Chiaia Lovers is a new and slightly mysterious label based in Napoli and during the summer of 2019, they released the La Struttura della Magia 12” from Prince Ozay, a well known producer from the modern Neapolitan scene and one of my absolute favorite artists, who here chooses to operate anonymously by donning the musical alias of Gurdjieff. I won’t spoil the secret, but there are some rather obvious clues, from the use of the word “Chiaia” to the playful artwork to the music itself, which is a rather distinctive and totally mesmerizing celebration of balearic eclecticism, cinematic adventure, and mediterranean romance. Indeed, across the four tracks, Prince Ozay leads the mind through multi-colored musical universes, wherein paranoid braindance breaks and melodic IDM textures are raced around by spaceage fusion pianos, congas splash through tide pools and anchor a Rhodes-dominated slice of cabana jazz, kosmische percolations and new age crystals float within oceans of static, and windswept acoustic guitar romanticisms wander beneath canopies of synthetic starlight.
Prince Ozay - La struttura della magia (Chiaia Lovers, 2019)
In “Sarmoung,” snake tail oscillations filter as a manic braindance breakbeat rushes in, carried on wobbling basslines and sickly sub stabs. Winds of white noise surround hyperspeed hi-hats and the rhythms nervously pull in and out while elsewhere, aqueous vapors are carried in from some celestial sea…these FM waveforms and currents of mermaid mesmerism hovering above the frenetic IDM beat mechanics. Flutey electronics blow tones of aquamarine, machine claps rocket through the spectrum, and ambient house chords bring touches of rave splendor and chill-out euphoria while sub bass pulsations jack and jerk. There are moments where the melodic atmosphere disperse, leaving behind crazed rhythm expanses, jazzy organ chord mutations, psychotic bassline slides, and blasts of galactic gas. And during these truly jaw-dropping climaxes, synthesized fusion pianos rain down from the sky like starbeams, with notes warbling and bending under subtle acid filtering while neon-hued ecstasy tracers glide in support. The library jazz rhythms and reverb-soaked conga flourishes of “Ultima Caccia” sound suspiciously like Giuliano Sorgini’s 1974 composition of the same name, making me think Prince Ozay fed the track into his sampler to form the basis for an all new balearic adventure. Muted e-pianos paint the mix in colors of some romantic sunset, moving between smoldering chord patterns and sparkling gemstone leads while ride cymbals shimmer like light against the surface of the sea. Sexual scats and orgasmic breaths are created from puffs of drum verb and as the track progresses, it increasingly invites visages of some cabana lounge band scoring the motions of a cinematic sundown ritual…shades drawn and bopping smoothly on that island jazz pulse as the horizon explodes with color.
“Stelle Marine” opens the B-side and sees metallic cloudforms glowing with a sickly sheen as they move in and out like yogic breath. Galactics lasers ascend over dripping fluids and hyperspeed arpeggiations fade in from the depths, with Berlin school patterns dancing like new age starlight as they run and up and down the scale at breathtaking clip. Harpsichord tones are transformed into minimalist percolations while flowing through infinite echo chains and elemental metals of alien origin hover in the background. Clouds of static generated from buzzing insect wings phase wildly, crystalline fingers crawl across mental membranes, and dramatic cut-off sweeps morph the kosmische arps from gemstone shimmer into a cyborg spider dance while elsewhere, galactic vapors slowly subsume the stereo field, with the arps struggling to break through a blistering wall of space age resonance. And eventually, the whole mix is destroyed by industrial machine droning. Closer “Portinatx” starts with acoustic guitar filigree, romantic steel string runs, and six-string arpeggiations landing like the warmth of the morning sun. The vibe is rustic and pastoral…as if scoring a lonely drifter wandering the plains, with the ocean seen far in the distance…its surface refracting bits of sunshine into a blinding flash. At some point, FM crystals start raining down from a bright blue sky, with chiming synth starscapes, liquid runs up the scale, and melodies evoking a 1980s Napoli paradise. The mix of folksy guitar balearica and futuristic synthesis pulls the mind towards progressive rock, though Prince Ozay always keeps things peaceful and awash in seaside warmth, and towards the end, music box electronics flutter over the mix…these virtual piano runs and subdued lullaby atmospherics that create compelling melodic contrasts as they play off the psychfolk guitar motions.
(images from my personal copy)
