Richard Fearless follows his critically acclaimed psycho-geographical techno masterpiece ‘Deep Rave Memory’ with its companion album ‘Future Rave Memory’.
Across titanium kosmische, industrial ambience, weightless acid and dark drone, this new record is an instrument of evocative wonder and heavy emotion. A dystopian ambient album and work of modernist meditation set firmly in an era when humanity is reckoning with its outsized place in the natural world, a process which may evoke humility, defiance, denial or despair.
Container is the solo project of American-born, London-based musician Ren Schofield, who has refined a signature sound over the last decade. Combining his background in drumming and lo-fi noise with techno and rhythmic electronics, Container has cemented himself as a distinctive and disorderly force in modern electronic music.
‘My intentions and goals for this record were to make it way more ‘rock’ oriented than ‘techno’, almost as if it could be a band or adapted by one (albeit a rather non-traditional one), and I wanted to incorporate some potentially awkward sounding time signatures, but do my best to disguise them as something digestible and not without a groove.’
Simian Mobile Disco’s Jas Shaw and new talent Bas Grossfeldt present ‘Klavier’ – an album of haunted elegance, graceful poise and cerebral depth, which is centred around the Yamaha Disklavier. Combining the prepared piano minimalism of Hauschka with Basic Channel style dub techno, the pairing is mirrored in the duo, where Shaw’s formidable dance music experience synergises with Grossfeldt’s arts-based appreciation of contemporary composition.
Comments Off on Drone-020: Richard Fearless – Deep Rave Memory
Release date // November 22, 2019
Format // 12″, digital
Catalog Nr // Drone 020
Purchase // 12″ sold out, buy digital here
Tracklisting:
A1: Vision of You
A2: New Perspective
B1: Devil on Horseback
B2: Acid Angels
C1: Deep Rave Memory
C2: Atlas of Insanity
D1: Driving with Roedelius
D2: Broken Beauty
A stunningly accomplished work, ‘Deep Rave Memory’ is an insight into Fearless’ worlds – both metaphysical and geographical. Pulsating in unison with the heartbeat of a modern metropolis, it was recorded at the Metal Box’ – his studio located on the peninsula of land where the River Lea meets the Thames.
The haunting and wistful blue ambient ‘Vision of You’ leads into the bracingly chilly ‘New Perspective’, which evokes a heavy rush where perceptions are blurred and vision is freeze framed, via elements of techno-soul, Sheffield Bleep and Mika Vainio.
A snarling beast of a track, the relentless machine funk of ‘Devil on Horseback’ perfects the pure cathartic release of dark ‘n’ hot body music, whilst ‘Acid Angels’ is a throbbing low-fi 303 requiem, which encapsulates that perfect dancefloor moment, when the first light breaks through the shutters.
A future classic and the album’s modus operandi, title track ‘Deep Rave Memory’’s discordant filter passes sweep across a hypnotic melody, communicating a deep sense of warm nostalgia and taking you on an epic journey – stretching out a single riff over 12 minutes – akin to the krautrock greats of which Fearless is so fond.
‘Atlas of Insanity’ is big room techno with pounding kicks, death-whip metallic snares and head spinning, spiralling synth lines that drill into your core. This is raw, impulsive and frantic music that sizzles with electric effervescence.
The Germanic kosmische idyll of ‘Driving with Roedelius’ is a homage to one of Richards’ heroes – Hans-Joachim Roedelius – and was inspired by his experience playing a set consisting solely of the electronic pioneer’s music, at a festival celebrating his life and career.
On the album’s closer, Fearless recounts, “‘Broken Beauty’ is something I’ve always strived for in my art. It’s inspired by Robert Frank, William Eggleston and the way they could take the most inane object a turn it into something of beauty. It’s equally schooled by the aggressive simplicity of King Tubby’s dubbing and the transcendence of Joy Division’s ‘Decades’. The sparse allure of the best dub and techno is something I’m always striving for; being able to conjure emotion with the fewest possible elements; to not fix what’s broken, but to make it shine.”
Comments Off on Drone-19: Christopher Rau – Beasts / Riggleysz
Release date // November 8, 2019
Format // 12″, digital
Catalog Nr // Drone 019
Purchase // 12″, digital
Tracklisting:
A1: Beasts
B1: Riggleysz
The ridiculously talented Christopher Rau goes a little harder than his normal sonic spectrum for his debut release on Drone, delivering two fantastic techno excursions with this strong double hitter.
The tile track is ‘Beasts’: harsh, dripping, and cold. Fans of Pan Sonic won’t be disappointed.
‘Riggleysz’ exposes Rau’s Deep House sensibilities with a percussive, dj tool that breaks out into an infectious techno work out.
Comments Off on Drone-018: Richard Fearless – Atlas of Insanity / New Perspective
Release date // October 11, 2019
Format // 12″, digital
Catalog Nr // Drone 018
Purchase // 12″, digital
Tracklisting:
A1: Atlas of Insanity
B1: New Perspective
‘Atlas of Insanity’ is reactionary, big room techno from Richard Fearless; a pounding kick, death whip snares, and synth lines that drill into your core. This is raw, impulsive electronic body music made to loose your mind.
With ‘New Perspective’ Fearless delivers pure techno soul. With sonic leanings towards the North’s Bleep scene and minimalist techno pioneer Mika Vainio’s Philius and Ø alias.
Comments Off on DRONE-017: Tommy Vicari Jnr – Kept In / Closing In
Release date // July 19, 2019
Format // 12″, digital
Catalog Nr // Drone 017
Purchase // 12″, digital
Tracklisting:
A1: Kept In
B1: Closing In
Sheffield’s Tommy Vicari Jnr delivers a study in contrasts for his first release on Drone. ‘Kept In’ is a concordant, synthetic techno pop excursion that bursts into your head like a thought and ricochets throughout. The static and reverb harnessed by Vicari to create ‘Closing In’ is a dub/techno assault, and inverse to the propulsive and glitchy rhythm of the A side.
Comments Off on Drone-016: PSSU – 307309 / Fabricated from Steel
Release date // December 7, 2018
Format // 12″, digital
Catalog Nr // Drone 016
Purchase // 12″, digital
Tracklisting:
A1: 307309
B1: Fabricated from Steel
PSSU are Richard Fearless and Daniel Avery. Long time friends, they first formed their relationship whilst working out of Andrew Weatherall’s legendary ‘Rotters Golf Club’ where Fearless made Trans-Love Energies and Avery did a lot of Drone Logic. The two are now studio neighbours in Leamouth on the River Thames. They were drawn to the collaboration by a mutual appreciation of the other’s music.
‘307309’ is pure electro soul and, with ‘Fabricated from Steel’, PSSU deliver a techno monster. Both tracks were forged at the Metal Box, Drone’s studio in East London.
Limited edition release of 500 in a black sleeve, each with a unique, experimental numbered screen print, 30 cm x 60 cm, in collaboration with Studio Heretic.
