Buy Projections Double LP vinyl / Stream / Download: https://ffm.to/projections

Respected producer, DJ and sound designer Alex Banks presents his third studio album ‘Projections’, returning to Max Cooper’s Mesh imprint. The work follows up critically acclaimed releases on Modeselektor’s Monkeytown, Ninja Tune, where he remixed Bonobo, and his sublime sophomore album ‘Beneath the Surface’ from 2019.

Produced in his studio in Brighton, UK, the album is an immersive nine-track masterstroke covering the gamut of electronica, techno, breakbeat, bass and IDM, fit for clubs and home-listening alike. The project was born in the early stages of 2021. With little outside stimulation to draw inspiration from, Banks
invested in new gear including a Moog Matriarch, DFAM and a host of Eurorack Modules - and set about immersing himself in the possibilities of his new semi-modular synths. In terms of sonic reference points, he found himself in new territory, too. “Usually going to a club night, or concert, or even the
simple things in life that you take for granted all feed into a melting pot of things that inspire me to create. But without these, I instead found myself drawing on memories of experiences, and imagining new ones for the future to come. I began to feel like these were projections, almost like memories of experiences I had been projecting via the music I was creating,” he shares, adding that memories of clubbing trips to Berlin, London and Brighton fuelled his vision for the album.

Furthermore, the seclusion we collectively experienced allowed Banks to philosophise on the nature of human connection, which fed into the album concept: “I started to think about how during our period of relative isolation, we are all projecting into the digital ether, searching for a connection in an increasingly virtual world where shared human contact and experiences have
become scarce.”

Projections

Into The Realm

Download: http://www.xlr8r.com/mp3/2014/08/helios

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Rival Consoles - Helios

All original tracks, this work dates back all the way up until 2016. This album is my life's work up to this point, some unfinished tracks and some finished, I've decided to put it all out there for the world to see and everything is going to be alright now. 

NEXTSTEP

Nae:Tek, Deemkeyne - Backward Flowing Rivers (Deemkeyne's Midnight Version) [Superordinate Dub Waves]

New https://soundcloud.com/olafstuut album 'Run' is out June 10. 
Pre-order: https://atomnation.bandcamp.com/album/run
More info: http://atomnation.net/ATM039-Olaf-Stuut-Run

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Olaf Stuut - Thank You

New mini-album 'Night Melody' out August 5th
Pre-order it on 12"/DL: www.erasedtapes.com/store/index/ERATP087
or digitally from iTunes: snip.ftpromo.net/nightmelody
More info: www.rivalconsoles.net

London-based electronic songwriter Ryan Lee West aka Rival Consoles to release his most personal work to date in the form of a mini-album titled ‘Night Melody’ through Erased Tapes on 5th August 2016.

During the release of his acclaimed full-length album ‘Howl’ and heavy touring in late 2015, Ryan came out of a long relationship and found himself making music throughout the winter months. The result of his efforts is a 34-minute, 6-track mini album ‘Night Melody’, born out of and shaped by long hours working into the night. It’s nocturnal in sound; mysterious in the way that the early hours so often are.

“I found myself, in a silent home, with the days getting dark very early. I’ve never before in my life been affected by the lack of light so much. I just remember it always being night time. I would either make music into the night, go out drinking with friends, or go to parties and dance into the early hours, every day, week after week, month after month, until eventually the days became brighter again.”

The opening statement ‘Pattern of the North’ starts off with a collage of spliced synth melodies, inspired by anxiety that accompanies going home for Christmas. It’s followed by ‘Johannesburg’, an early sketch gradually filled out during his tour in South Africa. 

“After playing it around some of the cities, I got a lot of inspiration to bring it to life and push it into something that really moves me. I think this is one of my most colourful pieces of music, with its driving rhythm and almost a homage to Terry Riley’s ‘In C’ towards the end, with a build of very simple, hypnotic parts. I especially love that for over five minutes the piece is tied to just one note. This makes the ending very dramatic, because all of a sudden there is this harmonic change.”

‘Lone’ started life around the time Ryan was working on his ‘Sonne’ EP in 2014. It’s the result of constant adjustments to find the perfect balance of fragility and assurance. As everything on the album, it’s a carefully considered, emotionally mature piece. “I think, as I get older, I need music to represent something and not just sound interesting, though of course the two are connected.”

The closing statement ‘What Sorrow’ is a fitting end to the album, building from gentle melancholia to a joyous crescendo. It’s a sensibility that’s central to the record; joy and sorrow both find their counterpoints.

“This record is very personal to me and I hope it offers something for other people, as it helped me to make it and to listen to it. Almost every synth line was recorded intuitively, without perfection but with a lot of intention and expression. I’m not interested in making something sad or making something happy. I want music to be bittersweet, to be more complex, like life – containing moments of vibrant colour and hope, as much as darkness and sadness.”

This summer will see Ryan follow on from his recent North American Tour with the appearance at many festivals including Lovebox, Secret Garden Party, La Route Du Rock, Sea Change and Tale of Us-curated Afterlife party at Space, Ibiza. ‘Night Melody’ will be available on 12” vinyl and digitally, August 5th.

TRACK LISTING:  	

A1. Pattern Of The North
A2. Johannesburg
A3. Slow Song

B1. Lone
B2. Night Melody
B3. What Sorrow

Night Melody

Johannesburg

Buy 12"/DL

Rival Consoles - Johannesburg

"Where the World Ends" LP: https://indianwells.bandcamp.com/album/where-the-world-ends

Play/download:  https://fofmusic.lnk.to/WhereTheWorldEnds

Where The World Ends

play / download

It's Where The World Ends

Singularity

Emerald Rush

"Them Is Us" by Rival Consoles

Listen to this track and many more at adultswim.com/singles

Adult Swim Singles 2018-2019

Rival Consoles - Them Is Us

Rival Consoles has shared a second single, 'Vibrations on a String', taken from his forthcoming new album 'Articulation', released on 31 July. 

"Vibrations on a String was one of the earliest pieces I made for the record. The title is a direct reference to the behaviour of the main synth: I was trying to mimic playing a guitar string both softly and aggressively. I think a part of me is often trying to mimic the physical world with synths. There is something mindful about observing things and making sense of them, and once you try to recreate something in a different medium it feels like there are new opportunities to explore." — Ryan Lee West

'Articulation', which follows 2018’s 'Persona', was conceived with a very visual way of thinking, unusual for the London musician and producer. During the writing process Ryan drew structures, shapes and patterns by hand to try and find new ways of thinking about music, giving himself a way to problem-solve away from the computer. The album title references a piece by the avant-garde contemporary composer Györgi Ligeti, though not for its music, but for the non-traditional graphic score that accompanied it.

Since the release of 2018's 'Persona', Ryan contributed an exclusive track 'Them Is Us' to Adult Swim’s coveted Singles series and shared the beautifully textured solo piano piece 'Winter’s Lament' on this year’s Piano Day. He has also been in high demand as a composer, scoring Charlie Brooker’s much talked about Black Mirror episode Striking Vipers, composing original music for Secret Cinema presents Stranger Things as well as renowned choreographer Alexander’s Whitley’s groundbreaking new work 'Overflow', which was set to premiere at London’s Sadler’s Wells Theatre this spring.

Articulation

Vibrations on a String

Stream & order LP · DL

Rival Consoles - Vibrations on a String

Taken from Rival Consoles' forthcoming new album 'Articulation', released on 31 July. 

"This is a song I created late at night, I wanted to make something full of momentum and mood.

The bird song that appears at the beginning of the piece was actually a very late idea in the creating process. My studio is surrounded by a lot of trees and there is always bird song, which I love but normally don’t consider wanting to use in my music. However one day when I was working on the piece, I kept noticing that the birds, were singing perfectly in tune with the song, so much so that it sounded like one of the little melodies that appears at the end of the song. I quickly recorded it on my phone and it just felt right in the music. I think it grounds the song and also plays with the idea that at the beginning of the piece is bird song, and at the end of the piece is a kind of electronic bird song. 

The end is something I have been longing to make for a long time, which is the closest I have gotten to synths coming in and out of picture like choreography, the synths are having a conversation, and it’s very fluid. The mood of the piece to me, is a kind of bittersweet blend of hope and nostalgia." — Ryan Lee West

Articulation (which follows 2018’s Persona) was conceived with a very visual way of thinking, unusual for the London musician and producer. During the writing process Ryan drew structures, shapes and patterns by hand to try and find new ways of thinking about music, giving himself a way to problem-solve away from the computer. The album title references a piece by the avant-garde contemporary composer Györgi Ligeti, though not for its music, but for the non-traditional graphic score that accompanied it. You can see some of these drawings here: http://www.rivalconsoles.net/diagram

Pre-order 'Articulation' on LP · DL: https://IDOL.lnk.to/articulation

Rival Consoles - Sudden Awareness of Now

Founded by sonic architect and explorer Robert Raths aka ghostworker in 2007, Erased Tapes is a truly independent record label that has disrupted the industry and rejuvenated the musical landscape. The London-based label has consistently nurtured genre-defying artists from all around the world without losing its avant-garde ethos.

2015 saw BBC 6 Music radio presenter Mary Anne Hobbs stage an Erased Tapes evening featuring Nils Frahm and A Winged Victory For The Sullen at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the prestigious BBC Prom. It was the fastest selling ticket of the entire season. Shortly after Erased Tapes was awarded Best Small Label 2015 at the AIM Awards.

On February 5th 2017 Erased Tapes opened the doors to its new East London home, marking the 10th anniversary by introducing fans and the public to the new Erased Tapes Sound Gallery.

“Ten years of one of the most important record labels of the last few years“ — Gilles Peterson

"Over the last decade, Robert Raths’ label Erased Tapes has developed a sonic profile perfectly in step with the growing taste for quiet, meditative works on the cusp of ambient and chamber music" — The Independent

“The heart-string-tugging London label that floats gently between 20th century composition and ambient music” — Rolling Stone