RAPOON

Dust of Souls (2019):

Some extraordinary tracks (Shadow and Voice, In the Dream of Rivers, The Sun on Stone & Reawakening in Gold), exploring new routes which somehow left me with the feeling that the whole 8 track album could have found on those four tracks better options of composition than the less inspired other four.

The rating as such will demerit its original music language, which by now is quiet well established by Robin Storey aka Rapoon, but otherwise it will make rating useless.

Therefore I will add the imaginary half star to encourage you attentive reader to at least give it a spin, you will not regret it, obviously, more if you are into the world of Berlin school related, contemporary progressive electronic music.

***/*

A 9 tracks release which seems to compress his own language, until now, in a more user friendly manner without diminishing his experimental nature or obscure environments.

There is also a close relationship in this work with his former ZOVIET FRANCE sound, in some sense throughly refined, but close to some of those works.

In some way this work also simplifies Rapoon's highly entangled 2015's music composition style into a more focused, minimalist approach, which lightens up its extremely dense, uncompromising and , more than once, overly-suffocating atmospheres.

Although this work is rich in ideas, like track one "We Travelled in Waves", the kind of piece that should be featured in any contemporary Progressive/Electronic compilation and one of this release's highlights. its groundbreaking peaks are not that abundant, kind of a paradox. I assume it has to do with the lack of contrast and variations in its gloomy backdrops, which hold back its actual proposals.

A very personal effort, created with no market wise mentality, which demands full attention, patience and a dosage of being already acquainted with or a true fan of Rapoon's musical career.

Above average good, but not truly essential.

***3.5 PA stars.

Former member of the progressive electronic band Zoviet France, Robin Storey aka RAPOON released in 1994 "Fallen Gods", as far as this PA page goes, his third album.

If you are already aquainted with this musician's works, Fallen Gods continues his explorations between the acoustic & electronic worlds, as his blend of primitive or ethnic music languages recreate in electronic environments ("new musics", goes the tagging).

In these terms, as in general, these "back to the future" experiments have been tried endlessly by as many prog-electro/acoustic composers as one can think of, therefore as always, music composition turns out to be the only real deal in this kind of the then trend-setting styling.

In some kind of way of placing this work for new listeners I will mention its Australian, African and Indo (Raga) flavors in its ethnic environments, accompanied by not exactly Cosmic, better yet, earthly Sacred electronic music ambients.

It is freindly, but not condescending. It should have sounded daring then, nowadays it is not that daring. This does not mean it lacks guts but as time proved with this artist, he in time will develop his unique brand in this kind of musical aesthetics to higher levels.

A good place to start and understand this musician's path. The performance still shows the excitement of "discovering" this mixture between past and future musical languages and music composition wise it goes the same way.

Subtle and discreet, it could fit into any Prog Electronics follower's collection, nevertheless it still shows an artist on the making.

***3.5 PA stars.

I've never been a big fan of Rapoon. Despite owning 8 of their albums, I'm always annoyed at the fact that he left Zoviet France at their peak in the early nineties after releasing some of the best experimental music I own to this day. They're still my all time favourite musical artists.

Rapoon always sound a bit one dimensional. 'Tin of Drum' is a case in point. Some may think that they're listening to a lock groove segment of a vinyl recording. That's pretty much what it sounds like. Looped, repetitive ritualistic drums pitter-patter in the foreground as airy keyboards slowly drone and evolve in the background. At certain points 'Tin of Drum' sounds like a corrupted and faulty CD pressing.

He's also a plagiarist, where unless I'm much mistaken, parts of Coils' 'Nasa Arab' from 'Stolen and Contaminated' are pilfered wholesale and used to his own ends, looped and twisted over and over and over again.

The better parts are certainly the non percussion sections which are more emotionally involving and atmospheric. There's some spoken word vocal snippets lifted from unidentifiable sources which add a sense of mystery amongst their foggy surroundings.

Sometimes I spend too much time listening to the minutiae of albums like this. It starts to sound strange in my head; like when you look at your own hand for ages and see things you've never been aware of before, or ponder the spelling of your own name too long and it begins to seems weird and unreal. That's the feeling I get when listening to 'Tin of Drum'.

It's a very hypnotic and trance inducing album. Almost as though it's an organic machine without human involvement. Like strands of DNA multiplying.

Rapoon aka Robin Storey´s latest sonic experiment "Dark Zero", 2015, is focused entirely on the well known Dark Ambient tagging, which obviously refers to strange and sometimes unmelodical environments as they are also the perfect playground for "obscure" ritualistics or not that friendly musical meditations.

Having said that, the project itself falls short more than once. Maybe the fact that prog electronic´s darker epitome of this kind of language, Lustmord has kind of "trademarked" lots of sonic environments and added up his satanic love to such an extent, that some of these Rapoon´s experiments feel kind of innocent or still on the making.

Great moments but also unimpressive ones. Like a Rapoon returns to Zoviet France (of which he was one of its original members), but as to start from scratch, which in paper may sound interesting, but I mean scratch, primitive 70´s electronics scratch, which by musical evolution itself, sounds outdated in comparison to more experienced works in those DARK fields.

Sadly, worth the trip but not exactly a keeper, meaning good but not enough.

***3 PA stars.

Rapoon's 2012 "Stray" focuses on the possiblities of the human voice (electronically processed, of course) to supply all kind of different "environments" which usually they do not cover, besides choral arrangements, like instruments more than "singing" voices alone.

The recorded results do not rely solely on this, which makes the whole experience, twice delightful. "Stray" is masterfully written, composition wise and so are its arrangements, which although "minimal" efficiently create all kind of "human/non-human" landscapes.

This album is close to the "ambiental" tagging but not subdued by it. It can turn out to be quiet disturbing also. The solitude and "alien" nature it depicts, is so disturbing because it hits close to any human being's fears and expectations but mainly because they end up sounding so deeply human, thus their transparent beauty.

Between earthly landcapes and the dirty industrial factories, there we are, us the top of the food chain, corrupting our planet, and yet we are just crumbs on the cosmic table!

****4 "Slow-paced and dynamic, deep/progressive electronics" PA stars.

PD. By the way, this is not an EP/SINGLE/BOXSET/PROMO/"Payola" or whatever, just a "normal" CD.

Rapoon´s 2014 album "Conduits And Estuaries" is a 43+ minutes long, single composition, divided in six movements or sections, connected throughly.

The symphonic reference not only applies to its structure, parts of it movements do contain symphonic passages with its inherent instrumentation (or emulators). All of Rapoon's musical learnings, findings, goings and comings, led eventually to a unique self-owned musical language.

As always in his works, slow-paced does not mean sticking to a single point or structure, be it riff or melody. As always his songwriting is dynamic, constantly creative, and on this one especially, totally refined.

In "Conduits And Estuaries" once you let yourself go, it does not let you go away. It is indo/raga, as it is "industrial", as it is a "waterfall", to then turn into a mass, or a symphony, and then into a dance, and then into the obscure, as into the light, and into a hundred worlds, by the minute..... and you are inside!

One of the most attractive and perfectly achieved attributes this album holds, is the perfect juxtapositioning of highly opposite styles without becoming "decadent". Opposite to that, his music proposal sounds fresh as new, and above everything else, marks a unique tendency, which eventually, as in Art hystory, could become a style. And that my friends is the "mark" of geniuses! In any field of action.

*****5 "Flawless, hypnotic, haunting, attractive, highly creative and UNIQUE, Progressive Electronic music" PA stars.

One for all!

I would not complain or ask why it is in the EPs/BOXSets category, the Gods know why. Robin Storey a.k.a RAPOON, thinks otherwise.

Anyway, "To West and Blue" in his own words, is a recreation of his childhood's land by the sea in the U.K. This musical recreation, because of the same, moves toward the "ambiental/electronics" which deal directly with the memory of things and images gone, lost or found again.

His usual experimental tone encompasses the 7 unconnected songs. Each song has its own personality, travelling between dream-like, "cosmic", choral and tribal electronics, portraying a different environment or memory or place.

The work as a whole is haunting, creative and rich in its minimalism, but not condescending to be liked or go "mainstream", yet despite been quiet personal, it is entirely UNIVERSAL.

Opposite to what Bandcamp's page depicts, "as not for everyone's taste", I think otherwise. This work will easily fulfill any PROG/Electronic follower's expectations.

****4 "daring, unique, subtle and creative" PA stars.

Enjoy today, tomorrow never knows!

It is so refreshing to find out that there are electronic musicians who for starters do not sound like Tangerine Dream or Klauz Schulze or intend to do so. Really! So refreshing!

UK´s Robin Storey a.k.a. RAPOON, Zoviet France co-founder, has a vast solo discography. His PA section, although incredibly well updated and documented, still is missing some of his albums.

Anyway! To put this prog/electronic musician in circulation here in PA (beyond Zoviet France), I have chosen the album I have been listening to more closely and inadvertently (it is number one in my i-pod), "What Do You Suppose? (The Alien Question), 1999.

Well, this album is slow paced and minimalistic (the so loved prog-attributes). Blending "modern" electronic (Cosmic) sounds (no pulses), with native like percussions from time to time in perfect synchronicity and balance. But mainly sharing its space and time, here and there, with a voice (in-off) of a conference about the "famous" Alien Conspiracy Theory (which of course as in their movies, it all happens in the good-ol' USA).

As a listening experience it requires your attention, no catchy riffs or hooks (besides your personal opinion on this theory). It flows freely and naturally, but at a distant volume. I repeat, to enjoy it fully, "headphones" or "focused attention" are required.

In addition, I myself enjoy so much this careleesness and freedom in attitude, in both its songwriting and marketing to become "mainstream".

But the truth is, as always, that this album is not exactly for every prog-audiophile. Therefore I address mainly the "Electronic" follower who are fed-up (as myself), of TD or Schulze imitators, and those probably will have a field trip with it!

****4 "refreshing, minimaltic and deep" PA stars.