Rival Consoles - Night Melody / Articulation (2020) [Official Digital Download 24/44-96]

Some of London-based electronic songwriter Ryan Lee West’s most recognised work to date comes in the shape of spontaneous EP or so-called mini album releases— clocking in just under the 40-minute mark, keeping their contents urgent, immediate and to the point.

As with his 2013 EP Odyssey and 2014’s Sonne, which were later compiled to a full-length release titled Odyssey / Sonne in 2015, there is a similarly strong synergy between his 2016 mini album Night Melody and this year’s Articulation. Bundled together to one long player under the title Night Melody / Articulation, digital formats including a bonus remix by Berlin-based Japanese pianist and producer Midori Hirano are available now— with the CD version on pre-order and shipping mid December.

His 34-minute, 6-track mini album Night Melody was born out of and shaped by long hours working into the night. It’s nocturnal in sound; mysterious in the way that the early hours so often are.

The opening statement 'Pattern Of The North' starts off with a collage of spliced synth melodies, inspired by anxiety that accompanies going home for Christmas. It’s followed by Johannesburg, an early sketch gradually filled out during his tour in South Africa. The closing statement 'What Sorrow' is a fitting end to the album, building from gentle melancholia to a joyous crescendo. It’s a sensibility that’s central to the record; joy and sorrow both find their counterpoints.

July 31, 2020 saw the release of his highly anticipated new album Articulation with an equal running time of 34 minutes. Lead track and album centrepiece 'Articulation' links the record back to the analogue fluidity and colour of 2016’s Night Melody. The division of varying time signatures, intertwined with a complex structure of notes, creates an expression of a moving structure and conjures a dreamy, motorik energy.

Tracklist:
1. Pattern Of The North (05:50)
2. Johannesburg (07:22)
3. Slow Song (03:52)
4. Lone (05:55)
5. Night Melody (05:22)
6. What Sorrow (05:23)
7. Vibrations On A String (06:10)
8. Forwardism (05:42)
9. Melodica (03:40)
10. Articulation (06:31)
11. Still Here (04:24)
12. Sudden Awareness Of Now (07:15)
13. Articulation (Midori Hirano Remix) - Digital Bonus Track (05:08)


Thanks to the Original customer!