Throughout the past decade, Lorenzo Senni has cemented himself as the master of “pointillistic trance”, his own deconstructed take on euphoric dance music. Senni rightfully rules this terrain unchallenged, but on Scacco Matto (Italian for “checkmate”) the Milan-based composer faces his greatest opponent to date: himself.

During the process of creating the album, the Italian artist set himself a series of limitations and rules, pushing certain musical ideas forward before switching to a “counter” position in order to oppose them, as if playing a game of chess. The result is a dynamic and assorted LP full of both upbeat and at moments despondent takes on his established sound. There are plenty of standout tracks, from homage to daydreaming THINK BIG with its frisky and 8-bit video game clink, to Dance Tonight Revolution Tomorrow’s lugubrious synth-led melody so conversational and sing-song in tone, each note could be a word spoken in a secret language.

Despite his self-imposed limitations, this collection of compositions is some of Senni’s most compelling work to date. He successfully builds on the arpeggio-driven song structures that have dominated his work since 2012’s Quantum Jelly and introduces prog-classical chordal work and distressed, chaotic textures that offer up more extreme tonal contrasts. On Scacco Matto, Lorenzo Senni is painting with his usual brush, but his broad strokes of fluorescent colours stretch far beyond his canvas, producing a challenging, vivacious album that demands repeat listens.

Sebastian Gabe