Gigi Masin is no stranger to loss. In 2007, the beloved Italian composer lost his entire musical archive in a house flood, forcing him to put music on the back burner for a while. On his forthcoming album, Movement, Masin finds himself grappling with loss of an even more significant kind: the loss of his wife.
Tragic as the backdrop of his new record is, however, the first single from Movements is far from gloomy. “Lost” is a mournfully exultant little piece, fusing Masin‘s trademark glow-toned ambience with triumphant horns and a defiantly upbeat groove. You wouldn’t exactly call it dance music—it’s too downtempo for that, too floaty and blissed-out and serene—but it’s got an unmistakable punch, the drums rising out of the fog like a reminder that life after loss is possible, that death is not the end.
When the drums eventually disappear, giving way to a peaceful luxuriation of slow-motion keys and purring synth ripples, it’s impossible not to marvel at Gigi Masin’s ability to imbue such a minimal piece with full-circle storytelling. This is Masin’s true gift: his knack for narrative, for weaving complex emotional journeys out of music so minimal and threadbare.
Movements will arrive on 29th May via Sacred Bones. It will be Gigi Masin’s first solo album in six years.