About
Iluso Records is an independent record label founded in 2013 by Michael Caratti and Álvaro Domene.
Our catalogue focuses on exploratory creative new music derived and informed by the fertile traditions of jazz, avant-garde metal, free-improvisation, western contemporary classical, and experimental electronic music.
We have featured works by artists who are dedicated to exploring the endless sonic possibilities that can be found within and beyond said genres:
Briggan Krauss, Colin Marston, Matthew Shipp, Elliott Sharp, Henry Kaiser, Mike Pride, Álvaro Pérez, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Colin Fisher, Lotte Anker, Pat Thomas, Eliane Gazzard, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, Frode Gjerstad, Michael Bisio, Kirk Knuffke, Harvey Valdés, Ståle Liavik Solberg, Max Kutner, Terry Day, Sam Newsome, John Butcher, Dane Johnson, John Russell, Tom Rainey, Killick Hinds, Josh Sinton, Jason Ajemian, Chad Taylor, Rachel Musson, Chris Hoffman, Steve Beresford, Eli Wallace, Devin Gray, Brandon López, Aaron Quinn, Jason Nazary, Dominic Lash, Alex Ward, Ricardo Tejero, Javier Carmona, Rick Parker, Jeremy Carlstedt, Luke Barlow, Roberto Sassi, Santiago Horro, Sergio Mena, and Andrew Bassett.
Contact
For all enquiries including artist bookings and purchase requests please contact the team at info@ilusorecords.com.
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Álvaro DomeneRAPID INFLUX
Álvaro Domene's latest release, “Rapid Influx”, is a highly energetic, imaginative, and virtuosic exploration of the possibilities of the electric guitar and drum machine in the context of, for lack of a better term, electronic jazz metal.
As his third release of 2023, and following up on Torsion (2022) as his debut featuring drum computer and guitar, Domene continues to push the envelope with his distinctive blend of jazz and metal influences, creating thoughtfully crafted compositions that defy easy stylistic categorization.
The opening track, "The Past Is No Cage For The Future", sets the tone with a fierce, monolithic hyper-speed explosion of sound that is both tightly composed and completely unpredictable, and in which the intensity of Domene's playing is immediately apparent. Across seven pieces, he delivers highly detailed arrangements that are complex, compelling, and a lot of fun, with an emphasis on unusual groove, motivic development and a crunchy production that definitely rewards repeated listening.
On this release, the raw shredding and glitchy guitar pirouettes are matched by massively punchy drums which deliver the framework for the complex rhythmic structures that dominate the album. However, what's most remarkable about Rapid Influx is the sheer torrential current of musical ideas that Domene is able to unleash at such neck-breaking speed. Several polymorphic ideas emerge, evolve, and multiply, with the cycle restarting again in multiple directions at once, in a constant state of relentless flow. Unpredictability and unmerciful groove are here the norm.
Despite the album's apparent mayhem and said unpredictability, Rapid Influx is a mature work that showcases Domene's highly meticulous and effective compositional strategies, production techniques, and fierce virtuosity on guitar. Furthermore, the integration of guitar and drum machine feels like a perfectly natural and seemingly effortless evolution of Domene's sound from previous solo guitar releases on his more metallic side, like Not Arbitrary (2022), The Sword Still Hangs Upon The Wall (2021), Illustris (2020), and The Compass (2018).
This blurring of lines between the electronic and the organic is perfectly nested in the hypnotic guitar shredding of the last track "Cruelty As The Cloak Of Fear", which provides a fitting conclusion to an album that is truly one-of-a-kind.
Rapid Influx is a masterful display of Domene's unique talents and a must-listen for anyone interested in the intersection of jazz, metal and electronic music. - Iluso Records, February 2023