released July 3, 2007

Reviews:
Listen carefully, because there is much more going on than you might initially realise.
Erwin Michelfelder on Music Machine, 2008

Known as a guitarist, takes his instrument beyond what it was designed to do. Through innovative performance techniques as well as electronic effects processing, his music can approach the uneasiness of the avant-garde, and just as easily float back to the safety of ambient music's harmonious static state. Sometimes strange, always imaginative, Formentini's music is unexpected.
STAR'S END/Chuck van Zyl 2008

Creepy, eerie, meditative, atmospheric, powerful...these are just some of the words that describe the latest CD from Italian experimental guitarist Luca Formentini. This is music that will haunt you, that will get under your skin, but in a good way. Comprised of 16 tracks, Subterraneans bristles with restrained energy, as if Formentini is just teasing the listener with moody sonic bursts of sounds. More so a collection of moods than songs, each track hits a different nerve, and elicits a different response from your senses. Take "If I Stop" as an example; Formentini's echoed wailings and restrained volume swells creates an ominous sense of dread, yet at the same time you get the feeling that his guitar passages are desperately trying to burst through the surface of some unseen barrier, and that there is hope of breaking through. Much of the music on Subterraneans has a similar feel, as the guitarist uses his instrument more to create resonant lines of sustained beauty than technical prowess. Take the soundscape works of Robert Fripp or Richard Pinhas, and have the soundscapes actually sound like a guitar, and that is kind of what you get here. Some neat backwards guitar washes permeate the droning "Digya", while "118" offers a vast aura of sonic sound that would appeal to fans of early Tangerine Dream. It's not until "Mother" that you really hear some "normal" guitar sounds, this piece being a earthy jazz cut where the guitarist sounds a bit like Eric Johnson.
If you are tired of all the shred maniacs, and want to hear some real experimental guitar work in what is normally a keyboard setting, check this CD out. It won't excite the hell out of you, but it will certainly help you explore parts of your mind that you may never have journeyed to before.
Pete Pardo on Sea of Tranquillity, 2008

The fact is Formentini has simply exploited a pre-existing "language" but he manages to be both lyrically evocative and touchy that makes the difference. "Tacet" is warm and has the undoubtful quality to make you feel relaxed both when the mood of the track is sad and when we have something close to the softest/diluted evolution of Miles Davis (Nordic jazz anybody?). While many of his contemporaries fall while looking for the coolest sound, Formentini is more absorbed in the search for interiority and you can hear it. I know I may sound dumb for writing this but after many listening I couldn’t but think how Wenders’ "Until the end of the world" wouldn’t have been such a bore with a soundtrack like that.
Andrea Ferraris on Chain DLK 2008

Formentini's one of those virtuosi who is more intent on exploring the textural possibilities his instrument offers rather than crafting the perfect solo, and accompanying him in that pursuit are kindred explorers like trumpeter Markus Stockhausen and cellist Deborah Walker. Many of the pieces feature the guitarist alone, though the range of effects he typically deploys ensures that a given track suggests the workings of a small ensemble than a single player.
Textura, 2008

Italian experimental guitarist Luca Formentini, known for his work with Can’s Holger Czukay, is very much tapping in to a collision of genres. Experimental improvised guitar, leftfield electronics, jazz, ambient, drone, musique concrete all combine to be much more than the sum of their parts. It’s remarkably low key, at times remarkably abstract, with much space allowed for the instruments to tail out and drift back in.
Composing with a spare languid stillness, it’s music that embraces space and silence, yet also improvisation, whilst simultaneously establishing an evocative mood, that is never shattered by technique.
In Formentini’s hands the guitar is used for texture, for resonance, for controlled feedback. He is clearly operating without set parameters here, creating a new form, albeit one that is gentle, evocative and surprisingly musical.
Bob Baker Fish on Cyclic Defrost, 2008

I suoni che Formentini tira fuori dalla sua chitarra sono incredibili e la sua abilità nel manipolarli è stupefacente: le note diventano un mare di elettronica su cui fare nuotare o annegare un'infinità di sensazioni.
Roberto Mandolini per Rockerilla, 2008

Ci sono tantissimi picchi espressivi davvero elevati nel tuo recente Tacet: suggestioni percettive si alternano a momenti di pura psichedelia e di visionarietà.
Vito Camaretta per The Vibes – 2008