Schilling - Hella (2017)

@Apparel-Music return with the introduction of a brand new sub label - @Apparel-Tronic. The intention for this new division of sound is to shift focus towards UK-rooted Beats, Nu-Jazz, Downtempo and Jungle - a collection of styles the label like to term ‘Bliss-Beat’. This treasured and futile basis of influence gives rise to Giuseppe D'Alessandro a.k.a @KiSK and Ludovico Schilling @SCHiLLiNG6’s new project which they inaugurate with the ‘Hella’ LP from SCHiLLiNG himself: a collection UK-indebted dance tracks that meld influences from Jungle, Breaks and Hip Hop.

Originally born in Milan - Schilling relies on a process he likes to describe as ‘contamination’ of sound which entails the layering of field recordings and the sounds of his home environment with those of synths, real instruments and samples. This approach brands a clear stamp on his productions and enables him to create a truly singular strand of dance music and it’s this that glues together the 9 disparate tracks of Hella.

Moving from the cascading breaks of the LP’s introduction ‘Anarcoide’ to the woozy and textural ‘Black Lighter’ - the album begins to build a spectral mood as it progresses. Tracks such as ‘Flesh Is Weak’ and ‘Madting’ draw influence from the golden-era of Bristol’s Trip-Hop while tracks such as ‘Snooker Club’ and ‘Viejos’ delve into more caliginous, IDM territory. The result is a rich and varied collection that demonstrates Apparel Music’s unwavering ability to continue to keep listeners guessing.