PORCELIAN RAFT at the Drake Hotel. NXNE. Rating: NNN
Unlike many home-recording laptop dream-poppers, Mauro Remiddi isn’t a rookie.
On the scene for years in both New York and his native Italy, the singer/songwriter knows the secret to translating intimate, solitude-based recordings to a live setting: hire a drummer.
Playing as a duo for their NXNE-kickoff set, Porcelain Raft added some welcome rock muscle to their voice-and-samples based driftery, combining synthetic elements with a human touch. If only they had the songs to match. Instead, whether built on guitars or sequences, the tracks tended to blend into one airy, atmospheric amble, more texture than melody.
