*200 copies limited edition* "Al-Azif is the second work of Capricorni Pneumatici. Released on tape in 1987, the album was recorded in an underground location containing a group of vitrified cement tanks that created an extremely deep reverberation and amplification of sounds. The tanks were very large, some with a capacity of 500/800 quintals, others smaller. They had openings both above ground level and below the ground at depths of 5/6 meters. Thus, the sound had a very unique and impressive flow.
Among various instruments, Capricorni Pneumatici used sheets of metal, hammers, PVC pipes, air compressors, corrugated tubes, etc. The recordings were made with a Teac hi-fi tape deck and two Akai microphones suspended at different heights inside the tanks, directly connected to the tape deck. All recordings were made directly on the two-track recorder during the performance, without any digital or analogue intervention, and no overdubbing after recording.
The first seven tracks included in this reissue are the originals from the Al-Azif tape published in 1987, while the last four are part of the same recording session in June 1986, but were not included in the C45 for various reasons, mainly space constraints. The Al-Azif tape had significant circulation (by the standards of the underground at that time), especially among enthusiasts of esotericism. Up to Ix Tab the tapes, in addition to being sold by the ADN label in Marco Veronesi's famous watchmaker's backroom, were also sold by an esoteric bookstore in Milan, circulating several hundred copies—an uncommon occurrence for such self-productions.
After the reissue of "Nibbas" (Eighth Tower Records, 2022), Al-Azif brings to light another jewel in the discography of Capricorni Pneumatici, one of the flagship projects of Italian industrial/esoteric underground in the 80s, alongside Ain Soph, Sigillum S, Rosemary’s Baby, LAShTAL, Thee Three Rings, and other representatives of this realm of sonic occultism." - Raffaele Pezzella