreamy Schulze track.

This album also features some remixes of the original tracks on this album, which are equally enjoyable variations. It seems that from the remixes and the differences between the tracks that Heinrich Dressel is on his way to experimenting more and developing his own unique sound, which I very much look forward to in the future. "Vicolo Cieco" is a great addition to the Heinrich Dressel catalog.

"Escape from the Hill" is another '80s Goblin-meets-Kraftwerk horror-soundtrack sounding album by Heinrich Dressel. One thing that sets Heinrich Dressel apart from other progressive electronic artists is the urgency and bassiness of his music. After a beautiful mid-paced ambient track, "The Bright Side", the next track immediately sets off on a bassy pulse and a heavy percussive beat that drives the song mechanically through an eerie scape ("Escape the Hill"). "Porticus Aemilia" follows the same example, but intensifies the heaviness and foreboding quality. "Lost Into the Horrea Sulpicia" is similar in feel, but has kind of an underwater tone. "Sailing from Ripa Grande" is a very Kraftwerkian track, sounding mostly like something that could've been inspired by the music from "The Man-Machine". "The Dark Side" ends the album on a near-ambient industrial siren sound with a steady bass and percussion beat that lead to the conclusion of the album.

I'm a big fan of this urgent, retro sound that Heinrich Dressel works with. This album, among Heinrich Dressel's other work, tends to sound like darker versions of music by Automat, Kraftwerk, and '80s Goblin. If you're into that kind of thing, then definitely give Heinrich Dressel a listen.

"Completion Of The Amphoras Table" is an album that sounds almost like '80s Goblin, mostly the Phenomena soundtrack, and Heinrich Dressel pulls this Italian-horror-esque sound very well. There are also some obvious hints of Kraftwerk here, but that isn't a prominent influence in all of the tracks. Heinrich Dressel mostly uses repetitive Tangerine Dream type synth lines with a droning background that really sets an uneasy ambience through the listening experience. This is a rather dark and cold album, and has very accessible percussive back beats that would make this great music for driving around at night or for running, except the dark and robotic atmosphere might tinge the comfortability of the situation.

This is a very well done, quite retro-sounding modern progressive electronic effort, and the mechanical nature of this music really forebodes possible robotic domination, at least that is a vibe that I get from listening to this album. Very good stuff indeed.

After two seriously classy retro-ish electronic efforts, Valerio Lombardozzi (man behind the peculiar sound of H.D and owner of the independant label Minimal Rome) is back with a beautifuly sonic-cryptical ambient offering. Contrary to the two previous efforts, we could notice that this last is much more focused on spaced out-abstract sound textures built on extended synthscapes and micromal variations, consequently Completion.... is less punchy and moving but more magnetic and static. The opening theme develops a grandiose-slowly absorbing musical sound tapestry that introduces the listener into an unique world of intimate revelations and evocative dreaminess. This could be appreciated as the missing link between the macrocosmical splendor of Klaus Schulze's crystal lake and the haunted-minimal scoring of John Carpenter's prince of darkness. the second track Drafting With The Tiber Dwellers carries on the path of the Berlin School of electronics but with the incursion of very active hypno pulsating oscillations and always with this typically stylish propulsive sound. The 20th mystery is closer to H.D unique colourful electronic orchestration, combining ultra-mysterious sound waves and plastic-repetitive electronic bass patterns. Same pretty efficient ingredients in the menacing, shadowy and robotic Planning the final talbe. The album closes the musical journey with a relaxing electronic romance floating into deep space. Highly recommended, this album gets the elements to ravish fans of underground electronic music, whatever the sensibility (Kosmische psychedelica, futurist-pop, ambient impressionism...)

After a really promising debut effort deeply inspired by proggy eerie soundtracks for old school B grade movies, Valerio Lombardozzi resurrected his project with an explosive electro-synthesised medley untitled Escape From the Hill. As usual the musical signature tends to deliver a multifacetered-intriguing tapestry of electronic sounds. Escape From the Hill is a breathtaking release wich reveals high quality pulsating electronic standards, bringing to the fore super-catchy hypno grooves, menacingly haunted micromal textures and kick ass spacious doom-like melodies. The self title track is an amazing synthesis of sounds, featuring a large spectrum of effects, treatments and freaked out electro vibes. The sci-fi / spectral minimal disco atmosphere which prevails on Mons Testaceum (2006) is also delicately introduced in this second release. The ambience is obvisouly cinematic with static looping pulses and charming sonic explorations, sometimes sounding like tense horror movie scores by Goblin, Fabbio Frizzi, Stelvio Cipriani or John Carpenter. The Dark Side closes the album with a mesmeric-esoteric trancelike ambience fixated into a bleak cinematic grandeur. Escape From The Hill is a great follow-up to Mon Testaceum and an aboslutely enthralling retro-spacey electronic album.

Valerio Lombardozzi (a.k.a Heinrich Dressel) is the founder of the independant label MinimalRome and a key figure in the development of late soundtracky-kinetic electronic excursions. Mons Restaceum is a first promising effort which announces the coming of electronic "pearls" (Escape from the Hill). The musical instrumentation is already well defined, providing achieved micromal electronic soundscapes largely built on magnetic electro arpeggios and luminously evocative synth sequences. Welcome to mons testacuem begins the musical travel with an enigmatic-amorphous electronic dreaminess sustained by extended synth waves and the vocoder. Journey Through The Caves Under The Hill features driven electronic arpeggios, a rather moody, menacing and propulsive intersidereal affair. The following tracks carry on the original association between hypnotic-driven arpeggios and stylish-weird cinematic synthesisers. Somewhere hidden between fabbio frizzi's typical soundtracks for B-grade shocking horror flicks, the Berlin kosmische electronic school (Tangerine Dream, Michael Hoenig, Robert Schroeder...) with the add of rumbling cinematic retro-ish grooves. Highly recommended for fans of electro-robotic ballets and eerie cinematic ambiences.