Porcelain Raft’s Strange Weekend [8.6]

Put Me To Sleep – Porcelain Raft // Buy

One aspect of music has always fascinated yet simultaneously bamboozled me — the ways in which different people react to the same artist or genre. Despite having had significant time to digest, dissect and form some kind of understanding of music’s emotional abilities, some things still remain a mystery, namely the unwritten, inexplicable law of love between listener and artist. Some musicians can release a slew of music and my most enthusiastic response is “yeah it’s alright, I guess”, while others can instantaneously draw me in like an audible moth to their instrumental flame. One artist who definitely fits the latter description is Italian born, UK-based musician Mauro Remiddi.

For the last couple of years, Remiddi has been releasing music under the delicate sounding moniker, Porcelain Raft (@porcelainraft), and from the moment I first heard the single “Tip of Your Tongue”, I was hooked. The song’s effortless mix of soft fragility and sturdy framing simply attached itself to my heart with no intention of letting go. Since then, Remiddi has teased his audience with a couple of EP’s, material on his Bandcamp page and even some bits and pieces released via cassette tape. After hearing Strange Weekend, though, I’ll confidently say that a full length album was definitely worth the wait.

Strange Weekend is most impressive because the album genuinely feels like a real progression from Remiddi’s previous work. The sentiment and sweeping atmospheres are still present, but more established sounds also branch out of each song. Drum beats and percussion sound stronger and add more crunch to his compositions, as do the effected guitars in tracks like “Unless You Speak From The Heart” and “The End of Silence”. These elements add a crisp texture that meshes well with the lighter, more ambient aspects of the album such as Remiddi’s simple but sweet vocals and his lingering acoustic finger-picking.

What truly makes this album stand out, though, is the impressive way in which it tip toes the fine lines between home made charm and tight polished production along with sentimental minimalism and bold determination. Some way find this approach somewhat non-committal or indecisive, but I see it as a brave manoeuvre, which not only pays off handsomely, but shows off the versatility of Porcelain Raft’s current palette and future potential.

Armed with various electronics, synths, drum machines, vocals and guitars, Mauro Remiddi has created a beautiful, sensitive record that manages to avoid being bogged down by sickly sweet mush. Strange Weekend is an album with a loving heart and an acute mind — an album that demonstrates Remiddi’s ability to progress yet still leave room to grow, and I, for one, can’t wait to see which territories he charters next.