Elisa Luu’s ‘Chromatic Sigh‘ makes Ondarock’s ‘Best Albums of 2009′! Read the full list here.

Elisu Luu – The Garden Elisu Luu – The Garden 

Excerpt: “It takes mere moments for Elisa Luu’s Chromatic Sigh to make a strong impression when its title track blossoms like some brilliantly hued meteor shower, its metallic materials slowly exploding into a panoramic field of glistening haze… It’s a full-blown plunge into digitally-crafted electronic composition, with Luciani weaving flute, sax, and guitar sounds into the quietly radiant fabric of her material. Moments of blissful reverie are captured in “Perhaps” and “Arteline,” both of which breathe like the softest of sighs, while the ruminative “Slow Bass Flute” carves a slow and stately path through a sleepy forest, its tranquil calm punctuated by sudden swoops. At forty minutes, Luciani’s album is also admirably concise and to-the-point, and ultimately registers as fully-formed music-making that blends melody-based song structures and bold instrumental arrangements into a thoroughly satisfying whole.”

Textura

Excerpt: “A stellar work of ambience, Chromatic Sigh refracts the sound of cool intelligence. As far as descriptions go, you can trot out the usual suspects, like shimmering and sparkling, because they apply in abundance. The artist, Elisa Luu from Rome, Italy, composes with a maturity and patience that you can hear on this refined debut… There’s something cyclical about the music on Chromatic Sigh, and electronically this places listeners in the wondrous open spaces that still boom quietly in our natural world. These spaces are Elisa Luu’s sonic gift to the chumps stranded in suburbia or packed away in cramped apartments.”

Delusions of Adequacy 

Excerpt: “Luu (aka Elisabetta Luciani) is an accomplished musician, largely focused on jazz, who only turned to electronic music in the last few years. It’s a welcome turn, and Chromatic Sigh marks the arrival of an interesting new voice in the genre. The title track kicks off the disk with a pastoral keyboard melody riding across a rising tide of drone in an ear-pleasing dichotomy…There’s a nice sense of playfulness throughout Chromatic Sigh, and Luu’s playing—on all instruments—is graceful and confident. She is an artist to watch, and I eagerly await more from her. Chromatic Sigh is a Hypnagogue Highly Recommended CD.”

Hypnagogue