Filippo Diana : The Haunted Palace

Italian musician and composer Filippo Diana works in the dark corners. His music feels pulled from some Gothic nightmare; dark corners, monolith castles hid in ancient forests, and existential dread just under the surface all built from ambient textures, propulsive synthesizers, and the drive to take the listener on a journey.

For most of the 2010s Diana recorded under the name Joe Drive, and released a series of 90s-inspired dance music that covered everything from Aphex Twin to Burial to Chemical Brothers, with a touch of Giorgio Moroder for good measure. The transition from the world of Joe Drive to Filippo Diana may seem like a huge one, but the through line between these different musical worlds is the detail and care for creating tactile sonic worlds.

The Haunted Palace is the second collection of unreleased music by Filippo Diana on the Musica Per Immagini record label located in Italy. The Haunted Palace takes inspiration from the great HP Lovecraft and his novel The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, a classic among Lovecraft’s many. The title is taken from the 1963 Roger Corman film adaptation of the book, but locks into that story’s mystery and macabre spirit. It’s an engaging record that takes you to early 20th century New England and drops you into the dark history of the region, as well as Lovecraft’s Gothic state of mind.

The Haunted Palace is all about mood, vibe, and a restrained terror just under the surface. “Prologue” oozes dread. Electronics rise from below in a wall of wavering mood. It consumes everything in its path, like a low rolling fog. “Ancient Studies” builds slowly, bringing to mind the dread-inducing work of Fabio Frizzi. Part New Age vibes and part alchemic tones bringing the dead back to the living. And “Discovery of Olney Court” has an almost psychedelic effect as otherworldly tones rise from the depths to consume you.

The Haunted Palace is less rhythmic, and more about visceral feel. You feel these ambient, almost white noise moments to your bones. “Red Fog” opens in a sonic bath of dissonance, but then reveals this kinetic heartbeat underneath. “The Third Psalm” pulsates in electric dread, bringing to mind the chaotic rush of trying to escape the inescapable. “North Burial Grid” and its bubbling alchemy of noise carries us into “Evocation of Yogge Sothoth”. The song opens in obscurity but builds up into the most propulsive track here. A dance floor banger for the haunted club.

Filippo Diana’s The Haunted Palace is a journey for the ears. Subtle sonic dread drips from these ambient nightmares, ringing electronic haze and eerie mood throughout.