Giuseppe Ottaviani Drops Fifth LP, ‘HORIZONS [PART 1]’

In the eyes of fans, Giuseppe Ottaviani has remained the most steadfast producer in the genre. Famed for his resolutely exacting productions, there’s been a long-held perception of him as a ‘known-quantity.’ For those prepared to look deeper though, there’s always been another side to the composer, performer, and most recently, teacher (through his Masterclass production series). Giuseppe’s been a deft and artful innovator, balancing out that dependability with hidden-in-plain-sight advancements. That characteristic has now been channeled into his Horizons project.

Giuseppe’s Live 2.0 & 3.0 performances essentially turned clubs into recording studios, in turn beginning the production processes for 2019s Evolver album. Earlier than that even, with 2016’s “Alma,” his “Slow Emotion” tracks had already begun playing with the idea of what Giuseppe “was.” In tandem, they were essentially laying the foundation blocks for Horizons.

Ottaviani’s most predominant shift in concentration has been in tone and song. Specifically, that’s meant utilizing sounds from outside of his usual remit and a greatly increased emphasis on deeply meaningful and relatable lyrics. Indeed, Horizons and Evolver hold their own unique symbiosis: Evolver being purely instrumental, while Horizons [Part 1] is vocal-detailed near enough throughout. That, to no small degree, was due to the prevailing circumstances. Clubs were closed, but singers and songwriters were anything but. This allowed Giuseppe all the time necessary to pinpoint the voices that would work best with the music he was producing and rally them to its cause.

“Change seems to have become our ‘constant’ of late. As such, I imagine that something of this nature was always going to be reflected in the ‘Horizons’ albums”. What that modification means in real terms is “music produced with less of a clubfloor focus to it. Adaptable, certainly, he suggests, but at this moment in time, not reliant upon.” – Giuseppe Ottaviani

With the artistic taps wide-open, Horizons productions became an outpour. To such a degree in fact, that it quickly spilled the banks of the conventional album and was divided, naturally enough, into two. Through its advance-word singles, Horizons [Part 1] has already outlined a cooler, deeper, more mindful tone to fans. At every opportunity, Giuseppe gently underscores that the two volumes of Horizons don’t necessarily represent a permanent change.

Giuseppe Ottaviani – Horizons [Part 1] Tracklist:

01. With You (with Monika Santucci)
02. Hero (with Dan Soleil)
03. Something I Can Dream About (with April Bender)
04. Fade Away (with Mila Josef)
05. The Wind in Your Face
06. Replay (with Natalie Shay)
07. Colour Me (with Jan Burton)
08. Fahrenheit
09. Tree of Souls (with Hypaton)