Sebastian Plano

Sebastian Plano returns two years after his debut album, Arrythmical Part of Hearts. The case of the Argentinian composer is a truly intriguing one. Born into a musical family, Plano became after years of training a multi instrumentalist and a magnificent music composer. Now, with his second album, Impetus, he expands musically even further, where his true genius lies, within his instrumentations. The way that all the different elements of his compositions find a place and purpose in his sonic structures reveal the capabilities of the Argentinian composer. 

The easier way to describe Plano’s music would be too call it emotional. Feelings of melancholy and yearning are overflowing in Impetus. The creator himself is a classically trained contemporary composer, and he does share similarities with acts such as Ólafur Arnalds and Sigur Ros. The combination of the melodic lines of classical music and the electronic music influences is what drives the album into new heights. With Plano being able to bring forth vast soundscapes of strings and rhythmic patterns of electronic percussion, his second full-length is sounding more addictive by the second.

From the title track the listener is plunged into the depths of Plano’s world of isolation and melancholy. Showing off a more moving side in “The World We Live In,” as well as a great sense of rhythm, Plano reveals the emotional spectrum of the album in the most inventive of ways. The album carries on, still dragging you down to more sorrowful paths. From the great build up of “Blue Lovin Serotonin” with the creative placement of electronic influences, to the captivating “Emotions (Part II)” filled with great melodies and imaginative instrumentation, and then offering a twist with a more downtrodden sentiment in “Angels” when the ethereal harmonies take over, leaving nothing standing on their path.

The two last tracks of the album offer moments of grand terrifying sensations with the disturbingly beautiful “All Given to Machinery,” while the closing track of the album, “Inside Eyes,” shows a more distressing side of Plano, with the additional abrupt element at play within the song. Impetus also comes with two excellent bonus tracks, “Outside Eyes” and “One Story of Thoughts,” which will make the magic of this album last a while longer… and yeah, it is worth it.

Plano’s point of view is absolutely transcending decades and eras. In Impetus you will find a classical composer who feels no fear or shame in embracing the modern world around him. This album is showing a tremendous emotive depth, existing also in two different times. Past and future do not collide but harmoniously coexist within Impetus, and that makes Plano’s music terrific. 

8.0 / 10 — Spyros Stasis