London, 2021

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Diamond is the second EP release from Italian composer and pianist Giulio Fagiolini. Not much is known and can be found about the musician, and he seems to be in favour of letting the music speak by itself. Just like one searches for precious stones, Fagiolini lets the listener dig into the music on his own and discover its secrets through close and attentive listening. Diamond is the central theme of the EP, and its physical characteristics are most probably the descriptive guidelines for Fagiolini’s music…

 

The five pieces which constitute Diamond have the agreeable quality of all connecting with each other. Yet all related to the same lexical, and rather than describing and illustrating language, they all seem to suggest feelings and sensations. Rather impressionistic ideas for music which appears at first minimalistic. “The Same Is for Jewels”, “Howling” and “Crumbling” all evoke sounds, visuals and sensations. When it comes to the latter though, it is through an interesting musical translation that the listener feels the falling apart of the crumbling sensation. Fagiolini’s wise production decisions are discreet and create, with “Minor Mirror” or “Plume”, interesting textures; it is in the case of the former through several sonic layers that the composer creates an absorbing tonal approach. Diamond leaves the listener curious of what might have been this project — almost a collection of sketches — had the composer decided to develop it furthermore…

 

Early EPs in a musician’s career often appear like a search for identity, and while it might seem the case for Fagiolini too, it somehow feels like the Italian composer already has quite a good sense of artistic direction, and while the music is quite simple and restrained, there are elegant signs of production which place it in the contemporary world without it being avant-garde or out of place, and while keeping the timelessness of the piano. Diamond is a tasteful release and surely leaves Fagiolini in an optimistic dimension.