Track By Track: Andrea – Ritorno

The tail end of last week marked the release of a new album from Andrea, a beautiful LP titled "Ritorno".

The release came off the back of an extensive period touring both as a DJ and a live act and reflects a wonderful assortment of chaotic emotions, some paired and mismatched in any one moment. The music featured across the course of the album is reflective of some of these experiences, channeling moments from the dancefloor alongside that of personal reflections. 

In Andrea's own style, he draws upon dreamy soundscapes, strings, wild roaming pads and low driven percussion to create a body of work which is altogether whole and as much representative of him as an individual as anything else. 

Released on Ilian Tape, we asked Andrea to talk us through the record…

Attimo

This track was originally recorded with a drum pattern and was positioned more towards jungle. The melodies and layered chords felt like they could maintain the rhythm, without percussion and I liked the idea of an ambient track as the intro for the album. In my live sets I often play the drum version with an accelerated bpm.

SKLYN

At the beginning I worked on two separate tracks which both contained the same pad. Later the idea crossed my mind to connect them and use the result as an atmospheric intro and percussive verse to create two distinct moments within the same track.

LS September

This was one of the last tracks I recored as the title might indicate, since I composed it in late September (2019). Autumn was approaching and I was accompanied by the usual feeling of the summer ending with all the nice memories of the holidays. While the drum pattern came out pretty fast I worked across one entire night to find a melody that could express the melancholic feeling. Once I found the right approach, all the other strings came almost automatically.

TrackQY

The idea of this track began by jamming with different drum patterns arranged on a draft Ableton project. While developing it, I had the feeling it could work with a dry and metallic sound, so I didn’t add any melody beside the bass lines. Last summer I first played this track in a DJ set with a positive reaction on the dancefloor, so I arranged to add it to my live set and started playing it in almost every set from that point on.

Reinf

When developing this track I used a similar approach to that of 'TrackQY' but this time I tried to experiment with different techniques, adding more influences from different genres that I usually would not combine within my sound.. In general, I usually add melodic elements, but in this case I felt satisfied by the vocal sample and the rougher presence of the drums and the bass.

LG_Amb

Usually, I start a track with drums. But this time I made an exception and followed an alternative workflow. Everything started from the main lead, followed by the pads. All the other sounds came after, especially the percussion. Not every track was titled with a special meaning, for this and some other ones I simply kept the original project name as I felt somehow attached to them.

Drumzzy

Different to all the other tracks that were planned and made with a specific idea in mind. This was an improvised studio jam with a drum machine, almost starting from zero. This was the very last track I recorded for the album, I actually made an alternative version with more melodic elements but this one was a better fit to the albums tracklist after all.

Backdrops

Whilst working on this track I tried to combine different emotions, like a balanced contrast between sorrow and hope. I didn’t feel one of those particular feelings while I produced this track, but I had this concept in mind and wanted to express it somehow. I think on one side that it reflects a a sense of sadness and struggle whilst on the other side that there is hope for something happy and positive to happen. I tried to combine the two floating emotions with a steady rhythm and a hazy atmosphere. I titled this track with the thought of these feelings in the background, influencing every action we do.

Liquid

Whilst travelling, waiting at the airport or whilst being seated on the aeroplane, I always try to work on a new draft on Ableton, to develop it later on in my studio. I created this track in a period when I was constantly trying to go further with my sound and so it was another experiment with the intent of combining different influences into my usual sound. The title “Liquid” comes from the sound of the strings that remind me of an underwater environment.

Isabelle’s String

It was spring when I recorded this track it and it reminds me of walking in the park with the trees and blossoms all around. I have a special connection to it because of the melody and the strings, so I decided to name after a special person.

Twin Forests

I was listening to Alt-J and found some good inspiration for an acoustic track. I wanted to create something similar but with my own touch, producing something that would have sounded more natural and organic. So I tried to combine acoustic drums and percussions with my usual sound made of pads and strings.The connection to the nature is something I tried to maintain in almost every track and also the titles.

Lana

I like dreamy sounds and generally try to incorporate them into all my tracks. When I designed the bell sound, I immediately imagined something catchy. It was winter when I recorded it and “Lana” is the Italian word for “wool”. It reminds me of something comfortable and cozy and this the feeling I have when I listen to this track.

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