Coming from Paris, Maddrigal is known as a sound explorer that likes to mix different techniques, from synthesizer sounds to field recordings altered by granular synthesis and other different processes and effects. His major influences are cinema and painting as his compositions are known to be hugely visual. In music, Alice Coltrane and Oneohtrix Point Never are on the top of the list of the ones who had a greater influence on his work.
Words by Marco Guerra
Discovered via http://musosoup.com
He made his debut with “Blacklight” EP, in 2019. Since then, he has released one more EP (“Essence / Lack thereof...”, 2021) and “pneuma”, his latest single and the subject of this review.
As I listened to the first few seconds of “pneuma”, there is a kind of Latin flavor that comes to my mind. The song starts with what seems to be a nylon string classical guitar sound, probably sampled, and therefore all the progression of the track is built around that sound. The composition is made by layers and right after we have a futuristic synthesizer sequence chord combined with the bass and also with a celestial pad. All this together is served with extraordinary elegance, and major production skills that offer the listener both an organic and sophisticated experience to the ears. Massive!