In recent months, I have had the pleasure of collaborating on an artistic project with Demetrio Cecchitelli and Daniele Carcassi, known as Abo Abo. In October 2024, I invited Daniele and Demetrio to undertake an artistic residency at NUB Project Space, with the aim of developing a performative approach that would unite the two personalities. The project involved their individual practices, using sounds recorded during the residency. One of the goals of the residency was also the making of an album, intended for release on Biodiversità Records, an independent label I run. In May 2025 the album Interspazio was released, accompanied by a first live show open to the public at Artiglieria.
Besides the record release, the residency led to a particular performative approach: the performance takes place with two setups and their respective sound systems placed facing each other, inside a large space. Here the two artists play following a very loose, vaguely agreed-upon scheme. The sounds used during the performance are those collected during the residency, processed through synthesizers, computers and acoustic instruments, enriched with touches of pure improvisation.
This performance creates a “sound tunnel”, where listening requires active movement: the audience can stay in the center, enjoying a more comprehensive listening experience, or move around, independently adjusting the volumes and the listening point. Curiosity becomes the driving force: each individual is free to move following their own instinct, drawn by the sounds that strike them most.
The performance was presented both in an intimate version, at the end of the residency, and in a form open to the public. On both occasions it managed, on its own, to draw the audience into an unusual mode of listening.
To delve deeper into the artists’ point of view and uncover some behind-the-scenes details of the project, I decided to give the floor to Demetrio and Daniele.
Hi, thanks for sharing your experiences with us! For this occasion, I will ask you deliberately simple questions, to leave room for your narration. But first, if you like, give us a brief introduction to your artistic path.
Demetrio:
I started thinking about sound about ten years ago. I plunged into this world with a need to discover, to find myself again. This immersion gave me the chance to experiment with a language, using acoustic and electronic instruments, and to work on their processing. I think spontaneity and intuition are the foundations of the process; I still don’t know for certain what the future will bring... I have my schedules, something I know for sure will come out, but I almost always try to let myself be carried by the flow of immediacy.
Abo:
I have been working with electronic music for 10 years, ranging from the more academic, contemporary and improvisational contexts to sound art and sound installations, all the way to clubbing and free parties. After studying Electronic Music and Sound Design at the conservatory in Bologna, I continued my research on my own, trying to develop a personal and cohesive sound that draws on various sensory experiences.
How did the idea of the sound tunnel develop? What were the main steps, and what rules did you apply in order to create a dialogue during the live show?
Abo:
First of all, we recorded a series of sound materials connected to the space that hosted us, to our musical instruments and to a series of objects left by Pietro. These sounds were then processed individually, as we had already done five years ago during our first collaboration. Afterwards we reflected on the space, trying to develop an alternative sound immersion system to the classic multichannel one. Inspired by the layout of the rooms, we devised a “sound corridor” with two stereo diffusion points, each controlled independently. This setup allowed the creation of two distinct yet interconnected soundscapes, in constant mutual influence. The performance followed no fixed rules: we focused on the distribution of materials over time, on listening to each other and on the possibility of playing for a long time. In this way, internal dynamics were generated that crossed the rooms, giving rise to a new and immersive sound environment. We don’t know of other experiences that have experimented with this type of diffusion, and working on the interaction between performance and listening was definitely stimulating.
During the performances, sharing and curiosity arise. The audience tends to move through the space, looking for the spot where the sonic interlocking offers the most stimulating listening. But from your point of view, is there interaction, both between the two of you and with the movement of the audience?
Demetrio:
At Artiglieria it was certainly a wonderful experience. From my point of view, it was a novelty in terms of the hybridization of live set and sound installation: a blend of the very device of the electroacoustic concert and a transitory listening space. The transition that takes place in the tunnel, the movement of those who listen, the distance between the performers, the reflection of sound along the curves of the room all contribute to generating a layered acoustic experience.
What amazes me about this work, in its specific yet adaptable container, is the presence of sound mingling in a reciprocal and circumstantial flow. During the setup and rehearsals, I would sometimes perceive the iterations of Abo’s sound nodes coming from the P.A. behind me, and I would observe, listening, something that was actually working.
I can’t wait to experience it myself too, as a spectator-author, perhaps in a durational mode, walking through the space, retracing my steps with new ideas.
Before we say goodbye, I would like a few words from you about the album Interspazio. If you had to recommend listening to it or suggest an approach to enjoy it at its best, what would you say?
Abo:
Interspazio is a work that, in my opinion, lends itself to various ways of listening. It is certainly an album of experimental music, but within it we have divided the tracks so as to differentiate and characterize them, making the work easily enjoyable in any context. The tracks are rich in different languages that make them, in my view, adaptable to multiple situations and contexts.
Demetrio:
I’m a big fan of playback from the phone, but I recommend using headphones for a more enveloping experience. Obviously the record is a stereophonic readaptation, but it’s right that there should be a difference between album and performance! I’m really happy with this release; I appreciated the curatorial aspect of the whole thing: the cassette, the mastering, and the composition of the five tracks. In all humility, I think we did our best, and that Interspazio is a record that can be digested and understood both by experienced ears and by those of beginners.
English translation of the Italian original. Read the original →