Rasp-5 & Tygris Return with Their Smash & Grab EP

Long after the divergence of hip-hop music and its swing-centric instrumental arrangements, both lyricists and producers find themselves coming back around to their time-tested partnership of songwriting and studio finesse, with a few choice sets of creatives finding their stride with contemporary flavor. Continuing their gradual dive into the murky waters of lyricism and bass music, Rasp-5 and Tygris follow up their rambunctious Cheap Thrills EP with a dual serving of brackish low-end and sauntering wordplay, with The Gradient Perspective hosting their latest release, Smash & Grab.

TYGRIS · Rasp-5 x Tygris - "Smash & Grab" EP

“Duck & Cover” cracks the seal on the EP with a sharp bite, with every word and stab of synthesis cutting hardest on each successive downbeat. Dipping the intensity and raising the intrigue, “Get The Money” glides across a potent, tightly-wound neuro-hop beat that props up a tale of territorial paper acquisition, with both ends of the spectrum dovetailing into a choice breakdown. Instead of reinventing the wheel, they choose to lean into the syncretic relationship of broken-beat electronic music and its lyrical forebear, and Smash & Grab feels right at home with the bouncy, driving hip-hop compositions of the 90s and early aughts.

With a growing body of work between the two artists, and clear musical relationship on their own merits, Rasp-5 and Tygris never miss the mark when they emerge from the lab. Doubling down on that relationship, they’re a frequent pairing on the stage, often times as a last minute combination as well as a prepared performance, and the chemistry between the two has never failed to make pure sparks. Keep your ears perked and your eyes peeled as 2023 comes to a close and 2024 comes into focus, as we’re sure to see these two intrepid ne’er-do-wells pop up again on plenty of occasions.

FOLLOW Rasp-5: Soundcloud / Spotify / Instagram

FOLLOW Tygris: Soundcloud / Bandcamp / Spotify / Instagram

KLO, Mickman Offer Glitch-Hop Getdown at Middle East Downstairs

(Credit: James Coletta)

Around mid-day, Friday, April 26th, Rezinate began its familiar controlled chaos at the Boston mainstay venue The Middle East Night Club. Stacks of Battleaxes, Switchbacks, Cannons, and more were loaded into the building by the masterminds from Hennessey Sound Design, the Massachusetts-based company that works essentially as Rezinate’s exclusive partners at the Middle East. Through their long history with the venue, these teams have been able to perfectly adjust their sound set-up to the dimensions of the room. As a result, they consistently provide an expert-level audio experience, and this evening would be no different. This particular night, the collaborative powerhouse glitch-hop act K.L.O headlined in the historic venue’s basement.

The night kicked off with a familiar face, Tygris, a trained audio engineer, producer and instrumentalist. Fresh off a 5AM Trio performance the night prior in Philadelphia, Tygris took the early arriving crowd on a journey rooted in hip-hop, with a seamless flow that allowed the crowd to effortlessly follow the story he depicted through sound. He produces dramatic soundscapes coupled with voice manipulations that echo in the back of our minds and keep us bobbing our heads, especially when Rasp-5 hops on stage and dishes us some fresh lyrics for the brain.   

Next, the Street Ritual label boss took the stage and held the room in a constant wobble. Fresh off a Rezinate guest mix that received a ton of fanfare just a few days prior, spacegeishA was noticeably excited to be rocking it. Her personal tune collection is 50 fathoms deep, boasting names from every corner of far space, and samples galore from many dimensions of the underground electronic scene. She leaves no stone unturned in the worlds of halftime, 140, and psy-bass, and she delivered a crushing set once again.

By 10:15, the room began to swell with people. The sound team had seamlessly transitioned into Vinja’s set, and the room really began to feel more alive. This set touched on just about every concept of free-form production techniques one can think of, keeping the crowd bouncing from beginning to end with flawless scratches, cuts and mixes. Vinja’s primary style draws glitch hop, old-school rap and break-beats, but he can flow in and out of opposing genres while maintaining an overarching sound. This evening it was a deep house track that earned the most enthusiastic response from the crowd, believe it or not.

Direct support came from the one and only Mickman. There was a long turning of the sta turn which that left the room perplexed but not uncomfortable, he came out guns blazing with a set bursting - as always - with new music. Dripping in complex, original trip-hop and heavy psychedelic beats, Mickman brought a vibe that kept the crowd gasping for air between drops and breakdowns.

Hailing all the way from the UK, fresh off of a headlining set at Tipper and Friends, K.L.O. got things moving quickly for their highly anticipated Boston debut. Osmetic and Lone Drum lit up the stage with a style that can be described as none other than “acid scratch”. These two have a flawless technique when in tandem and really represent what high caliber live mixing looks like. Osmetic aka Mike Wallis (one half of Crunch) is an OG in the game and he rinsed out a surplus of selectors. Ben Parker (Lone Drum) was on the turntable duties that evening, splaying and fraying cuts and samples across stereo space.These two know what they are doing, taking the crowd through cerebral warfare with their complex soundscapes, layering endless samples and loops upon one another. It’s no wonder everyone around the country is flocking to see what The Slugwife crew has to offer.

Rezinate was able to display the spectacular visuals of New England native David Schunemann aka Actualize on a crisp, brand new LED. Actualize is a becoming a force in his own right, steadily gaining traction as a respected VJ. You can catch him at Equinox Festival this summer among other shindigs. His smooth transitions and deep reservoir of art to select from created a great audio visual synchronization at the Middle East.

It’s nothing new for this New England team to showcase world-class talent while simultaneously big-upping local artists with supporting roles. They strive to curate a rather avant-garde experience whose fundamental focus is “cultivating deep, reverberating sound for a discerning audience,” and they hit their mark once again this evening. The atmosphere cultivated by Rezinate, Hennessey, the Middle East and all the fans on nights like these helps nurture a wholesome community based around freedom of expression and an appreciation for authentic performances.

FOLLOW Rezinate: Facebook / Soundcloud / Instragram / Twitter / Rezinate HQ

FOLLOW the photographers: James Coletta

Artists to Watch - Psychedelic Sleepover Undercard

Page Farm in Croydon, New Hampshire (Lucid Photography)

"Who are these people? What do these words mean?" "No clue." Frequent refrains from festival-goers examining an undercard. Headliners grab headlines for a festival, but its often the strength of the undercard that makes a great musical experience on the ground. By their nature, undercards carry unfamiliar names. There's value in wandering festival grounds hither and thither drifting towards whatever catches your fancy. In fact, we recommend this approach. But The Rust Music was designed to give unheard artists an audience, so we took a magnifying glass to the undercard at Psychedelic Sleepover. 

This exploratory bass music showcase takes place on June 1 & 2 in the woods of New Hampshire. It's hosted by northern New England's best bass crew, Taproot Productions, who stuffed their bill with talent. It's a small gathering, so the undercard is no 60-artist rabbit hole. Northeastern folks are probably familiar with at least a handful of the names. Still, to acquaint audiences with underground sound, we offer 10 artists to keep your ears on from the bottom half of the Psychedelic Sleepover bill. For a further taste of the undercard's energy, we assembled a playlist containing a cache of psychedelic grooves from these 10 performers. 

 

 

ALEJO

Alex Hinger aka Alejo is a psychedelic bass heavyweight from the Midwest with reach from coast to coast. Coming out of Cincinnati, Alejo is a co-founder of ThazDope Records and has additional releases on Street Ritual, Shadow Trix, and Wormhole Music Group. With multidimensional down to mid tempo and halftime bass music, he pries open sonic spaces and slices through mental states. Alejo can act with force, as on "Phonetic Flex", or with delicacy, as on "Inciting Ferdinand". Aqueous downtempo soundscapes run into fuzzy neuro halftime business within his mixes, which include a superb session with BeatLab Radio. Alejo has performed at a solid cross section of festivals including Infrasound in Wisconsin, Bloomtown in Minnesota, Resonance in Ohio and Stilldream in California.

FOLLOW Alejo:   Official   /   Soundcloud   /   Bandcamp   /   Facebook   /   Instagram

Malakai performing at Ode to Earth in Philadelphia (Panda Media)

MALAKAI

Malakai performing at Ode to Earth in Philadelphia (Panda Media)

There's a mysticism to Malakai's music that's amplified when brought out from the night club into the bright fields and foliage of a festival. Ranging from downtempo to midtempo, at times dipping into ambient but always equipped with an edge, his music appears invigorated by fresh air. Fortunately Malakai is no stranger to the northern New England woods. He's a familiar face in Portland, Maine, the home turf of Taproot Productions. As a veteran of Wild Woods Festival, a cousin to Psychedelic Sleepover, he's perhaps played Page Farm more than any artist on our list. Lately he's been holding down New York City and the Tri-State and testing a bit of new and unreleased material. His music borders on many styles, but ultimately cultivates an energy all its own. 

FOLLOW Malakai:   Soundcloud   /   Spotify   /   Bandcamp   /   Facebook   /   Instagram

MATT CAREY

Matt Carey's debut LP was called Born into Bablyon. He chooses not to stay inna babylon, opting instead to journey back to roots guided by minimal, earthy house music. Hailing from Boston, Carey will hold down the local support along with so many others. Save for other locals like Moses and a few more, the diversity on Psychedelic Sleepover's lineup is mostly limited to broken beat music. Carey's four-on-the-floor movement should be a delightful departure, then. Hand drums and woodwinds mirror drum machines and synthesizers in his drawn-out, slow-developing tunes. There's a touch of glitch in all the right spots, too, especially on "Future Sound".  The vibe is energetic and sexual, the presentation peaceful and serene. 

FOLLOW Matt Carey:   Soundcloud

MAXFIELD

Jake Maxfield has been dropping diverse strains of intriguing bass music on a consistent basis for the past year from his home in Boston, Massachusetts. His offering ranges from neuro to glitch and quasi-dubstep, and even a bit of purple vibes come through based on the synthesizers he chooses. He truly queers typical genre classifications, and just goes for the jugular with his own unique one-off arrangements. There's danceability and psychological complexity in his music; a devilish combination He's represented by the folks at Taproot Productions and as such he's playing two of the Sleepover's pre-parties including the New York City warm-up with Kalya Scintilla presented by The Rust Music. It's rumored that he has a stack of unreleased goodies prepared for these performances and the Sleepover itself. 

FOLLOW Maxfield:   Soundcloud   /   Facebook   /   Instagram

SHWEX

Shwex released his first EP before graduating high school. Since then he's been steadily elevating his sound and reputation within the psychedelic downtempo universe. Some downtempo can be overwhelmingly in its complexity. Shwex gets complex, with the intense, industrial "Square One" as an example. But there's also relaxation and a unique simplicity in his composition, as on "Aurai". His developing side project anomly seems to balance both these extremes. Recently he's been introducing IDM and glitch vibes into Shwex music where psy influence was once more prevalent. We imagine the energies within a Shwex performance would be ripe for release in dead of night or the spring of early afternoon. He resides in Olympia, Washington, so for him the Sleepover is a rare East coast excursion not to be lightly overlooked. 

FOLLOW Shwex:   Soundcloud   /   Spotify   /   Bandcamp   /   Facebook   /   Instagram

SOMATOAST

Somatoast relaxing 

First, Somatoast's name is righteous. One could say the "soma" refers to the sedating downtempo that he's been producing for the past five years, while the "toast" hints at the charred state of the collective audience brain after he's through throwing his psych funk uptempo offering. Like many artists on the Psychedelic Sleepover lineup, Somatoast is comfortable across tempos and blurs lines between them within his complex performances. Hailing from Austin, Texas, Somatoast aka Mark Rubin is a multi-instrumentalist. This acoustic training adds earthy dimension to his music, an example being his cut "Unraveling" featuring Zonra off Aquatic Collective's Standing With The Waters compilation 

FOLLOW Somatoast:   Soundcloud   /   Spotify   /   Bandcamp   /   Facebook   /   Instagram

TERRAPHORM

Here's a great opportunity to catch some of the gratuitously deep and spaced-out dub music that's less available in the festival's first two tiers. This fellow offers deep, dark, rootsy dubstep. He's from Worcester, Massachusetts and recently began hosting shows under his brand called Citadel Bass. He's rooted deeply in Fractraltribe, performing in April at that group's 10-year anniversary bash in New York City. His sets are rumored to spellbind, offering a dance floor experience that's "transformational". Terraphorm's available music, mostly made up of past sets including an immense FractalFest 2017 Minimix, point in this direction. It's deep stuff. That only a small but rich taste is available from Terraphorm intrigues us even more. You won't know exactly what's coming, just that it's got weight. 

FOLLOW Terraphorm:   Soundcloud   /   Facebook   /   Instagram

TSIMBA

Deep roots generate plump, wholesome yields. Mark Evan Musto aka Tsimba has for years driven forward his future roots sound - a hybrid of dubstep, drum and bass and neuro - and today its bearing juicy, delicious fruit. Mark is from Connecticut and cut his teeth in that state's burgeoning community with Elemental Minded Promotions. Now residing in Brooklyn, he's become a regular performer in New York City, a roaming resident one could say. His DJ skills are rock solid and he performs with mostly original music save for a few choice selectors, usually tunes from his peers.  Being a drummer by trade, Mark spares no effort in crafting hard-hitting and well-rounded percussion, just the sort that keeps a crowd engaged and moving during a live performance. 

Tygris cutting up

FOLLOW Tsimba:   Soundcloud   /   Spotify   /   Facebook   /   Instagram

TYGRIS

Tygris' live performance continues to evolve, but its authenticity and quality is established. The heavy hip-hop influence in his studio music really manifests itself during his performances. The tempo often stays at a steady bop, and all sorts of screwface neuro synthesizers are woven through the beats. His original tunes bang, especially those off his recent Redefined EP, and he mixes these up with choice selectors from the glitch hop hall of fame. Tygris aka Zach Plocic from Long Valley, New Jersey, also uses skillful live record scratching to set off the hip-hop vibe even more. He's been known to sit in and scratch with other artists, so we wouldn't be surprised if he hits the stage more than once at the Sleepover. 

FOLLOW Tygris:   Soundcloud   /   Spotify   /   Facebook

WESSANDERS

Being unfamiliar with his performances, our zeal for Wessanders is based almost exclusively on the strength of his "Christmas Miracle Mix" from this past December. It's just twelve minutes of original music, but its twelve minutes of unequivocal heat. The young man, whose real name is Kai Felsman, is clearly cooking with gas though he hasn't served up many plates yet. We hope his Sleepover set will be an opportunity for audiences to explore his sound, which is clearly cutting edge and very visceral. Like his collaborator Maxfield, Wessanders is held down by the Taproot team. 

FOLLOW Wessanders:   Soundcloud   /   Spotify   /   Facebook   /   Instagram

Origin 006 Brings Ton of Underground Talent to Bizarre Bushwick

The Rust has the privilege of co-hosting Origin 006 on Friday, November 3rd with the Brooklyn Bass Troupe at Bizarre Bushwick (12 Jefferson St. 11206 Brooklyn).

The ORIGIN series focuses on cutting edge electronic production, primarily in the realms of bass, glitch and psy music. Each one of the artists will be playing a 100% original set. We complete the environment with reinforced sound, installations, vending, live art and space saved especially for flow arts. 

Bringing beautiful ethereal beats to Origin 006 is Amawalk, an NYC-based producer who spun a delightful set at The Rust Music's Kalya Scintilla & Whitebear pre-party on October 14th. Truckin' up 95 from Philadelphia, Shapesift offers emotive ambient sound with thick layers of wet synthesis, while LRKR offers melodic, synth-laden music.

Holding down the heavier end of the spectrum is local producer Wubwitz, and Bagger Vance, a Queens native who'll give drum and bass heads a reason to get reckless.

Then there’s Nieratka, the man behind the Origin series and a true master of the squanch.

Vocal stylings will come from the quick-witted NYC rapper Rasp-5, who will join both Soley and Tygris for a collaborative performance. The trio teamed-up for an early October performance in Queens with Soley offering his extremely tight, soulful beats and Tygris on the cuts. Tying the night together with detailed, filthy sound design, and forming the greater part of The Rust Music’s imprint on Origin 006 will be Philthadelphia pride, Face Plant.

With this diverse roster, Origin 006 offers strains of sound for almost every electronic ear. As each performer presents all original sets, attendees can hear a night’s worth of new music for just $5. So join us for this unique gathering, and turn out early because that fiver becomes a ten-spot once the clock strikes midnight.

We put together a warmup playlist with tunes from a select couple of Friday evenings performers so you can get a little taste of what you're in for.