Rome-based electronic producer Luigi Tozzi has spent the last few years cultivating a reputation as a name to watch in deep techno circles, his lush productions expertly balancing tribal techno rhythms with the more emotional side of ambient music. In the wake of recent releases on Hypnus Records, this latest 12” EP ‘Mefite’ on Mental Modern sees Tozzi offering up two new tracks alongside three consistently strong remixes. More than anything, the music here sees Tozzi crafting deep futurist techno along the lines of Jeff Mills and Dopplereffekt that sounds like the inner workings of the Large Hadron Collider as the various elements cycle around each other, the end result frequently being as lulling as it is propulsive.
Title track ‘Mefite’ opens proceedings with a rush of pulsating kickdrums and flickering featherlike snares, before coldly eerie ambient synths gradually begin to unfurl and urgently flitting Morse code-style tones interlock with the rhythms, heightening the sense of drama amidst the icy fog as the beats relentlessly hammer along. By comparison, The Gods Planet’s remix of the same track gets more spacious whilst also injecting more of a bass presence into the mix as ominous droning notes lurk in the background behind flexing 4/4 techno rhythms and a burbling 303 line, in what’s easily one of the most hypnotically streamlined yet economically stripped-back highlights of this EP.
On the flipside, ‘Attis’ sends galloping techno rhythms rolling through an unsettling mist of trailing minor key drones and twinkling synthetic textures, the track reaching for your third eye even as it plummets further through monochrome darkness, before Claudio PRC’s reworking drops the pace slightly, allowing the tumbling rhythms more space to roll amidst the vaporous layers of ambient synths, the slow repetitive thud of the kickdrums taking on a hypnotic feel as the track fades into the horizon. All up, this is an impressive EP that sees Tozzi deftly balancing dancefloor muscularity with deep emotional ambience.
