Punctum is the duo of Caterina Barbieri and Carlo Maria working with old electronic equipment in new ways. On *Remote Sensing* they take their start with hallowed Roland boxes dating from the early 1980s, namely the TB-303 and the TR-606. Barbieri and Maria then pair and filter these artifacts with additional equipment. The result is heavily punctuated beats that echo with a fierce, vibrant, rhythmic intent.
On “Uncharted,” each foregrounded plunk is refracted with a sturdy, antiseptic repetition. That hard-rubbery effect is magnified on “Quick Botta,” where it provides a bottom level to an ever-rising sequence of 4/4 tribal efficiency, and on “Innocecocchito,” which is a quarter the speed and all the more chilly for it. On “Innocecocchito,” that same brittle decay is the sound of a hospital ward experienced through heavy sedation and half-dead fluorescent lights — which is to say, its glorious in its stubborn fragility.
Album available at [caterinabarbieri.bandcamp.com](https://caterinabarbieri.bandcamp.com/album/punctum-remote-sensing). More from Barieri at [caterinabarbieri.com](http://www.caterinabarbieri.com) and Maria at [carlomaria.bandcamp.com](https://carlomaria.bandcamp.com). Image from [ziguline.com](http://www.ziguline.com/nowhere-festival-layahuasca-musicale-allex-dogana/).