Transcendental techno from of the genre’s most singular artists.
In 2011, a producer called Rrose made their mark on the influential Sandwell District label with ‘Waterfall’, a colossal techno track that still stands as one of the decade’s best. As anyone who has heard ‘Waterfall’ on a dancefloor can probably attest, the effect of its frequencies is more akin to a psychedelic experience than an ecstatic one.
Although it wasn’t widely known at the time, Rrose was the new alias of Seth Horvitz, who made reduced, glitchy techno as Sutekh in the late ’90s and 2000s. In 2008, looking for a new challenge, Horvitz enrolled in a masters programme in electronic music at Mills College, studying the history and processes of 20th century avant-garde musicians such as György Ligeti and Conlon Nancarrow.
Since Rrose emerged and Sandwell District shuttered, they have pushed techno beyond its formal boundaries on a series of records released through their Eaux imprint, Stroboscopic Artefacts and more, as well as releasing a reinterpretation of James Tenney’s 1971 piece, Having Never Written A Note For Percussion on Further Records.
Last year, Rrose released their first solo album, Hymn to Moisture. A hypnotic, mind-melting journey through precisely sculpted tones and modulated rhythms, its extensive runtime evokes the transcendental experience of one of their live sets.
While Rrose’s long overdue FACT mix doesn’t feature any tracks by the artist, its simmering, undulating feel is undeniably in tune with their own music, combining productions from artists as diverse as Paleman, Bambounou, Caterina Barbieri and Zov Zov.
Tracklist:
SNKLS – ‘Isandula’ (VIP Mix) [Polaar] Henry Greenleaf – Inch [Grasstalk]
LOFT – ‘funemployed’ [Wisdom Teeth]
SHXCXCHCXSH – ‘VVOV’ [Mord]
Paleman – ‘Audio Repeater’ [unreleased]
Bambounou – ‘Kosovo Hardcore’ [Disk]
Mark Broom – ‘AR-4’ [Token]
We Like We & Jacob Kirkegaard – ‘Adonis’ [Sonic Pieces]
Throwing Snow – ‘The Death Of Pragmatism’ [Houndstooth]
DJ Skull – ‘Bang’n’ [Djax-Up-Beats]
Psyk – ‘Bell Tair’ [Tresor]
Ductile – ‘Comptine’ [Groom]
Ruth Anderson – ‘Points’ [Arc Light Editions]
Eric Holm – ‘Stave’ [Subtext]
Reeko – ‘Regnum Asturorum’ [Granulart]
Caterina Barbieri – ‘Limen’ [Important]
Zov Zov – ‘God Vessel 6’ [Death and Leisure]
154 – ‘Sniper’ [Delsin]
Paleman – ‘Cloppeth’ [unreleased]
Laetitia Sonami – ‘Passages’ [unreleased]
First Tone – ‘Reiterations’ [Spectrum Spools]
Listen next: FACT mix 752: Rhyw
