Fedele - No Mercy for Beginners

February 14, 2020 - Turbo Recordings

Fedele Ladisa is here with his debut solo release on Turbo Recordings, a glimpse back at the Good ‘Ole Years of electro that flowed forth from Turbo’s bulging well. Fedele has been part of the Italian trio Agents of Time for some time now, and their influence translates well into Fedele’s first lone foray. I do question though, who is the beginner? Is this Fedele’s beginning, or our own? Is anyone truly a beginner anymore or has the culmination of generations of creatives and visionaries (not to mention the internet) given us all non-beginner status? We may never acquire the mental reflection to ever know.

The project opens with ‘Riot Revolte,’ a straightforward banger drenched in digital resonator effects. Its sharp percussive elements pierce through the drippy beam and tube and membrane resonance to deliver stability in the near-chaos. A heavily distorted vocal grumbles menacingly; we cannot understand him and that frightens us. 

Acclaimed German producer/DJ DJ Hell takes over the reins with his take on ‘Riot Revolte,’ and we are immediately calmed: the fog of distortion has been lifted and we are greeted by the familiar tones of Tiga’s voice! Not just any of Tiga’s voices either, but the vocal track from 2004’s ‘Pleasure From the Bass.’ It’s an unquestionably fun track but with the addition of a similar bassline to ‘PFTB,’ it’s hard to distinguish this as a ‘Riot Revolte’ remix as opposed to a ‘PFTB’ remix. I suppose this does not matter in the grand scheme; I am here listening to this music and the music makes me feel the same regardless of the title. The orchestra synth lines that appear at the tail end of the piece felt out of place at first, but on subsequent listens they became my favorite part of the track by far.

‘Vampire Electronics’ deviates slightly from the first two tracks, throwing us into a dark forest full of nightmarish soft pads and sharp tonal drones. The percussive low tom/bassline that pops in is very catchy and serves opposite the dark atmosphere. The next bassline and synth combo comes in more pointed and slightly tongue-in-cheek, but I then again this track is called ‘Vampire Electronics.’ 

The three tracks that follow stick to the theme a little too closely, at times risking exposing the dark forest for the sound stage that it is. ‘Creature Speaks’ leans heavily on more distorted vocal arrangement, ‘Distorted Theory’ and ‘Back to the Rootz’ relying more on their aggressive rhythms and heavy use of audio effects. These aren’t poorly constructed pieces by any means, but they are not as strong as the first half of the EP. 

This isn’t your typical Valentine’s Day release, but it is a fun trip down the Days of Electro Tracks Past Path, and it has piqued my interest for more. 🍍