Gaudi - Magnetic album review

Stellar cast play stellar space music

Gaudi - Magnetic album artwork

You can trust Louder Our experienced team has worked for some of the biggest brands in music. From testing headphones to reviewing albums, our experts aim to create reviews you can trust. Find out more about how we review.

Given access to the library of multitrack master tapes of the RareNoise Records output, London-based composer Daniele Gaudi dug deep into the vaults and constructed something entirely new and different from the fabric and materials there.

Emphatically not remixes of existing music, this is perhaps more reminiscent of the spirit of Bill Laswell mix translations where one element is grafted onto another. Thus there are some impressive virtual line-ups fashioned from sessions that included players such as Laswell; Killing Joke’s Ted Parsons; Buckethead; P-Tree’s Colin Edwin; Crimson’s Pat Mastelotto and Tony Levin; Japan’s Steve Jansen; Roger Eno; and Eric Mouquet, better known as Deep Forest. With much of the album’s eight tracks inculcated with an infectious dance-infused electronica, Gaudi’s compositions emanate a ponderous solemnity that burrows deep into the consciousness. However, it’s the beguiling sonic space where the heart of this album resides. Resonating in cavernous, bespoke settings, Gaudi’s finely wrought production variously conjures echoing dub interiors, shimmering stadium-sized environs and intimate arbours. An attractive, compelling space for the head.

Sid Smith

Sid's feature articles and reviews have appeared in numerous publications including Prog, Classic Rock, Record Collector, Q, Mojo and Uncut. A full-time freelance writer with hundreds of sleevenotes and essays for both indie and major record labels to his credit, his book, In The Court Of King Crimson, an acclaimed biography of King Crimson, was substantially revised and expanded in 2019 to coincide with the band’s 50th Anniversary. Alongside appearances on radio and TV, he has lectured on jazz and progressive music in the UK and Europe.  

A resident of Whitley Bay in north-east England, he spends far too much time posting photographs of LPs he's listening to on Twitter and Facebook.