New Artist Spotlight: r1xf’s ‘Accidental’ Indie Electronica ‘Music for Robots’
It’s wild, definitely, that the 808 beatmaker, invented in more than 40 years and only manfactured for a modest window from 1980-1983, however manages to inspire of musicians and producers. Even with all the modern day procedures, programming, simplicity of obtain, et al., the Roland 808 is continue to 1 of music’s most coveted pieces of gear. It is not just for its rarity, both. The distinctive appears of the 808 have simply not been replicated lo these four decades, and the quantity of means it can be made use of in programming and generation is even now capturing the imaginations of quite a few an artist.
The legend of the 808 is the place we locate Canadian indie artist, rx1f. As a composer, tunes tech fanatic and sometime punk rocker, rx1f fell in appreciate with the 808 and its abilities through a documentary on the legendary programming kit. He made the decision to re-vamp not only his fashion and moniker, but also an overall album making use of the 808, amongst other factors, to put a futuristic and decidedly digital spin on his past punk rock operate.
This album is an conclusion-to-close re-imagination of a maximalist indie punk album that I made with a mate a couple of decades in the past, which I can no longer bear to listen to…There are a great deal of samples from NASA and other area-relevant resources on r8c180, you can listen to world seems on pretty a lot every observe.
The complete album, r8c180, is due out in mid-November. The initially teaser track, “Accidents,” provides what the semi-reclusive artist claims, as it opens with a clip from a room launch and the 808-design and style starburst sound design and style we all know and love. Once the synths and supporting generation come in, it turns into crystal clear to everyone who is aware of that kit that rather a great deal all of this observe was programmed on an 808. It’s astonishing that artists are nevertheless in a position to get so much out of this just one equipment.
Design-wise, “Accidents” is, in fact, really spacey, with an noticeable classic flare and, if we were being to set a genre tag on it, it’s a mixture of vitage electro-pop and put up punk. The post punk, or “maximalist punk” little bit arrives predominantly from the vocals, sung by rx1f himself. With a kind of smoky, Daniel Ash-from-Appreciate-and-Rockets-and-Bauhaus top quality, we can see the write-up punk/synth pop tie-in listed here. With all that 80s vintage fashion, “Accidents” nevertheless performs very modern day, having said that, and the juxtaposition of extremely human vocals and “music for robots,” as the artist himself puts it, is very likely the cause. There is a soul and a touch of relatable ennui, as the vocals contact out to the void of room, which is quite relatable for modern-day listeners.
https://www.youtube.com/enjoy?v=RtCj4Lv9rhU
The online video for “Accidents,” dropped on rx1f’s YouTube page just a handful of days ago, reinforces that human/device conversation and lends even far more material to that have to have for connection epxressed in the vocals. It looks it is not just the 808 that fascinates rx1f, but the paradox between wondering and feeling, technologies and emotion. Is there a equilibrium to strike? Will know-how aid humanity or is it sure to demolish us? It’s a question rx1f will probable take a look at far more in the upcoming r8c180, while the solution carries on to elude most of us. At the very least we know the 808 will normally be on our facet.
“Accidents” is out now and can be streamed on Spotify or purchased on Bandcamp. Hold an eye on these platforms and rx1f’s YouTube channel for the forthcoming r8c180.
