Ex.Hale – Subharmonic Exercises [Soft Chroma Recordings]

The Industrial Complexx recording project began to take shape thanks to the musical criteria of the first artists who released their work on the label. There are some names that stand out, not because of their number of participations, but because their style brought a much wider and richer sonic dimension. The list of artists who have helped with their particular musical vision to make the label grow is long, but if we must synthesise in just a few of them, perhaps three important names would be the anonymous project Group and the two Italian producers Amedeo Martini, with his two akas AM.MA and Wanderwerkstatt, and Francesco Presotto, who has released a couple of albums with his solo project Søulless, and another two albums with Moral Excerpt and Agent 15.

During this most recent phase, Francesco Presotto has prioritised his solo work with Ex.Hale, and this is not just another project, but each of Francesco’s projects has been nourished by its own ecosystem and has evolved independently from the influence of industrial music.

Last September Ex.Hale released Exponential Space, a single which inaugurated the catalogue of his new label Soft Chroma Recordings. Three months later Ex.Hale signs a second release on his label, this time it is an album in which the Italian producer expands his more organic and sensorial side without abandoning his roots.

Subharmonic Exercises opens with Hyperactive, an ideal track to introduce the listener to an arid terrain, irradiated with particles and complex so that any form of life can coexist within this system, however, the author manages to humanize each cut and with Hyperactive both approaches are mixed between the abruptness of some sound textures and the encouraging melody. Summer in Oslo follows a pattern quite close to the previous cut, as the author combines the metallic and industrial harshness with the warmth offered by the harmonic patterns. With Life Cycle, Ex.Hale places us in a fertile environment, hopeful and full of life, as its soft sonic background, together with the constancy of some rhythmic parts, favour the development of a balanced habitat.

Shivering, as the name suggests, shows an insecure landscape, with an unstable atmosphere that transforms its condition as it evolves from a gloomy but peaceful setting to a landscape that is completely dismembered. Subharmonic is also a track with a style that is intuitive due to its title, as the chords seem to emerge from the underworld, although in this case we are dealing with an elaborate combination and clash of frequencies. Story Untold closes the album with a long atmospheric journey that emerges from the underbelly.

Release date: December 15th, 2023.