Aglaia: Essences referable to nothingness (Digital)

Product Description Aglaia: Essences referable to nothingness 1 Archaic echoes 2 The nature of light 3 Evening meadows 4 The grace and the three essences 5 Hidden levels Genres: Meditative, Sleep, Ambient, Electroacoustic Ambient RIYL: Alio Die, Nobuhiro Okahashi, Tim Hecker Aglaia is the musical project of Italian electro-acoustic sound sculptor Gino Fioravanti, begun around the turn of the century. His fifth Projekt release (and 79th album in all) reveals 90 minutes of peaceful and hypnotic deep ambient meditations. Mixing processed acoustic instruments like the harp and zither with subtle electronics, Aglaia utilizes the essence of Zen and Tantrism to weave musical fragments into a textural, mysterious mandala. Exposé, writing about Aglaia’s previous album: “[this type of music] typically comes off as ‘space music,’ in this case it’s far closer to forward-reaching world music… the only space here is the inner space one finds in deep meditation as the mind relaxes and the spirit wanders free.”   Gino reflects: The philosophical reference is to “emptiness,” the container of all reality. Zen proposes a simple, empty, sudden, sometimes delicate vision, always aware of the illusory nature of reality. In these pieces no sound remains too long. As if the musical events were all diluted in a substance, in a solvent.  The essences are the sensitive forces, the sounds and notes that flow from emptiness and return to emptiness. Everything, however, is also a praise to kundalini, the Tantric goddess who animates nature. Nature harks back to Pan and Siva, deities of forests and remote natural places. I sought inspiration from those woods and places animated by lights and short sound events.   In the first track, “Archaic echoes,” after a brief minimal and acoustic opening, I introduce classic electronic sounds, echoes and spatial reverbs. In this way acoustic and ambient music are placed side by side and alternate throughout the duration of the piece. “The nature of light” brings to life the lights and shadows of the woods; it is a dialogue between the known forces and those present in the shadows. “Evening meadows” is made of harps and sounds that suspend time. “The grace of the three essences” is meditative but above all dreamy, evocative. “Hidden levels” is perhaps the most linear and descriptive track but also filled with dews and reflections.  Projekt release: May 16, 2025