Hailing from Bassano del Grappa, Luigi Pianezzola, the versatile Italian instrumentalist and composer known for his contributions to The Soft Moon, I Am Titor, and Bruuno, is forging ahead on a new path with his fresh solo endeavour, TORBA. Pianezzola is drawn to the mysterious intricacies of music and the innovative possibilities it presents. This project showcases the creative ethos of his artistic talent.
In an era defined by pandemic-induced solitude, Pianezzola turned inward with TORBA, finding creative stimulus in his studio’s isolation. Drawing from the discord of the period, he meticulously sculpted a series of compositions.
Post-quarantine, Pianezzola unveiled an evocative, chilling work reminiscent of the darkest corners of industrial music. TORBA’s musical creations provoke profound emotional reactions, with their haunting melodies and distorted undertones. While challenging to pin down to a single genre, his work authentically channels the core of dark industrial tones with his first offering, a grinding, visceral track called “Papers”. The hypnotic single melds the grind of machinery with eerie melodies in a manner both disconcerting and utterly captivating.
The poetic lyrics of Papers, hewn in eerie saw synthwaves so rough and rusty they could cause tetanus, serve as a haunting meditation on dislocation and existential estrangement. The recurrent imagery of “the door” evokes a threshold between presence and absence, hinting at both physical departure and spiritual disconnect. This profound sense of detachment, while phrases like “my shadow faints” and “nothing to hide” suggest a fading identity and a desire for transparency. The construction of paper towers hints at transient human endeavours. Throughout, there’s a melancholic yearning for an elusive place of acceptance, where “denied people go”, a refuge that remains just out of reach.
Accompanying the single is an arresting black-and-white visual narrative set in a mysterious manour house, dripping with both opulence and peril. Under the co-direction of Jacopo Dall’Agnol and Luigi Pianezzola, viewers are placed in a disconcerting in-between realm that aptly mirrors the unsettling nuances of solitude and the surrealism of the subconscious. Like a Magritte painting, the quiet solemnity of the figures is as unsettling and nightmarish as the space itself – a masterpiece in cinematography from director of photography José Ambioris Cruz.
Watch the video for “Papers” below:
Papers, like the rest of the upcoming EP from TORBA, encapsulates the whirlwind of emotions felt during those isolating times of the pandemic, exploring themes of temporality, repetition, and solitude.
Pre-save the EP here.
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