Ashtool is musician Mirco Rizzi, a Turin, Italy based artist whose music is a cross road of experimental, industrial, dark, ambient and noise.The album also features guest collaborations by Daniele Brusaschetto (pretty much the godfather of that local scene), Oscar Mucci, Paul Beauchamp, Micaela Michetti and the saavy engineering skills of the ubiquitous Marco Milanesio.From underneath his loft bed, Mirco's been fishing around his pool of influences and ends up gently plucking the strings of all the above mentioned genres, with leftfield humble minimalistic excursions and louder sonic ministrations. His combination of electric and acoustic sounds generates tension and relaxation, at the same time. Guitar improvisations are blended in with all sort of types of noises, occasionally industrial rhythms (in classical Brusa-style), voices (mostly spoken) and other sounds, resulting in a dynamic and multifaceted album that ranges from beautiful atmospheric tracks ("Meeting a Friend", "Passegiata", or "Sexes3" and "Ridolini/th(ou)gh(t)s" and their gorgeous jazzy treated guitars) to loud attacks on eardrums ("Mu", "Nulla Mi E' Dovuto" or "Cerchireprise", with its interesting quasi orchestral samples), and everything in between (like the sweet Warp-ish sounding "Saleccia5").It is definitely one of those albums you'd have to listen to at an appropriate volume and with the right state of mind, in order to appreciate its nice and hidden subtleties.