RROSE Vinyl & CDs

Review: The legendary 'Solaris' is a standout tune from Kareem's 1997 release CICLOP on Berlin-based label Zhark. Originally, CICLOP combined diverse styles including industrial hip-hop, cinematic ambience and dub techno and created a unique, gritty soundscape as a result. Solaris stood out for its raw, brutally minimalist approach and now these new remixes from cult favs Orphx, Rrose, SHXCXCHCXSH and Kareem breathe new life into them with lots of lo-fi synth designs, muggy atmospheres, dense, foggy drones and plenty of rolling and dubbed out rhythms.

Review: Multidisciplinary artist Seth Horvitz aka Rrose returns to their own EAUX label here with a new album, Please Touch, which comes after their Lotus Eater collaboration with Lucy and a number of influential EPs on the likes of Sandwell District and Stroboscopic Artefacts over the years. These potent, stripped back and synth-laden techno cuts explore new vistas while building on what has come before. Rose has studied with West Coast avant-garde trailblazers at Mills College and feeds their sounds through "elaborate webs of interrelated audio processing" which means a change in every element of the music has a knock-on effect on all the others. It means this is music in constant mutation.

Review: Mysterious techno artist Rrose presents their first ever CD release, and their second full-length project to date. Following 2019's Hymn to Moisture, Please Touch features 11 slippery slinkers, flaunting Rrose's penchant for hypnotics and minimalisms; the likes of 'Spores' and 'Spines' refuse to indulge too many novel sounds, preferring to allow their more immersive textures to rattle and ricochet over each mix, producing a delugey wash. Thematically, the LP deals with themes of touch, intimacy and embodiment, doing some of the work to bridge the schizophonic gap that's remained open since the dawn of recorded music.

Review: Probably for good reason, techno deviant Rrose isn't as active as he was a few years back. However, we see this as a winning strategy - building and maintain momentum up until the very moment the bombs drop. Back on his own EAUX label, we have three new, blurry technoid structures made for the more finessed ears. "The Smallest Footprints" dazzles and confuses with its constantly shape-shifting groove, guided and supported by an ocean of deep-water sonics and atmospheric harmonies, whereas "The Ends Of Weather" itself sounds like the beginning of the perfect storm, gliding with tenebrous might across its six minutes and 42 seconds of instability and beatless sway. On the B-side, "Nest Of Queens" manages to do very much with very little, launching a minimalistic percussion flex that evolves at its own pace, twisting and convulsing more and more with each new bang of the beat. What a stunner. Be quick, these will go!