- The sleeve of Nuel's first Latency record, bearing a photograph of a Greek statue and screenprinted with an intense black ink, is an apt prologue for the music inside—Unveiled is both beautiful and weighty. This is expected from an artist like Nuel, real name Manuel Fogliata. He's best known as half of Aquaplano with Donato Dozzy, and like his collaborator, his solo work maneuvers fluidly through pristine techno and ambient. Fogliata has been silent since the Aquaplano days, but he's returned this year with more abstract aims. On Unveiled, the Italian producer puts aside the turbulence of before, yet his cinematic grandness remains.
"OK Face" is an exception. It's very much Aquaplano techno: dubby, atmospheric and swimming in reverb and delay. The result is mucky and psychedelic, but subtle to the point where it never quite stirs. Fogliata maintains this balance throughout the record, which works better on tracks that are more soundscape than functional. "Aphrobite" is a mood piece suffused with loneliness, tunneling on endlessly with vaporous synths and a single, tapping drum. "Morning Loving," the record's prettiest track, has the same density of fluttering textures, but pulses at 30 BPM slower. On "M_Animal," Fogliata puts an oscillating synthesizer over gorgeously blushing ambience. Simple as it is, it captures Unveiled's sophisticated tranquility at its most striking.
TracklistA1 OK Face
A2 Aphrobite
B1 Morning Loving
B2 M_Animal