It seems like mysterious musicians anonymously releasing stellar works are the norm these days: Burial (formerly), jj (somewhat), Sally Shapiro (half of the group), and iamamiwhoami all fall under this category. The new masked man/woman du jour is none other than RxRy who, with the scant info gleaned from his/her myspace page, I can probably safely say lives somewhere on planet Earth. However, after hearing some of tracks on their self-titled release, I’m unsure about even that.
I first heard about RxRy through the good gals down at BUTTERxFACE when they posted his (sorry for the gender bias, but that’s the pronoun I’m going with) album for free download on their site, prompting some to speculate that the musician is none other than Animal Collective member Noah Lennox and the released material are outtakes from a recent solo recording session. After a superficial listen, it’s easy to discredit this rumor, but even having the false notion that you’re Panda Bear is a testament on how strong your music is. RxRy also took the time to address the mistaken identity head-on by uploading the following picture to his myspace:
As for the album itself, it’s 37 minutes of ambient hypnotic sounds that are sure to leave you entranced with each listen. The majority of the opener “Baulkn Slihts” (I guess vowels are so 2009) left me imagining what it’s like to be trapped out on the open ocean, braving sea swells and relentless sun. Hell, if it had the word “wave” in the title, I know of a perfect compilation it would have fit right into!
Much how Mt. Eerie was able to harness the power of thunderstorms in his Wind’s Poem LP, RxRy seems to channel his inner Captain Planet and bust out his wind and water rings at a moment’s notice. The predominant sound of “Prestina Mewloh” are bird-like chirpings which gives the impression of wind rustles with shimmering synth lines floating in-and-out like clouds. On the other hand, “Prajhil Ryhtm”s prominently features a thumping bass line, albeit muted a bit, but wait, what’s that in the background? — none other than some sea-breeze fluctuations. And much of the album continues in the same atmospheric fashion.
Although keeping the head in the skies seems to be a reoccurring theme, that isn’t to say there aren’t any bumping tracks. Both “Eaurowi” and “Edvrd Rvrfy Guitr” make good use of fast tempo head-nodding beats that are sure to keep people dancing while “Convrtvbl Bvbes” (which is one of the few easily translatable tracks) is perfect for a more lo-key chillaxxxed party.
You can check out two of my favorite tracks below and if you like it, head on over to BUTTERxFACE for a link to a full download: