Marco Shuttle

(This article’s English version was produced with AI-assisted translation)

The term field recordings refers to sound recordings captured in real-world environments, whether urban or natural. The naturalistic soundscape, also known as nature recordings, is not merely an act of documenting the flora and fauna of remote and uncharted lands but also a work of preservation—an auditory archive that safeguards fragments of a world that may, in time, dissolve into oblivion. It is not uncommon for field recordists to venture into unknown ecosystems, capturing the voices of creatures teetering on the edge of extinction, in a gesture that blends scientific rigor with a sense of urgent testimony—an implicit warning against the relentless march of the era many, not without controversy, have begun to call the Anthropocene.

Marco Shuttle, born in 1975, has long been an essential presence in the underground electronic scene, with a nearly two-decade career that has seen him release music on cult labels such as Spazio Disponibile (Donato Dozzy’s imprint, to be clear), The Bunker New York, and Eerie. His sonic universe is one of meticulous balance—a minimal techno that shuns the hedonistic euphoria of 1990s raving in favor of a more cerebral approach, positioning him as a sonic alchemist, where experimentation takes precedence over ecstasy.

This new chapter, however, marks a rupture: for the first time, Shuttle steps away from the steady pulse of the four-on-the-floor rhythm while still retaining the ambient techno sensibility that has always defined his visionary touch. This shift arises from his encounter with Astral Industries, a London-based label that, in recent years, has established itself as one of the most captivating entities in the scene, thanks to a highly distinctive visual aesthetic—artworks that evoke psychedelic visions, blending painterly abstraction, science fiction, and primordial nature—and a catalog featuring seminal works by Deepchord, Sa Pa, Multicast Dynamics, and, more recently, Italian projects like Pianeti Sintetici and, indeed, Marco Shuttle.

Astral Industries does not simply release records—it crafts sensory portals: each album is a gateway into lysergic worlds, soundscapes steeped in ayahuasca and mescaline, atmospheres suspended between dream and hallucination. Shuttle’s work fits seamlessly into this ethos: an immersive plunge into the Amazon rainforest, woven from field recordings captured in the Tupana Arü Ü nature reserve. Yet his intent is not merely to evoke; his exploration intertwines the feverish mysticism of the untamed landscape with synthetic architectures that seem to emanate from unknown dimensions. It is as if an alien automaton were wandering through the labyrinth of vegetation, deciphering nature’s arcane language through electronic pulses and cosmic reverberations, while the forest itself responds with cryptic rustlings, guttural calls, and swarming sonorities that dissolve into echoes.

The result is in perfect harmony with Astral Industries’ philosophy: two long suites, spanning twenty-four and twenty-two minutes, unfurl like hypnotic incantations, suspended between minimalism and sensory vertigo. The primordial and the post-human merge into an experience that does not linger in memory, but rather manifests as a deep, immersive journey—one that leaves its mark, even as the sound dissolves into silence.

28/03/2025