Red Box Recorder (SCQ Year-End Questionnaire Part V)

Net-labels were new to me this year and of the countless many out there, I’m grateful that Acroplane was the first one I became acquainted with. My interest quickly turned to infatuation with Colour Codes, the sophomore release by Red Box Recorder. Here, the man otherwise known as DJ Particlefusion (mysterious guy, as you can tell from the pic...) discloses his thoughts on the year and gives us a taste of what’s to come.

SCQ: What have been some of your favourite records of 2009? Gush away.

I thought Arecibo Message was Boxcutter's best album so far, completely great album. Er... I'm pretty crap at keeping up to date with music. I tend to listen to my own stuff more than anyone else's, which some people might consider a form of masturbation, I don't know. I'm generally about a year behind the trend. I only started listening to James Holden a month ago.

SCQ: Be it from the radio, lost on Myspace or from your roster, what song(s) could you not stop spinning?

I think the collaboration between Four Tet and Burial was disgustingly addictive to listen to. I've been caning 'The Soon Future' by Son Green recently too. He's an undiscovered myspace gem. If you can be bothered to wade through the cesspool you can find some amazing music online. It wasn't released in 2009 but 'C-Vex' by Frost Jockey should be banned. It's more addictive than smoking crack while having crystal meth injected into your eyeball. (I've never done that.)

SCQ: Seldom celebrated but crucial to The Album’s identity is cover-art. Can you offer any shortlist of personal favourites from the past year?

Er, Colour Codes by Red Box Recorder...? I wouldn't say 'seldom celebrated' was always the case. One thing that the shift towards digital music formats has done is made people forget about the packaging of the music. Clearly the music is the most important thing when it comes to an album, but the design and artwork add so much to the way the music is received and interpreted, and its a shame that more people aren't including PDF booklets in their digital releases. I reckon that will change, though. There's so much opportunity to be more creative on that front. Just because you haven't printed it doesn't make it any less valid.

SCQ: When you look back on what transpired this year, what will stand out as your most memorable professional moment(s) of 2009?

The release of Colour Codes, which was my second album. Got lots of really positive feedback from it and it's great to have it heard. If it weren't for labels like Acroplane those tracks would have just sat on my hard drive and gathered digital dust. And gun shots in the air to Max McLaughlin for doing the artwork.

Also playing my first live gig in October and having my soundcard break five minutes before I was due to start. I'm trying not to read into that too much...

SCQ: Most of us probably haven’t thought as far as New Years Eve plans but still, looking forward, what do you have on the horizon for 2010?

Cheryl Cole has been in touch about a possible collaboration, so fingers crossed for that. In the real world, however, i will be focusing on making better tunes and putting out some EPs of harsh, tasty beats. I've had a bit of interest from some small labels so we'll see where that goes. Labels have fondled me in the past but nothing has really developed. And gigs. Hopefully i'll play some more of those (and hopefully my soundcard will not break).

Colour Codes - Red Box Recorder

Colour Codes

Red Box Recorder
Acroplane Records.

SCQ Rating: 84%

Every few years an electronic album arrives that shines a light upon its genre from a previously unseen angle, one that no one perceived but everyone flocks to once said focus is pointed out. Endtroducing… did that, Music Has the Right to Children too… and those artists responsible for lamping new directions inevitably carry the notoriety/burden of a pioneer for the rest of their careers. Between these prophetic arrivals we, as avid collectors, celebrate the best of our critical grayscale; records that cause a surge in the electronic scene whereby an artist puts their personal spin on breakthrough styles. Melody AM accomplished that, From Here We Go Sublime too; records that borrowed from the old and created something startlingly fresh. Adding another to that category, Acroplane proudly presents Red Box Recorder, whose sophomore album Colour Codes is as multilayered and jubilant as the best 2009 has to offer.

As far as comparisons go, Colour Code’s adventurism is most reminiscent of Four Tet’s Rounds; a kaleidoscope of moods that bounce between urban break-beats (‘Ghost Trio’), symphonic build-ups (‘Unabomber’) and house rhythms (‘Kid Cadmium’)… and that’s just the first three tracks. What holds it all together – as it did for Kieran Hebden - is an obsessive’s attention to texture and sequencing. The minimal techno beat which opens ‘Too Young to Rave’ undergoes several transformations – including ceasing altogether - before concluding as a driving, complex collision-point, while ‘Leonard’ is a contemplative IDM track, replete with distant percussion and padded keyboard melodies. As some vaguely dubstep-ish rhythms grab ‘In/Out’ by the throat and offer some urban grittiness, ‘The Leading Edge’ dives for the opposite end of the pool with a clubbing track that channels Gui Boratto’s meticulous approach to trance while accommodating all of Red Box Recorder’s previous excursions; the orchestral cut-ups, the inside-out beats, that evaporating choir of drones. And, being Colour Codes’ last track, this grand closure lends gravitas to a superb sequencing job, as the unnamed London-based artist shuffles his/her talents to ensure the disc never feels unbalanced. Truthfully, the title says it all; here’s a woven rainbow of elastic sounds and beats that displays a confidence uncommon for an artist with only one previous album to hoist.

Colour Codes, while an update on established styles, stands out as both technically audacious and deserving of some dedicated attention. Highlights with the crossover potential of ‘My R2 Unit’ and the delicate touch of ‘Up With the Bunting’ are among the better electronic tracks I’ve heard this year, and should be ambassadors for Red Box Recorder’s coming-out party. Much like Rounds, Colour Codes doesn’t aim to have a monolithic impact on electronica’s identity; it won’t change the genre but it might just change your life. In my experience, these personal albums rival the critic’s best.

Available FOR FREE on the incessantly surprising Acroplane label.