Alessandro Cortini has announced his new album SCURO CHIARO will be released on June 11 via Mute. Along with the album announcement, Cortini has shared the first single “CHIAROSCURO,” which is the album’s title spelled in reverse.

“It represents the record where I was and where I am emotionally,” Cortini said in a press statement. “It’s to do with the conscious decision about trying to be positive, of striving for happiness while accepting the fact that happiness is not all positive.”

The track features haunting synths and hopeful pings, creating a deep track evoking emotions of one searching for light. The track’s title, “CHIAROSCURO” represents the treatment of light and dark in the shading of a drawing, creating a contrast to the image. Cortini utilizes his instrumentals to create a soundscape that reflects the exact definition of the word. The accompanying music video for the track also reflects the definition, the camera panning around black and white images of mountains as light seeps through its crevices, flooding certain areas while casting shadows against others.

“SCURO CHIARO is the opposite of chiaroscuro [the use of light and shadow to give strong contrast], and in a way it shows that no matter how you order things there’s always going to be two elements that tend to be the opposite of each other that make up the truth – or make up everything,” Cortini said in a press statement.

“To me things that were created apart in time can fit together in a work of art, and it doesn’t matter when they were created,” Cortini said in a press statement. “You drink wine that is ten years old with a meal that is freshly handmade. The final product, in my opinion, doesn’t need to be made at the same time.”

In addition to working on SCURO CHIARO, Cortini has been developing Strega, an instrument and effects unit he designed in partnership with Make Noise. The prototypes for the instrument are able to be heard throughout the upcoming album, and work to “conjure audio tones, generate control signals, and process external sounds,” according to the instrument’s website.

“Strega is a successful attempt to condense my sonic aesthetic into a music making box,” Cortini said in a press statement. “Throughout the time that I finished the record I was receiving prototypes, and their work was integrated on the record.

SCURO CHIARO follows Cortini’s 2019 solo album Volume Massimo, which featured the singles “SABBIA” and “Batticuore.” Last year, he collaborated with Daniel Avery for the album Illusion of Time, the pair releasing singles “Enter Exit” and “Illusion of Time” ahead of its release.

SCURO CHIARO tracklist:

1. “Ecco”
2. “Chiaroscuro”
3. “Lo Specchio”
4. “Corri”
5. “Sempre”
6. “Verde”
7. “Nessuno”
8. “Fiamma”