Salvatore Mercatante : Tre Sfere

Before the ink could dry on his last release, New York-based musician and composer Salvatore Mercatante has released a new album. Right off the heels of his Soundtracking The Void album Presents Pistacchio Sessions, Mercatante now presents us with Tre Sfere which is being released by Woodford Halse. Where PPS concentrated on more dance floor grooves and techno vibes, Tre Sfere locks into headier territory. Still sporting catchy rhythms, Tre Sfere feels more like the soundtrack to an 80s Michael Mann film. There’s more 80s Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream moods here, giving Tre Sfere an atmospheric lean. It’s the perfect deep dive into heady electronic waters.

I immediately locked into Mercatante’s world here. He has a knack for atmosphere, emotional connection, and creating a vibe that lasts the entire journey. With Tre Sfere I’m pulled into dystopian worlds; a sense of dread at dawn, of pondering the world at dusk. Last year’s The Foundations of Eternal Sin was a monumental hazy synth LP. It opened a portal to new realms and showed Mercatante to be a master of mood and circuital connectivity. Tre Sfere continues those vibes to stunning affect.

Right away you know Salvatore Mercatante is on a different trip. “Yimble” has a propulsive opening rhythm which gives way to a hazy, repetitive synth riff. While still groove-heavy, this track also world builds and takes it’s time like a slow fog in the distance. “Pietro” puts me in mind of Ryan Lee West’s Rival Consoles. Tactile sound that tows the line between organic and synthetic. There’s also some Kraftwerk DNA in the synth tones here, reaching back to the dawn of 80s heady electronic music.

Title track “Tre Sfere” mixes things up a bit. It opens with an almost Future Shock-era Herbie Hancock rhythm, but quickly floats off into outer space with some ethereal synthesizer. Contemporary Graham Reznick has a knack for that as well, combining early 80s electro funk rhythms with atmospheric vibes. Mercantante does that beautifully here. Tracks like “Amviente”, “Phons”, and album closer “A Still Mountain Never Seen” broadens the sonic landscape of the album, continuing Tre Sfere’s exploration of Berlin School foundations while evolving Salvatore Mercatante’s already well established musical palate.

Salvatore Mercatante continues to push his compositions and musical world building forward. With Tre Sfere he’s made a deep and heady album for zoning out or deep contemplation.

Tre Sfere is available now. Buy it here.