Album Notes

Seventeen More Times, the sophomore album release from genre-crossing electronic musician Esselfortium, bridges focused melodic accessibility with complex, multilayered experimental sounds.

"Seventeen More Times is an album best enjoyed as a whole. There’s different cycles throughout the album and each one plays its act in setting up the next track. You won’t feel the absolute rebirth of 'Andante' if you haven't crawled the depths of the previous three tracks. For that, for its craftsmanship and for his ability to form absolutely storming tracks in all different guises, Esselfortium’s latest album is a triumph. Make this your 2011 new artist discovery."
- Higher Plain Music
http://higherplainmusic.com/2011/04/26/esselfortium-seventeen-more-times-review/

"Michael Mancuso is Esselfortium, a genre-bending producer that dabbles in a bit of Drum and Bass, a bit of Downtempo, and a bit of Ambient to create an assortment of perfectionist tunes. For the most part, this is a must-listen if you are a fan of anything from Boards of Canada — a group that has played a significant influence on his music. But while keeping this foundation at bay, Esselfortium loves to tweak the sound to suit his own tastes and experiments beyond the world of ambience."
- Spacetoasters
http://spacetoasters.com/post/4805623996/

Developed over the four years since the release of his debut A Terrible Flood in 2007, Seventeen More Times furthers Esselfortium’s path towards stylistic experimentation and progressive songwriting in the vein of Boards of Canada, Moby, Telefon Tel Aviv, Radiohead, and others while carving out new stylistic ground of his own.

The album’s opener, “Quantum Magic”, functions nearly as an overture as it intertwines countless melodies and motifs. Later, the piano-infused mellow breakbeats of “Introjection” explode into an ominous industrial climax before giving way to the uplifting melancholy of “18 Apostolos”, a warm, cinematic downtempo piece. “Andante” closes the album on an optimistic, retrospective note, drawing influence from Boards of Canada and Aphex Twin alike.

The album’s 16 songs clock in at over 73 minutes, spanning cyberpunk breakbeats, wintery soundscapes, psychedelic acid-trance, fuzzy downtempo, and more, every track powered by a strong melodic sensibility.

Its predecessor A Terrible Flood ( http://cdbaby.com/esselfortium ) has been recommended as a “fresh, masterful work of art” by listeners, whose testimonials included “A Terrible Flood stays with you. I've had this looping in my car for two weeks and it keeps me coming back for more.” Music blog FlawedLogic.org suggested “If you like melodies, breakbeats, emotion, or all 3, check this one out — you’ll be happy you spent the money.”