Maelstrom - Rhizome (2021)

RAAR is thrilled to present the latest full length LP from label co-founder, Maelstrom.

Named ‘Rhizome’, after the research theory which allows for multiple, non-hierarchical entry and exit points in data representation and interpretation.This album is based on
the concept of interdependence, even as the work of a solo artist. In his own words:

“As I was working on the album, I realized that, even as a solo artist isolated in my own studio (most of the album was recorded during lockdown), I was relying on a network of sound designers, software engineers, internet geeks who create patches for synthesizers and sound designers who release free sound banks, to create my music. My music doesn’t exist in a vacuum, but relies on a continuum of other creations, and on a network of other artists, designers, technology and sound design enthusiasts, or software developers without whom my creative output would be entirely different.”

All of these resources will be made apparent on the vinyl sleeve (and digitally), tracing back every single sound or patch to its original designer. Thus, the music itself is unlike anything we’ve previously heard from the French producer. The theoretical basis of the work provides a framework for a sinewy, futuristic, beautiful and strange sonic landscape that at once shows off Maelstrom’s powerful sound-design chops and musical sensibilities. The historical fiction concept of the artist’s last LP has evolved into something at once more real, rooted in community and even invisible. An unconscious collaboration that simultaneously feels ephemeral and permanently morphing, a digital contradiction for a strange new world.

The album's creative process might also be understood as an opportunity to start a conversation about the very structure of our culture/industry : the only way for our communities to survive is to start working on resilient and interdependent ecosystems.