Monday, November 26, 2018

Rhucle - More Beautiful Than Silence (Constellation Tatsu, 2018)




Rhucle is a Tokyo-based musician and artist who began making music under this name five years ago in 2013.  Since then, he’s amassed quite a discography (Discogs lists 53 separate items, to be exact).  He co-runs the relatively young Alien Garage label alongside the Wisconsin-based ambient artist NO DEATH, and the pair also record together as The Rubies.  So to say that Rhucle is no slouch is certainly an understatement; this guy is one hard sonic laborer. 

Dude’s also a prolific and talented artist and photographer – his website showcases a vast array of beautiful images to behold.  As his bio dictates, Rhucle “continues to create new works, new ways of expression, and will continue into the future”.  His latest piece of new expression is this gorgeous cassette for the Constellation Tatsu label, his second to be issued by the Oakland-based ambient crew.  On More Beautiful Than Silence, the artist fuses synthesizer drones and field recordings of nature to craft a series of vivaria, each track a tiny microcosm of the world outside of our bustling urban spaces.  Water flows, birds chirp, and synth pads stretch out toward infinity, undulating lackadaisically as if time itself ceases to flow with its usual mechanical precision.

While there are plenty of folks that exist in this sort of modern new age realm of nature-meets-synthetic bliss, Rhucle’s output is particularly beautiful.  Evocative of gorgeous summer days spent outdoors, More Beautiful Than Silence is a healthy respite from the icy cold of winter, a trip to dreamland on clouds of gorgeous drone.   

Navigate to the Constellation Tatsu Bandcamp to wind back time and dip your brainstem in Rhucle’s summery shine; while you’re there you might as well grab the entire Fall 2018 batch.  It’s a doozy!