A Noir-Inspired Sonic Journey Blending Suspense, Memory, and Modern Electronics
Marek De Vann’s latest EP Il Fuggiasco / A Mano Armata doesn’t simply revive a genre—it breathes into it a pulse that is as evocative as it is present. Composed in collaboration with Hammond virtuoso Paolo “Apollo” Negri, this two-track release is a time-bending dive into the golden age of 1970s Italian crime cinema, interpreted through De Vann’s meticulous electronic vision and unflinching attention to detail.
Eschewing pastiche, De Vann (aka Marco Sarracino) channels sonic memories of maestros like Stelvio Cipriani and Franco Micalizzi while maintaining a critical, forward-facing stance. “Nostalgia is never mannerism,” notes music and film scholar Maurizio Galli, “but living material, transformed.” And transformed it is: in A Mano Armata, we feel the anxious breath of noir-choked alleys and chase sequences reframed through analog synths and layered textures. The tension is real, but it’s cinematic tension reimagined in high fidelity.
Its companion piece Il Fuggiasco unravels with slow-burning lyricism—less a pursuit than a portrait of the fugitive’s inner world. There’s a psychological undertone here, a moral and existential unraveling rendered in sonic fragments. De Vann, with his history rooted in bass-driven surf and stoner rock bands like Oak’s Mary and Operation Octopus, brings a physicality to his electronic production that’s rare in this space. It’s music you feel as much as hear.
Since launching his solo electronic project in 2022, Marek De Vann has carved out a distinct niche, marrying vintage tones with digital sophistication. His influences range from Kraftwerk and Boards of Canada to the arcades of his youth, but what emerges is uniquely his: cinematic, restless, immersive.
In Il Fuggiasco / A Mano Armata, De Vann offers more than homage—he proposes a new dialogue between past and present, memory and reinvention. This EP is not only for fans of Italian poliziotteschi, but for anyone who believes electronic music can carry story, weight, and cultural resonance.
Available now on Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music, and more. Let it soundtrack your own escape into something deeper.
