ECHO TRAILS with LEO #03: SUNNY CRYPT
Words by Valentino RivaPictures by Leone Ciocchetti
Twice a month, Echo Trails brings you music that deserves more attention.
Leo, artist and producer, digs into his personal stash to share sounds that hit differently—always a bit off the radar, always worth your time.
Every month, a special guest will drop their own picks, adding something new to the mix.
If you’re looking for something outside the usual noise, this is the place.
For october our guest is Gabriele, music collector and founder of record lable “Sunny Cript” that brought a beatiful music compilation with plenty of niche tracks from the ’80s and ’90s: the most experimental Belgian avant-garde is paired with the newest Spanish soft alternative hyper pop and Australian minimalist post-punk apparently goes incredibly well with Welsh gothic avant-rock.
Breakfast in Bed by Claire Rousay
‘Breakfast in Bed’ is the 10th track of ‘Venus Rising From The Sea‘ compilation: 12 different artists brought together by British DIY publisher and label Doyenne to reinterpret the myth of Aphrodite writing a ‘love song cover’ in which each artist has had free reign in the interpretation of love as well as the style and rendition of their favourite musical pieces on love.
Pinky Ring by Tristan! & Daniela Lalita
‘Pinky Ring‘ is the 4th song of ‘Music EP‘ of 19 years-old Madrid based TRISTÁN!. This track is in colaboration with New York-based, Peruvian-born multi-hyphenated artist Daniela Lalita, who’s practice spans from music, costume design, film, performance and fine art. Part of a very polyedric 6 songs EP, ‘Pinky Ring’ bends hyper-pop, alternative R&B, electronica, and art pop.
Greater Expectations by David Chesworth & Bill McDonald
‘Great Expectations’ it’s the 4th track of 1984 album ‘Drive Time’ by David Chesworth & Bill McDonald. This “minimalist post-punk lounge-groove” track brings us back to Australia in the ’80s during a windy winter, amazing bass lines, simple and sometimes absurd vocals.
La DaNSe oBSCuRe Du NaiN De JaRDiN by BeNe GeSSeRiT
Part of the album ‘MuLTiLiNGuaL SaD SoNGS, WeiRD JoKeS aND eXPeRiMeNTaL STuFF FoR uSe By GRoWN-uP CHiLDReN’ by Dune inspired Belgian band active in the 1980s Bene Gesserit, this track is an surreal musical experiment that fullu embrace their unique avant-garde approach.
Awen by Tristwch Y Fenywod
‘Awen’ is the second-last track self-titled album ‘Tristwch Y Fenywod’, a Welsh-language gothic avant-rock power-coven, exhumed from the depths of Leeds’ experimental underground the trio gifts us with towering, siren-like vocals curling around the Welsh consonants, accompanied by stark martial rhythms and swirling claw-plucked strings.
In Un Altro Mondo by Samuli Edermann
‘In un altro mondo’ is a beautiful 1994 single by nation wide ’90s sensation soft pop Finnish singer and actor Samuli Edelmann. This malinconic italian-language pearl dreams of a parallel world and perfectly encapsulates his deeply moving acting style.
Prisoner of the Faith (Con Spiritoso) by Horizon Two Twenty Two
‘Prisoner of the Faith (Con Spiritoso)’ from ‘Spirit Level’ by Horizon Two Twenty Two a side project of the experimental ambient group Zoviet France. A unique 12 miunute dream, with beautiful and evocative vocals with a deep bassline.
Leone is a sound designer, sound engineer and producer based in Milan. Member of the post-industrial electronic duo Train To Eltanin, he recently collaborated on the production of the soundtrack for the film ‘Patagonia’, which won an award at Locarno 2023. Leone experiments with sounds as well as with psyche’s most hidden structures taking the absurdity of surreal digital landscapes and paradoxical oneiric scenarios to a whole new degree of abstraction and integration.
Gabriele collects music, occasionally enjoys playing weird tunes to small dancing crowds, run a small record label called Sunny Crypt and also spends some of his happiest days working in a record shop. Driven by a strong curiosity towards a wide range of musical genres coming from different eras and different cultural contexts, he co-curated the “Italian Dancefloor Outsiders 1987 – 1994” project, a retrospective compilation of under-the-radar leftfield club music released by Sound Metaphors’