Pietro Zollo: Fragmented Patterns (Digital)

Reviews

1. 

   Reviews Editor – March 25, 2025

   From Exposé

   [multi-album review]
   Pietro Zollo is a composer of ambient / electronic / drone / minimalist music from Italy with nearly a dozen albums to his credit, though the three under review here represent releases from 2023 to 2025 on the Projekt Archive label. April from 2025 contains exactly three cuts of exactly thirty minutes each, titled “Part 1,” Part 2,” and “Part 3,” though the three longform looping sections seem to come from very different spaces, related only by their concept, the first full of sparkly percussives and resonant beauty that might indicate the final end of the long winter season with its rain and regeneration of life, a cycle we can reliably count on every year. The second part opens to a gentle and dreamy passage of time, where the listener can imagine seeds germinating and the life sprouting up from the earth, where one can almost hear angelic voices from on high guiding the process forward, while the third part is a bit less pastoral and more direct, even muscular in parts, driving home a more overt melodic abstraction. Beautiful, gentle, mercurial, and dreamlike are all adjectives that faithfully describe what Zollo is putting forward as a composer, although the exact 30-minute time limit of each section comes off as artificial with no apparent reason, some parts seem too long, while part three could last a full 90 minutes by itself and I wouldn’t mind at all. Since they are all exactly the same duration, one has to wonder how it might sound if you played all three parts at the same time?

   So what does Zollo have in his toolbox to create all these magnificent sounds? The secrets are not given, though I suspect we might be hearing loops and samples of various sounds, piano going forwards and backwards, perhaps synthesizers and software instruments as well, although most of what is heard resembles nothing that’s easily identifiable, all of which brings us to Zollo’s 2024 offering, Fragmented Patterns. Here, he presents eight tracks of varying lengths, again seemingly built up from loops of sound of mysterious origin, creating a woven tapestry of beautiful textures that grow and blossom, though the overall feeling tends to be introspective and shimmeringly gentle, following soft structures that could suggest otherworldly moods and patterns, each piece bearing something wholly unique — a soft rhythmic element, colorful melodic elements, perhaps pure light and darkness swirled together into a blitz of starlight, one just needs to flow with it and go. In comparison to April, Fragmented Patterns seems more ambient and less of a minimalist exercise, though the deep reflections that capture the inward facing beauty and emotion of each of the eight pieces don’t need to be fully understood to be fully appreciated by the listener. Most of these just flow freely in any unexpected direction, although one piece in particular, “Imagination,” flows forward with a gentle cadence that’s subtle yet powerful.

   Abstraction is Zollo’s entry for 2025 released on February 18th, and not to be confused with his earlier 2022 album titled Geometric Abstractions. This time out we get ten tracks total with sounds that are occasionally recognizable, like an accordion sample on the second track, “Essential Transcendence,” mixed in with a plethora of other interesting sonic samples, though the spirit and feeling throughout is still very much the same: ambient. Again, much of what is here is rooted in repeating patterns and loops, created under a general veil of mystery, although in a general sense I find Abstraction much easier to like than the earlier two, and especially April. Perhaps it’s because emotion tends to flow more freely and visibly, and some of the cuts here, like “Mindful State” for example, have a bit of cadence from an endless repeating loop) while still remaining true to the ambient ideal. Something seeming to be processed church bells seem to be ringing through a mysterious sonic cloud (more looped fragments, of course) on the near-eight minute “Spaceless,” while the wandering loops of “Timeless” seem to be an aural kaleidoscope, following circular pathways around an imaginary galaxy. Again, April, Fragmented Patterns, and Abstraction are three creations that encompass many powerful ideas, and enthusiasts of the ambient-minimalist sound would do well to investigate them. -Peter Thelen

2. 

   Reviews Editor – August 20, 2024

   From Chain DLK
   
   Pietro Zollo’s Fragmented Patterns is the kind of album that demands your attention — and then, almost mockingly, dares you to listen too closely. The Italian sound artist’s latest release on Projekt Records is a delicate dance between simplicity and complexity, a masterclass in how to make minimalism feel both intimate and expansive. It’s the kind of music that thrives in the gaps between thoughts, where silence isn’t just golden — it’s practically close to sacred.

   From the outset, with the track “Observation”, Zollo establishes a clear aesthetic: looping piano patterns that refuse to be interrupted, as if they’re caught in an endless meditation, spiraling inwards while simultaneously expanding outwards. The effect is hypnotic, but not in the way you might expect from ambient music. Instead of lulling you into a sense of peace, Zollo’s loops provoke a gentle unease, a sense that something crucial is being said just beyond the reach of your conscious mind. You’re invited to lean in, to listen more closely, but the music keeps you at arm’s length, revealing just enough to keep you captivated without ever letting you grasp the whole.

   “Reflection” stretches this tension even further, nearly ten minutes of delicate repetition that evolves so subtly you might not notice the changes at first. It’s here that Zollo’s artistry shines — there’s a kind of emotional sleight of hand at play, where you think you’re listening to the same thing over and over, only to realize that everything has shifted, and you’re now in a completely different place, both musically and emotionally. It’s the musical equivalent of watching a sunset, where the colors change so gradually that the sky is suddenly on fire, and you wonder how you didn’t see it coming.

   Zollo’s approach draws inevitable comparisons to artists like William Basinski, whose “Disintegration Loops” similarly mined the depths of repetition and decay. Yet, where Basinski’s work is suffused with a sense of loss and impermanence, Zollo’s Fragmented Patterns feels more like a meditation on potential—the fragments of melody and sound don’t disintegrate so much as they evolve, suggesting new directions and possibilities with every loop. There’s a sense of unfinished business here, a feeling that these patterns could go on forever, constantly revealing new layers if only you had the time (and the patience) to listen.

   The middle tracks — “Introspection”, “Emotion” and “Imagination” — offer more of the same, yet Zollo somehow keeps the experience from becoming monotonous. Perhaps it’s his uncanny ability to weave in textures that are both “clean” and “strident”, as he describes it, creating a tension that feels almost like a conversation between different aspects of the self. In these moments, the music becomes deeply personal, even vulnerable, as if Zollo is sharing a private diary written in sound. The track titles may be generic, but the emotions they evoke are anything but.

   By the time we reach “Transformation”, the album’s closing piece, there’s a sense of longing that permeates the music. It’s as if Zollo has been leading us on a journey towards some kind of epiphany, only to leave us just shy of the finish line. The patterns are still there, still looping, still hinting at something just out of reach, but the transformation remains elusive—a reminder that some journeys are meant to be experienced, not completed. It’s a fitting end to an album that is as much about what’s left unsaid as it is about the sounds you actually hear.

   In Fragmented Patterns, Zollo has created an album that is both deeply introspective and endlessly intriguing. It’s the kind of record that reveals new secrets with every listen, provided you have the patience to sit with it, to let the loops work their magic. It’s not an album for everyone—those looking for immediate gratification or easy resolutions will likely be frustrated by its deliberate pace and understated melodies. But for those willing to engage with it on its own terms, Fragmented Patterns offers a richly rewarding experience, a journey into the heart of minimalism where every note, every silence, every loop is laden with meaning.

   Pietro Zollo may be working with simple tools—pianos, loops, fragments of sound—but what he’s created here is nothing short of a masterpiece. Or at the very least, it’s a reminder that sometimes the most profound experiences come from the simplest of means. And isn’t that a pattern worth repeating? -Vito Camarretta