New York’s live electronica duo Multiple Mono have brought Rob Paterson’s bizarre sonic experiments to life since 2005. Although active in the local dance scene, Rob and collaborator Colin Kasprowicz’s work is far from any insecure dance music conventions, the character of their independent musical universe strengthened by the fact Rob escaped the claustrophobia of NYC many years ago, now living and composing from a cabin deep in the woods of Long Island
Following releases on Minus12 and Little Helpers, this first EP for Ricochet demonstrates the power of the duo’s productions and personality that spills from their live arrangements. A firm grasp of minimal dance drives opener False Prophet – leading by example that less is more, immense power carried by just a drum machine and bass synth in their hands. Things then get somewhat psychedelic, as Peregrine introduces us to what they describe as “33tech”, the result of experiments playing minimal techno 45s at 33rpm. Hovering around 100bpm, this avant-garde piece is a blissful reminder of why artists need the confidence and space to follow their own instinctive path – a compelling, phat and bizarre beast worth delving deep into. Vinegar Chicken brings us back uptempo, although the sparse groove, acid-disco synths and switching arrangement make this a DJ tool to keep the jockey firmly on their toes. Rob and Colin have achieved great things by addressing these bold creative risks head-on
On remix duties is Justin K Broadrick (Napalm Death / Godflesh / Jesu) reviving his electronic side project Pale Sketcher (Ghostly International) for a beautiful slice of heavy ambience. New signing Muni Manuka leaves a slice of classic Ricochet broken tech to round off this twenty-first outing for the label
