Eighth Tower Records once again produces a long out-of-print and obscure recording of Italian experimental ambient music, this time with New Polar Sound. Drift is a project led by Gabriele Giuliani that initially operated from 1995 to 1999 before being revived after a long break. The album Diazepam – first released in 1996 on cassette – is now reissued, remastered, and features a new track composed in 2024.
The original pair of recordings were each around 27 minutes in length. Phase One explores “minimax” soundscapes (music that blends minimalist aesthetics with intricately-crafted details, offering an experience that is both sparse and rich) through sequences of waves. Each wave accentuates a bleak layer of moody droning with chords, rattling, object noises, and vocalizations that echo their way from peak to trough before the next emerges a few seconds later.
Phase Two is of a different character, that being more darkly minimal. It also has a wave-like character but is quieter and sparse. While each wave varies in detail, length and texture, the track exhibits a monolithic quality, with echoes of Phase One subtly interwoven throughout.
Crystalline Yellow is the 2024 track, still long but shorter than the other two at only 17 minutes. It is another tensely detailed piece, with wispy percussive elements riding atop a suffocating industrial hum. The overall sound is thick and full, taking the term “ambient” to a breaking point. This environment slowly evolves through a series of abrasive tones and abstract structures. If anything, the piece establishes that Giuliani’s approach is still as fresh as it was 30 years ago.
Diazepam is a medication used primarily to reduce anxiety by promoting relaxation and calming the nervous system. The harsh atmospheres and textures of Diazepam the album are neither relaxing or calming. Instead, this music mirrors the drug’s intent in reverse, amplifying tension and unease through raw, industrial soundscapes that evoke the very sensations Diazepam is designed to suppress.
