8 Tracks: Of Passage With Rioux

 
Music

Growing up in Detroit there are several paths in life which one can choose. Erin Rioux is now based in Brooklyn, some 600 miles away from the city in which he was raised.

Often deemed responsible for the birth of techno and as one of the most culturally relevant destinations in electronic music it is easy to see how many who grew up in Detroit became inspired by those who have come before. However, Erin Rioux's approach has been somewhat different in its style and nature. His work is arguably experimental, taking less influence from the fast paced electro and techno which has become a staple of the city's music culture and more from the likes of Brian Eno, Grace Jones and Sun Ra. His productions feature the use of instruments to a great extent and he continues to toy with the interchange between programmed machines and live music. This month will see him release a new album titled "Fragmenta". In correlation with this we asked him to talk tracks of passage… Here are his selections…


Follow Rioux on Facebook HERE.  Buy the release HERE

Listen to his selection on our Ransom Note Spotify channel:

Konono N°1 - Lufuala Ndonga

I was lucky to see this multi-generational band from the Congo perform in Detroit when I was fourteen. The fiery repetition is trance-inducing and stretches the possibilities of a simple instrument––the kalimba––to wild extremes. I was very excited when they released their new studio album this year.

  • Konono N°1 - Lufuala Ndonga

    I was lucky to see this multi-generational band from the Congo perform in Detroit when I was fourteen. The fiery repetition is trance-inducing and stretches the possibilities of a simple instrument––the kalimba––to wild extremes. I was very excited when they released their new studio album this year.

  • Dirk Leyers - Come To Where I Go

    When the independent record shop in my childhood hometown closed, I would go to a place in Detroit that favored minimal techno and was always showcasing the German label Kompakt. It would become one of my favorites, particularly for its Pop Ambient series. This selection, coming from the 2006 edition that I bought with lunch money I had saved, is a mesmerizing sound collage and an inspiration to work with abstracted and ambiguous sound forms.

  • Lisbon - Keith Fullerton Whitman

    Durational pieces of music like this can be powerful in that they coax us into patience and a state of deeper listening than short-form productions. A 40+ minute piece/1-track album, Lisbon was another lunch money CD purchase on a whim for which I’m grateful.

  • Nico Muhly - Mothertongue Pt. 1

    The memory of being floored by this on first listen in college is crystalline. The tone clusters of disparate, chattering voices speaks to the subconscious in the way it strings together experiential information and the gliding sawtooth bass synth lifts it above the surface. The inclusion of electronics alongside traditional elements––voice, strings, piano, bells––inspired me to explore this balance in my work.

  • Alice Coltrane - Universal Consciousness

    This frenetic piece illuminates the underlying beauty in chaos and dissonance. The ecstatic barrage demands a sort of surrender from the listener, inducing a powerful experience.

  • Gilb'r - Beesan Rum - A Song For Anna

    I discovered the French producer Gilb’r through the Acid Arab series, whose 3rd volume features this production. It has a slowly unfolding, confident repose laid out by its 100bpm pulse and detailed with harmonized spoken word, droning upper-register synth suspensions, and a memorable, layered sax motif. This track triggers a feeling of strength and confidence in me while still invoking a sense of wonder.

  • Headaches - Aluphor (Album Stream)

    When my friend Landon Speers told me he had been working on ambient music I was intrigued, having only previously heard dance-oriented work from him. Aluphor is a spellbinding album that was an absolute honor to release on my label Human Pitch last year. The opening track casts an enveloping, monolithic tone and gives me goosebumps every time.

  • Julianna Barwick - Sunlight , Heaven

    I love this track for its glowing warm/cold dynamic. For me it calls to mind a coming out of hibernation––moving through the death of winter and towards a rebirth. Something about Juliana’s voice always brings about beaming clarity––always a refreshing listen.

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