Review: P.Leone’s ‘Raw Emotion’ Gleams With The Colour Of Neon Nightlife; A Modern Yet Eclectic Nostalgia

P.Leone | Raw Emotion (EP) | E-MISSIONS

Release Date: 20 December, 2019

Berlin-based musician, producer and DJ Salvatore Carlino, known under his byname P.Leone, has his roots in the New York City nightlife; born in South Brooklyn, the artist frequented the Lower East Side electronic music scene, where he drew a myriad of inspiration from the state’s club-world and began DJ-ing at 20.

New York is known as one of the most iconic factors in the development of electronic music and the clubbing-scene, especially when it comes to it’s hip-hop roots, along with house, techno and experimental genre-mashing. Drawing together his influences into personal productions, P.Leone further developed his sound as he released his debut EP ‘The Exit 8’ via Work Them Records – and later sculpting his own imprint, E-MISSIONS. His latest EP ‘Raw Emotion’ builds on the artist’s bold musical ambition.

‘Never Alone‘ opens the album in a rhythmic palpitation; a buoyant throb bounding in an energetic spring forward – a percussive animation sweeping into atmospheric swells, low and tinted with an atmospheric darkness. A lilting, filtered vocal sample ebbs and flows in repetition; distant and echoic – submerged in a reminiscence of classic house, an aura of nostalgia surrounds the contemporary drum and bass-esque drive. Reiterative in neon-drenched synth melodies, shimmering with the feel of bright city-lights – ‘Never Alone’ captures the aura of a fast-paced nightlife, an evening out in a bustling city filled with colour and energy.

The character of ‘Let’s Give Up Together‘ presents an embodiment of the album title; a raw, emotive cut – the track illustrating an exploration of the experimental, as confident claps dance progressively amongst extraterrestrial reverberations. The tone cradles a shadowy repetition, lucid with the mesmer of dusk – a coarse traverse through industrious emotion, powerful and potent, without exhibiting an overbearing mood. The curious, alien textures oscillate a ghostly acceleration; spirited and proud, with an underlying midnight expression.

The closing track ‘Anche Se‘ merges a vibrant painting of genres; the opening throb doused in an expectant moody techno, a brief buildup boasting amalgamated ambience as the atmosphere ascends into a bright crescendo; playful in it’s effervescent twist, easily described as a club-ready track, enticing in it’s pull to the dancefloor. ‘Raw Emotion’ stays true to it’s title, atmospheric in it’s personality, raw and hypnotic – gleaming with nightlife nostalgia while still capturing a vibrant modernity.

Rating: 7 / 10

Feature Image: P.Leone by @yacbln