Review: Mai Mai Mai - Φ (Phi)

My love of the sounds coming out of Italy these days is no secret - so many great artists pushing the boundaries of music. I've written before about the whole 'Italian Occult Psychedelic' scene and one of the prime movers is the Boring Machines label, and one of the more globally well knwn artists is Mai Mai Mai (who have played the Liverpool Psych Festival in the past)....so when the two come together you know it's gonna be a class product! Mai Mai Mai is the solo project of Toni Cutrone, head honcho of that other great label No=Fi Recordings. 'Φ/Phi' is the third installment in his Mediterranean Trilogy, finishing what was started with 'Theta', also on Boring Machines, and 'Delta', on Yerevan.

'Φ/Phi' is definitely the darkest of the trilogy, as heard in the opening track 'ϕνυκτιπόλοις / Nuktipolois', a searing mix of harsh drones, snatches of spoken word and some ethnic sounding instrumentation courtesy of avant-folk instrumentalist Luca Venitucci on accordian. Under the drones you can just make out a pulsing beat and swathes of oscillating synths...it builds and builds until it becomes a glorious cacophony of armageddon proportions. 'μάγοις / Magois' starts, fittingly, with the sound of thunderclaps and driving rain before a gentle drone makes itself heard. A dense, wavering synth, deep enough to shake the speaker, briefly makes a cameo before making way for muted voices....and then an absolute jackhammer of a beat drops in and the track becomes pseudo-EBM - a trance-like beat and synths over the sound of heated voices....it's a monster! 'βάκχοις / Bakkois' opens with some hauntological chiming and another lush drone. The sound of waves lapping a shore give things a tranquil undercurrent which is counterpointed by another spoken word sample. The combination of the retro electronica, the hauntology content and gentle synth lines belie a sinister atmosphere and a deep sense of foreboding. 'λήναις / Lenais' takes the sound of static and transforms it into the building block of the track. Another deep beat provides a solid rhythm and the sound of ethnic chanting gives things a distinct eastern flavour.....if Cabaret Voltaire had ever collaborated with Muslimgauze, this would be the result...a fine example of experimental electronica with exotic overtones. 'μύσταις / Mustais' takes some primal, tribal drums and overlays them with some more exquisite drones and sub-industrial sounds, all mixed with treated chanting vocals...and the result is something special...this is my favourite track on the album, it sums up all that is good about the Italian scene at the moment....the clever juxtaposition of indigenous instruments with an experimental approach to electronica to produce something rich in atmosphere and ritualistic overtones...excellent stuff! The album is brought to a conclusion with ' ἄκεα / Akea', another track that cleverly mixes digital beat making with spoken word samples and shimmering percussion (courtesy of Lino Capra Vaccina on vibraphone, gong and percussion)...another standout track.

I knew I was going to like 'Φ/Phi' before I heard it....I loved the previous 2 in the trilogy and there would have had to have been a serious change in direction for this not to match. However, the album surprised me, in a good way. It is denser and darker, but also somehow more rigid than it's predecessors. As with all of his output, Mai Mai Mai is not always an easy listen - it's not the music you would put on when Great Aunt Mabel comes round for tea - but that is its strength...it is challenging and intelligent and there is real beauty in those harsh drones and experimental electronics if you take the time to really listen, and this is music that deserves to be listened to. 'Φ/Phi' is released on or around 21st October but pre-orders are up on the Boring Machines Bandcamp page here and a cassette version will be released by Not Not Fun.....go get it!