Spontaneous, abrasive and uninhibited, 'ULTRABODY' is a bold step into the unknown for Francesco Leali, a suite of distorted widescreen soundscapes and puckered soundsystem reductions that prioritize the joy of creation itself. The Italo-Canadian producer and composer has built up a sturdy reputation for himself over the last few years with a series of meticulously crafted and conceptually rigorous albums, EPs and collaborations. Last year's 'Let Us Descend', for example, was an obsessive deconstruction of religious themes that subverted compositional norms and quite understandably took time to conceptualize and systematize. In contrast, 'ULTRABODY' emerges from Leali's desire to challenge himself and think differently, to escape the self-doubt and burnout that all too often comes from compulsive writing and rewriting. This time around, Leali instead worked quickly and economically, refreshing his entire process by tackling radically different musical forms and trading neatness and constant revision for chaos, serendipity and raw, messy ingenuity.

For over two decades, Leali has been testing the boundaries of contemporary electronic music, working with world-class figures such as Italian pianist Ludovica Einaudi and British singer-songwriter Fink, and composing scores that have been presented at film festivals across the world. Leali was formally best known as one half of popular club duo CW/A and the co-owner of Parachute Records, and since 2019's 'Undergoddess', has worked primarily under his own name, producing noisy post-classical soundscapes and dark, exquisitely sculpted rhythmic experiments. And from opening track 'Hinder', it's clear that something's shifted; Leali's attention to detail, particularly in regards the sound design itself, is still remarkable, but there's an added sense of weightlessness in the grime-inspired "gliding squares" wobbles and clattering percussive punctuations. It's cinematic, noisy music, but it's not punishingly gloomy: when 'Immortal' flickers to life, its sonic outline of industrial scrapes, powdery Amen breaks and whooshing white noise is quickly broken by optimistic, trance-inspired arpeggios and euphoric pads.

Leali smudges a familiar 2-step rhythm on 'Drop Pt. I’, shifting his various processes in real-time to emphasize the texture of each element without losing the momentum, and this aspect is only clarified by the track's other two variations. Twisting the beat into a dystopian dubstep shuffle on the cavernous 'Drop pt.3’, Leali lays out all the ingredients more clearly on the first chapter, allowing listeners to pick apart his creative process in reverse. Danish power electronics dignitary Puce Mary lends her voice to the eerie beatless vignette 'Pry', and Leali takes the opportunity to suspend time for a moment, before he disfigures synth-heavy balearic ecstasy on the album's dynamic closer 'Metals'. 

 

Written, produced & mixed by Francesco Leali
Vocals on Pry by Puce Mary
Mastered by Francesco Fabris at Greenhouse Studios, Reykjavik, Iceland
Cover art by Francesco Merlini
Design & video by Roberto Rigon
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