MA SPAVENTI, a Roman, now based in Amsterdam, has been around for a minute, his trio R-A-G (with Aroy Dee and Gijs Poortman, a.k.a. Gstring) has been recording refined, classicist house and techno on an all-analog kit since 2010. Marked by tough drums, swirling pads, and a willingness to veer into pure, beatless ambient territory, their records are formally purist without scrimping on a sense of mystery. Spaventis solo work so far has suggested that he may be the tough guy of the bunch.
His singles “Wrecking,” “The Jungle,” and “Insanity” skipped over all niceties in favor of brute 909 snares and scrappy synth work. His 2012 single “Baia,” meanwhile — co-produced with Secretsundaze’s James Priestley — was a cubby, sax-infused tribute to Balearic house. Now Spaventi is back with two new Eps that demonstrate how versatile he really is. Revolver, Most Excellent Unlimited’s inaugural release, is something of a Swiss army knife for DJs planning to venture into the wilderness. There’s a melancholic, mid-tempo house number, “The Sick Tape Dealer,"that’s lit with a crystalline glow. There’s “Slowmo,” a loping opener that suffuses an andante house groove in queasy Giallocore tones. “Revolver,” the record’s fastest cut, balances strapping snares and insistent open hi-hats with dreamy chords; it sits on the fence between placid and acid, just the thing for tipping the night into full gear. And the slow-motion tearjerker “La Valle Delle Lacrime"comes in two versions — one with a skeletal drum machine and a beatless edit that revels in the simplicity of his analog synths. Luxuriating in ringing fifths with just a hint of Theremin-like warble, it’s an unusually sturdy example of ethereal ambient techno. On remix duties, the prolific Mark E delivers a deep, atmospheric, slow burner in the vein of his recent PROJECT E work.