Banjo or Freakout, the dreampop project of Italian producer Alessio Natalizia, is the culmination of years of moonlit bedroom tune-crafting. Loops, feedback, and oddball recording techniques–capturing synthesizer riffs with a Dictaphone, for example–make the album feel lush, therapeutic, and unfamiliar: a tropical rainforest of sound. Shoegazey guitar samples, raspy percussion, and dense ambience complement Natalizia’s tender vocals–virtuosic work for a hobbyist.
This article first appeared in the May-June 2011 issue of Utne Reader.
