- On The Early Sounds Collective Vol.I, Massimo Di Lena, Rio Padice and Leskin inaugurated their new label, Early Sounds, with a split EP. Di Lena sounded at odds with his cohorts: the dark, mechanical slant of "Off The Chain" was worlds apart from their super-smooth, deep house contributions. Left to his own devices on Hardlife, Early Sounds' second release, Di Lena sets about further exploring this techno terrain.
Setting motorised shots of electricity over a framework of rough kicks and snares, "Hardlife" wastes little time in getting down to the nitty-gritty. Recalling the clinical impact of Boddika & Joy Orbison's "Mercy," it's a devastatingly no-nonsense dance-floor moment. "Halfway Equality" is housier, combining glitchy synth melodies with lolloping kicks to form a scatty but endearing whole. Thick drums and an annoyingly incessant bassline on "Insnty" place Di Lena back on the straight and narrow, albeit with intermittent flashes of his more radical, experimental side. "Fireflora" is equally as repetitive but better captures the essence of loop-based techno. Centring on a tough-but-funky kick/bass combo, the record's jittery reiteration of the words "white Christmas" are an unnerving take on Louis Armstrong's fireside classic.
トラックリストA1 Hardlife
A2 Halfway Equality
B1 Insnty
B2 Fireflora