x-ray three: Benjamin Finger - Amorosa Sensitiva

Frosted clear vinyl 180g heavyweight LP in screenprinted PVC wallet + download

“It has all the music I like in it” - Blue Tapes response to Benjamin Finger’s initial submission of Amorosa Sensitiva.

That music is cloud-rolled drones and sun-speckled synths; it is low tides of distant cello, ebbing into view; it is tiny hits of percussion clustering protectively around sustained piano patterns; it is techno slowed down and stretched out and reconfigured as free jazz; it is cascades of notes that tilt your head back and lift your legs into the air and scroll around you; it is snatches of human conversation rendered as abstract song textures, which lends a hallucinatory logic to the LP’s narrative.

Over the past six years, Benjamin has conjured as many albums of meditative, atmospheric compositions that draw from multiple sources but retain a very natural and intuitive musicianship - one that prevents the juxtaposed sounds from sounding patchwork or contrary.

Amorosa Sensitiva isn’t just stylistically varied though, it has a wide emotional palette - is as comfortable exhibiting ferocity as bliss. It has all the music we like in it and probably quite a lot of the music you like, too.

Benjamin Finger is influenced by Alice Coltrane, Slayer, Spacemen 3, Arthur Russell, Butthole Surfers, Slint, Loop, Lee Scratch Perry, Charles Mingus, Disco Inferno, Sun Ra, Eric Dolphy, Broadcast, Labradford, Laurie Anderson, Flying Lotus, Pharaoh Sanders, Fugazi, Panda Bear, Suicide, Flying Saucer Attack, The Frogs, Frank Zappa, early Jane’s Addiction, Bardo Pond, David Bowie, Autechre, Philippe Sarde, George Michael, Frédéric Chopin, Terry Riley, Gescom, John Zorn, Omar S, Morton Feldman, Mr. Bungle, Talk Talk, Vincent Gallo, Gas, Drexciya, Laurel Halo, Actress, Oneohtrix Point Never, François Truffaut, Hal Ashby, Louis Malle, John Cassavetes, Woody Allen, Ettore Scola, Julio Medem, Jacques Audiard, Krzysztof Kieślowski, Paul Thomas Anderson, Roman Polanski and early Jim Jarmusch films.

Amorosa Sensitiva was mastered by Khanate/Scorn guitarist and Nadja/Sunn O)) collaborator James Plotkin.

Praise for Amorosa Sensitiva:

"Benjamin Finger creates intricate multi-dimensional worlds from the intimate crawl spaces of electronica and jazz in his latest work, Amorosa Sensitiva. Amorosa Sensitiva, is not something that will fly past you at night without making the slightest if impression. It’s an album that will irrevocably affect you on multiple levels." - The Formant

"Like a gleaming reverie, slightly submerged... redolent of Alice Coltrane’s graceful, spiritual ecstasy and the decelerated density and dusky forest-plunge of Wolfgang Voigt’s GAS project... A fever dream at turns gorgeous and fiery." - The Ransom Note

"It’s usually a cert that we will love anything that comes from the wonderfully diverse world of boutique label Blue Tapes and X Ray Records. This stunningly hypnotic release from Benjamin Finger is not about to change that in the least. The six tracks on Amorosa Sensitiva are the stuff of beautiful daydreams if they had a electronic soundtrack." - #SRCZ

"Amorosa Sensitiva is his most electronic-leaning album yet, circumventing many of his traditional pop hallmarks for more out-of-bounds pop." - Tiny Mix Tapes