pheel. - Lost In Thought

pheel. Is the musical identity of Phil Gallo from Denver, Colorado whose mystical four-track trip-hop EP Lost In Thought dropped on May 8th, 2018. The title is no misnomer. These four tracks offer a deep, pensive listening experience. The EP is composed with frequent collaborator Parkbreezy, with Thought Process and Xenolinguist also making contributions to one track apiece. 

Lost in Thought is imaginative trip-hop infused with glitch subtleties. Its rhythms are rooted in hip-hop and downtempo. They’re paired with gentle, dissonant melodies and filled in with a serving of synthesized psychedelia that’s generous but not overwhelming. Ambient tropes and vaguely nostalgic flourishes provide a final garnish. The arrangements are spacious. Each sound has more than enough room to breathe, be it a lush pad, a curling synthesizer or a sprinkle of crisp percussion. 

This release finds grace in humility. pheel. makes no attempt to flash talent or grab at the listener. Lost in Thought is an offering, a prism through which one’s mind can interpret anew if only briefly. Enjoy for easy listening, and you will be at ease. Engage more deeply, and you may be rewarded with insight.

Art: photograph.your.mind

MALAKAI & wiseyoungfool - Captain's Quarters

Art: Only Motif

Here's a freebie from MALAKAI and wiseyoungfool to celebrate 2,000 followers on SoundCloud, and as a special thanks to everyone whose been supporting The Rust Music.

wiseyoungfool - Slowpoke

Brandishing his new single, “Slowpoke”, Wiseyoungfool furthers his signature combination of choice melody and intense low-end synthesis. The sound design of the track is filled with grit, distortion, and wild compression to allow it to fill up the frequency spectrum. The harmonious sample play that serves as the riding melody is a careful blend of pads and melancholy note relationships that give “Slowpoke” a breath and atmosphere of its own. Make sure to keep your eyes on wiseyoungfool, lest you miss out on any more treats thrown in your direction.

Art: wiseyoungfool

Uprising - Kermit

Delivering a sonic K.O. with extreme precision, Uprising is steadily creating a home for himself amongst his contemporaries in aggressive bass-music. His Kermit EP is a departure from the heavy psy influence that is pervasive with the Australian electronic scene, instead adopting a neuro sound design and half-time cadence. Both tracks are serious neck-breakers, filled to bursting with rhythmic turn-arounds and pulsing, shredded basslines.

Art: Uprising

wiseyoungfool - Denizens

Bursting into the fourth year since the creation of his musical project, Wiseyoungfool is a young producer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who has honed in on the nuances of his craft. Pulling influence from drum-and-bass, downtempo, house, and trap music, his own designs and arrangements are a culmination of the recent evolutions in the production and composition of eclectic bass music. Wiseyoungfool’s latest foray into sonic synthesis, Denizens showcases the multilateral productions and sound designs that separate the artist from the pack. 

Denizens is a forward progression of d-n-b, halftime, and neuro styles, wrapped up in various overarching soundscapes. The synthesis is balanced and full bodied, combining granular textures with precise harmonious arrangements. Each track is a fully immersive, standalone beast that takes on a number of attributes from a wide array of influences. Some features and aspects are carefully dusted over to give an organic atmosphere to the song, while others are meticulously produced to a high veneer finish, begging to be rinsed through proper sound systems. Overall, Denizens is poised to set a new standard for the propagation of the constantly morphing attributes that make underground bass music such a malleable and pervasive force.

Art: wiseyoungfool

Waterchild - Loria

Art: Chris Fun

A cache of deep grooves as hypnotic as they are diverse pour forth from Loria, the first full-length LP from the Nashville-based electronic musician known as Waterchild. Loria weaves together a miscellany of styles including ambient, downtempo, dub, hip-hop and jazz. Since he began writing music Waterchild has mined and manipulated this diversity to create his own personal blend of sound. Loria represents the most developed and cohesive presentation of that sound to date.

The album is a complex collage of instrumental and acoustic material. The drums are never so heavy as to betray their electronic origins, especially when sprinkled over with wooded rimshots and metallic ride cymbals. Jazzy piano and classical guitar are spliced into the space between boom and bap on. Woodwinds help paint a colorful, arrhythmic landscapes of eastern ambience. Saxophone saunters on top of synth pads.

Regardless of the style a track adheres to or innovates upon, Waterchild adopts a stance of peace, contemplation, and emotional vulnerability throughout Loria. Nothing is hidden and no airs are put on. This is music to relax with; music to think on and to feel; music for dreams and dreamers.

Maxfield & WESSANDERS - Tacos Al Pastor

Jake Maxfield aka Maxfield and Kai Felsman aka Wessanders from Boston, Massachusetts team up on Tacos Al Pastor, an exhilarating two-track EP. The project possesses fundamentally unorthodox songwriting, with two cuts - “Tacos” and “In Tulum” - that cut unique paths and leave room for sonic surprises.

Both producers flex impressive sound design many times over, offering weighty, gravitational basslines that are juxtaposed with a spread of delicate glitches. Both of the tracks are sewn together with fine-tuned percussion that is progressive but accessible. 

Tacos Al Pastor comes on the heels of Maxfield's stellar Sonorous EP, and for Wessanders it follows his crunchy Christmas Miracle Mini Mix. We hope you enjoy this listen and stay chooned for more. 

Art: Jake Clarke

The Rust Music - Oxidized Vol. 2 [VA]

Art: Mocktail, 5AM

The Rust Music is proud to release it's sophomore compilation album, Oxidized Vol. 2. Featuring 26 producers from across both coasts of the US, Canada, and Scotland, this collection of tracks boasts meticulous composition, arrangement, sound design, and cohesion. 
It encompasses multiple styles and flavors of glitch, neuro, psy, IDM, downtempo, dubstep, trip-hop and lo-fi hip-hop. 

100% of proceeds will go to Hurricane Maria Relief.

MALAKAI - Saros

Art: Jesse Wheaton

What tends to separate electronic producers in a vast sea of equivalency is their approach to musicality; the tonality, notation, instrumental dialogue, and sonic color palette chosen by particular artists are what sets them apart from the pack.

MALAKAI breathes that methodology tenfold, and his most recent release, Saros should make that lucid to those not in the know. A choice blend of downtempo and glitch hop, abrasiveness is left at the door in favor of curating a soothing journey full of melodious interplay, expert percussion programming, 

LuSiD - Unfrogettable Toad

Art: Oscar Vazquez

Take a slow and soothing stroll through the radiant sonic everglades of Lusidelia. The path is laden with multichromatic flora, divine nourishment from the mushroom kingdom, and a choral cacophony of highly memorable amphibians. Missouri's Lusid creates unspoken narrative in his productions, and “Unfrogettable Toad” is a prime example of the artist's dexterity for musical allegory. The calculated builds, the vibrant explosions of flavor, and the dynamic patterns unfurl with a graceful cadence that takes the mind elsewhere. 

Foxtail - Kitsune

Kitsune is the culmination of Foxtail's exploits into the expanse of sound sculpting. The artist draws influence from a mélange of inspiration - classical music, video game soundtracks, Japanese culture, and the gorgeous mountainous landscapes of Utah are just a few examples of what has helped shape Foxtail's music. The magnificent milieu of the world he's created is laden with the illustriousness of velvet and the vigor of a cold winter snowstorm. As comforting as a mug of cocoa, and as charming as the sly fox that inspired his namesake.

The Rust Music - Oxidized Vol. 1 [VA]

In late 2015 I started building weekly playlists as a platform for me to share some of my favorite tunes that I found rummaging through SoundCloud. I enjoyed writing about tracks as I listened to them, and I realized that there's just such an incredible breadth of music being released every single day. Why not combine the two? It's overwhelming, and the sad truth is that much of it might not ever get the admiration it deserves. 

This is why I created The Rust - I wanted to spread the music to the masses, and share the music that inspires me with people who would appreciate and vibe with it. That's what I've finally gotten the chance to do with Oxidized - Volume One. 

This compilation is a collection of 10 tracks from 11 astonishingly talented musicians, all of which I'm happy to call friends. This project has been in the works for a long time, and I'm elated to finally share each of these spectacular works of art with you. 

Normally when I post things on The Rust, I give a lengthy description and my detailed opinions on the piece. However, this time i'm sharing music with you, not words - I think I'll let it speak for itself. 

Thanks for staying chooned. It's because of all of you that I do this... 
All proceeds of the compilation will be donated to ACLU Worldwide