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RxGibbs is the solo project of Ron Gibbs, who is also one of the main forces behind Auburn Lull. Or perhaps that should be "was". I am unclear as to the status of Auburn Lull, especially seeing as this is the third EP by the new RxGibbs project. All three of them are being given away for free on their BandCamp page.
There are four tunes on this EP, the first of which starts with a deep synth tinkling a la early Tangerine Dream, before a nice echoed drum and cymbal riff comes in. The percussion loop is joined by a deeply effected guitar, bass, an aahing voice, and still more synths. The song is Triangulars, and it sounds a lot like what M83 are doing these days, but with that droning Auburn Lull guitar in the background, which is an improvement, to be honest.
The next track is one of the better tunes i have heard in a while. It is called Spark and almost sounds like it came from the first Seefeel record. There is a wavering drone over a throbbing echoed beat. A female voice sings, but the vocal sample is cut and pasted so that the sounds are clipped. Eventually the percussion picks up in speed and density, almost becoming drum-n-bass level of spasticity, but not quite. Still, i am fascinated by the way this song grows, and the deep beat. Wonderfully done.
The next track, Sumerian Sky, has a similar echoed beat, which is much slower here. The voice is not as cut and pasted, which allows the vocal sounds to seem stretched out. Between the beat and the voice, Gibbs has a deep drone that reminds me of the music from Carl Sagan's Cosmos. I guess this is like the kind of electronic music Sagan would have used, had he been making the show today.
And finally thinks end with Bleu Celeste. To be honest, this is very similar to the previous two tracks. However, the vocal bit is stretched out even further, so it almost sounds like words. Also, the drum machine is more insistent and higher in the mix, but overall the drone has the same feel to it.
So, four more free songs from this act, making a total of 12 you can get from their BandCamp page. And you should definitely take the time and bandwidth to get it. This is groovey, spacey stuff, taking the glowing ambience of Auburn Lull and moving into a strange space of gently swaying beats. I love what Mr. Gibbs is up to the days, so give it a chance.
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