There is a lot of initiative demonstrated on Seez and it's worth starting the conversation there. It's the latest album from Italian producer Herva and represents a new approach to the artist's traditional sample-based sound. Even though he started work on the album immediately after his previous release (2017's Hyper Flux, also on Planet Mu) the album took him until this year to finish. That's because he had something he needed to complete first, an entirely home-made suite of studio hardware. That's the understated marvel of Seez, everything you hear on the album is entirely original and the product of some device that Herva built himself. It took me a couple of listens to really pick up on it, but these grooves and sharp imprints have a hospitable quirk to them that feels like they are being led with care, first by hand, and then by habit, like an obedient pet that has taken well to its training. Each of these numbers feels like it was plucked from the ephemeral weave of Herva's brainwaves and gifted a physical presence in the form of a redolent, pellucid and variegated organic pattern that was tamed by rehearsal runs through a humble, homestyle obstacle course to the point where they bark and backflip in unison with their master's intentions, without him even having to utter a word (or even raise an eyebrow). I've heard plenty of experimental music that plays with a generous breadth of crystalline tones and motifs, but never one where the composer has felt so directly involved in a conversation with his tools, almost like there is a chain of telepathy between them. But I guess Seezing is believing.
