Growth by Matteo Uggeri

"This is, by far, the most emotionally moving album I've made in my life so far. I mean for me, when I listen to it. This is most probably because it's the only record I've actually 'played' in real time, although I did it only on my usual and sole instrument, the laptop. It's also the only album that does not feature any other musician. I'm alone. But at the same time, once again, I didn't create any sound, nor record anything. Each song is sample-based.

The idea came from the fact that, often, when listening to my favorite piano pieces, there's a specific moment, a little sequence of notes and chords, when I really feel the emotions behind the hands that move on the keyboard. I always feel like I want some more of that, more of such specific momentum. That's why I grabbed piano songs or short operas, or even piano recordings from friends (that I will not mention), got those few notes, sampled, looped and played with them for a few minutes, adding simple effects that didn't affect much the timbre, such as delay and reverb, or some resonator at times. I turned my knobs and moved the mouse until I was happy with the final result, usually in very few attempts, as the original material was always great in itself. And I never ever touched the tracks with additional mixing or other adjustments afterwards.

This was in 2019, one year after producing my previous album, "My Happiest Consumption" (issued by Midira later in 2023), that sounded totally different and was based on toy organ, trumpet, cello, electronics and field recordings. Both are part of a series that began in 2013 with "The Next Wait" (released on Infraction in 2019), where there were also vocals, guitars and, well, piano.

These records are my personal way of coping with the processes of life, since when a child is going to be born, passing through the happy consumption of caring, then observing the incredible process of transformation that goes on and on with their growth. A growth that is also my own. In this sense, this album explores this mysterious process in all its facets through the abstraction of piano notes."

Matteo Uggeri is an Italian visual designer and composer from Milan.

He invests himself in sound poetry of everyday life, organized around a vast array of personal field recordings and melodic compositions meticulously arranged in a story-telling way.

He's part of the duo Starlight Assembly along with Dominic Appleton and he plays in Sparkle in Grey, Open to the Sea and The Last Five Minutes.

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