“Where’s your bassline? Do you know?” asks a robotic, feminine voice on Lory D’s “Bass Bam.” For a techno artist obsessed with the squiggly, brain-melting potential of the Roland TB-303 Bassline synthesizer, the question is rhetorical; acidic basslines are at the core of the veteran Italian producer’s repertoire, along with booming 4/4 kick drums and a deceptively minimal approach to composition. For over two decades, Lory D (aka Lorenzo D’Angelo) has carved his own space as an unsung hero of club music, releasing destructive dancefloor tracks that have quietly slipped under the radar of the techno mainstream. But since 2011, D’Angelo has found a home on the Glasgow label Numbers, releasing a series of five EPs titled Strange Days Vol. 1-5. They’ve now been compiled and digitized for a wider release: a snapshot of organic, shapeshifting techno that still sounds furiously futuristic.
D’Angelo’s productions reflect an immediacy and grittiness that belie the precisely tuned instruments in his arsenal. While many of his tracks loop repeatedly, or eschew a traditional sense of melody, D’Angelo’s capacity to wring out unexpected rhythms and slippery mutations from his drum machines and synthesizers is consistently surprising. He’s as much a peak-time performer as he is a machine-manipulator, with subtle flourishes of DJ-style pullbacks and stuttering, lurching effects—but it never obscures the human touch behind his tracks. With every break in sequence and groove, the steely, overdriven machines offer a glimpse past the circuitry, into the mind of a techno wizard.
While Strange Days offers expertly executed club music, not every turn is smooth. The filter sweeps on the mangled “Acidattak,” for example, retain some clicky high frequencies, twitching in the background while the kick drum keeps the track moving with pummeling force. It’s imperfect yet honest, and only bolsters the off-the-cuff raw style that D’Angelo owns so well. The following track, “Ostia Girl,” shows a more particular approach to the use of effects, even if it means settling on a completely disorienting and nearly undanceable take. Atop a simple 808 beat, D’Angelo stutters his drums and slices a vocal sample, mutating and scorching it.
While other tracks like “Acix9999” or the trance-leaning “Sq11” feel bombastic and densely packed, D’Angelo’s acid maintains a laser-sharp focus, offering little more than minute changes to the mix and scrupulously adjusted parameters. The stepping, subterranean bass on “Deep Acoustic” leaves barely anything there above the weighty throb save a tight hi-hat, fleshy clap, and whispery atmosphere. D’Angelo lets the beat coast for almost eight minutes without change, and it’s one of the strongest, most haptic tracks in his catalog. The same goes for “grn-HF,” a slice of techy dub that is both punchy and wistful, as its simple string motif softens the hard-edges of his booming drums.
Operating with the mindset of a live performer, and boasting decades of experience in production, Lory D makes music that is highly functional in the hands of a DJ; his tracks are tailor made for club play. Just under two hours long, Strange Days is a behemoth document and doesn’t go down easily in one single take. But for DJs and fans of warped and wacky acid techno, Lory D unequivocally operates at the apex of the style. Heavy, precise, and exhilarating, the beauty of Strange Days is defined by its own dark and twisted terms.
