FUKINSEI
mAtter [MATTER014] | December 2018 | BUY

Asymmetry or irregularity. The idea of controlling balance in a composition via irregularity and asymmetry is a central tenet of the Zen aesthetic.”
mAtter presents Fukinsei (不均斉), the fourth solo work of Luigi Turra over the last 11 years and is published two years after the sophisticated “Alea” (released by LINE). Fukinsei takes a more radical approach to the research of the perception of sound through silence and it does so through a modern electroacoustic implant which expresses a brilliant crossover between contemporary sound and ancient Japanese music tradition. Stylized Shakuhachi sounds interact with harsh textural noises, while bright sounds of diapasons and whispers of the human voice are broken by raw guitar notes to crush and sculpt with abrasiveness every aesthetic convention of symmetry and regularity.
A work by an Artist without compromises, tense and dynamic, that in its radical language supports the changes in the surrounding reality and becomes aware of the adaptation of the here and now.

Composed between January 2016 and March 2018

”完全にはない無限の可能性”である不均斉は、均等ではないその歪みや完全を超えた不完全な美を示す、日本の美しい文化を司る要素の一部であり、またその歴史的な表現に影響を受け、西洋の楽器や、ラップトップによってエディットされた音で、表現されています。ギターの響き、サインウェーブ、ヴォイス・サンプル、しかしそこに配置されているものは、グリッド状に配置される音ではなく、響きと” 間” に集中しています。

REVIEW

Not only Luigi Turra belongs to the restricted circle of Italian artists deserving my respect, he’s also one of the rare persons who can pronounce the word “Zen” without eliciting the urge of throwing up in yours truly. Not a negligible quality, in the age of superficial quotes from books that aren’t authentically understood, in turn becoming cheap Facebook posts. Furthermore, omniscient hominids in search of attention conveniently forget that Zen is an inborn condition; it is not readable or teachable. Basically, it’s a classic case of “some folks got it, some folks don’t”.Let’s not digress, though. Fukinsei comprises nine tracks conveying a sense of naked completeness. Turra’s heterogeneous creations revolve around an unambiguous compositional axis; sounds, noises, voices from unknown places are masterfully collected and systematized. Each piece thrives on a commendable balance between the transitoriness of true silence (another endangered species in the current history of humanity) and the disguised educational features of most everything that is not.The passage of time is still acknowledged in these environments, justified by implicit rules that defy the asinine “explanations” typical of Western philostophers. Turra appears to be in total control of the unfolding events, showing a profound knowledge of the harmonic richness of emissions that uneducated people would describe as mere disturbances. This music treats a shakuhachi, a humming quietness, amplified subsonics and objects bouncing on the strings of a guitar exactly in the same way.The reason behind the continuing incomprehension of life’s essentials resides in the inability of listening, an act that should be deprived of the impulse of superimposing ourselves upon what is happening, or being told by someone else. Not everybody stops in muteness to mentally absorb a bell tower’s wavering reverberations perceived at remote distance; many unfortunates consider the barking of a dog, or blackbirds singing at sunrise, as disruptions of a so-called tranquillity. Turra attempts to develop a few seeds of authentic consciousness via brief sightings retaining a necessary degree of physicality. They need to be stored in that area of memory that refuses the narcissistic exposure of a nescience dressed in wisdom clothes.
(Massimo Ricci – Touching Extremes)

L’imperfezione come opportunità, non generatrice di ansia ed insicurezza ma elemento virtuoso adatto a trovare un’armonia differente ed inattesa fatta di ponderata sproporzione. Affonda le radici nei precetti dello Zen, ricondotti però alla stringente contemporaneità, la ricerca sonora di Luigi Turra, esplorazione consapevole e rigorosa qui condensata a dare forma al suo quarto lavoro sulla lunga distanza.
Seguendo le logiche della estetica orientale, ciò che si disvela è una raffinata sequenza di microcosmi risonanti improntati al ricorso del gesto esatto e misurato, non scaturente da una logica stringente e vincolante bensì incline ad assecondare un’istintualità vivida capace di cogliere bellezza nell’irregolare e nella giustapposizione di particelle contrastanti.
Immersi in un silenzio che ne amplifica la portata, risonanze metalliche e stille elettroacustiche si confrontano con echi ambientali e il suono trasfigurato dello shakuhachi seguendo oblique traiettorie strutturate secondo uno schema tripartito. Incastonate tra due indefiniti frammenti vocali, ulteriore componente che modula l’evolversi del tracciato, le due sezioni iniziali che occupano la prima metà del disco vedono una preminenza dei vuoti utilizzati quale elemento per definire un pieno rarefatto capace di imporsi come presenza al tempo stesso profondamente materica eppure leggera ed evanescente. Maggiore densità che assume le sembianze di flebili bordoni finemente modulati caratterizza i cinque paragrafi della terza parte che vede susseguirsi vaporose sospensioni intaccate da apici ascensionali e improvvise cesure.
A mantenersi inalterata è l’aura contemplativa che pervade ogni singolo istante e la capacità di lasciarsi guidare dalla materia sonora seguendo percorsi inconsueti e profondamente stimolanti alla scoperta di un universo sensoriale fertile e stimolante.
(Beppe Trotta – SoWhat)

Two years after his “Alea” release on the LINE imprint, Luigi Turra returns with a collection of new explorations in microsound on the Tokyo-based mAtter label.  Fukinsei finds the Italian sound artist continuing his investigations into abstract structures of lowercase sound, silence and the delicate balance between the two.
This is a highly stylized approach to electroacoustic composition, with single sounds placed very deliberately into the musical narrative.  Great care has been taken to counterbalance tiny sine waves, electrical pulses and subtle synth drones with acoustic sounds such as guitar, field recordings and shakuhachi.  The shakuhachi is a traditional Japanese bamboo flute, and the sounds sourced from this instrument are the most compelling on this record.  Not only the notes produced from the flute, but the breaths of the player have been captured, processed and infused into these pieces.  The bright sine-like tones of tuning forks have also been employed to add resonance to these recordings, the decay of which leaves metallic vapour trails among the micro-edits and cut-ups.
The other sound source that needs to be addressed is the human voice, as the album begins with a whisper on “[Imperfection] I”.  Reminiscent of the work of ambient experimentalist Felicia Atkinson, these soft voices travel around the listener’s ears like exercises in ASMR.  Barely audible, the words are just out of reach, their meaning always elusive.  But the textures they generate are otherworldly, like communications from another dimension.  Second track, “[Imperfection] II”, blend sine tones, guitar, rattling found sounds and flute into a haunting whole bringing to mind images of the vibrancy of Japanese summer festivals.
The album is split into three themes:  Imperfection, Asymmetry and Abrasion, although the track titles use the French spelling, as mentioned in regard to the first two pieces.  The next two tracks, “[Asymetrie] I” and “[Asymetrie] II”, make use of the shakuhachi’s wobbliness in output.  This produces weird melodic phrases, all bathed in the instrument’s woody tone that sound very unconventional by Western standards, placing the music in a uniquely Japanese context.  There is a fascination in Japanese aesthetics by western sound artists, that connects to Zen-like notions of space, patience and minimalism. The sonic interpretations of these ideas make for interesting listening. 
The next suite of tracks represents a slightly harsher approach, but still restrained and controlled.  “[Abrasivité] I – V” finds Turra letting the drones escalate in volume and density, and the breaths of the shakuhachi player more prominent.  But despite these elements, these pieces fit perfectly into the overall flow of the album, and I think the titles refer to the processing more than the resulting audio.  Final track “[Abrasivité] V” begins with a loud guitar twang, probably the most intense musical event on the album, and additional flute warbles interact with the guitar strums in ever so slightly jarring ways.  This last piece feels like a jolt, a playful nudge to rouse the listener from the meditative state the preceding music had applied.
(Darren McLure – ToneShift)

“Asymmetry or irregularity. The idea of controlling balance in a composition via irregularity and asymmetry is a central tenet of the Zen aesthetic.”
mAtter presents Fukinsei (不均斉), the fourth solo work of Luigi Turra over the last 11 years and is published two years after the sophisticated “Alea” (released by LINE). Fukinsei takes a more radical approach to the research of the perception of sound through silence and it does so through a modern electroacoustic implant which expresses a brilliant crossover between contemporary sound and ancient Japanese music tradition. Stylized Shakuhachi sounds interact with harsh textural noises, while bright sounds of diapasons and whispers of the human voice are broken by raw guitar notes to crush and sculpt with abrasiveness every aesthetic convention of symmetry and regularity.
A work by an Artist without compromises, tense and dynamic, that in its radical language supports the changes in the surrounding reality and becomes aware of the adaptation of the here and now.
(Press Release by mAtter)

Attrazione Orientale su nuvole vaporose che concentriche ristabiliscono il primato sul cielo e sull’azzurro, ricoprendo di bianco suono percezioni e disillusioni di un tempo che non c’è più.
Torna Luigi Turra con un disco manipolato a dovere dove la forma canzone destrutturata qui concepita è pura energia da catalizzatore sonoro e ingombrante quanto basta per occupare l’etere di rumori metallici e odori di fumo in lontananza.
Chiavi di lettura molteplici permettono di entrare nel mondo del nostro attraverso una porta fatta di vetro e di pioggia, di piccoli passi ed essenzialità che non diventa mai rumore, ma che piuttosto intensifica visioni con punti di contatto e vicissitudini reali.
FUKINSEI è l’interessa che si sgretola lasciando carta abrasiva a correggere l’imperfezione. FUKINSEI è coraggio ad oltranza nell’oltrepassare i limiti che ci poniamo giorno dopo giorno.
Luigi Turra con questa prova si conferma sperimentatore aldilà delle apparenze mentali. Si conferma spettatore metafisico di una realtà inglobante, alterata, ma costruita e cesellata a dovere oltre ogni forma di banalità precostituita.
(Marco Zordan – IndiePerCui)