Rude 66 - Conditioning Consciousness (2023)

or more than thirty years, Ruud Lekx has been corrupting hearts and minds with his unmistakable brand of synthesizer music. Under his Rude 66 mask, this titan of electronics returns to Bordello A Parigi with twelve darkened tracks for Conditioning Consciousness. Tempos glide low in the opening incantations. From the breathy murmurings of Magick Angels Invocations, the listener is brought into Rudes world. Shauna Lekxs signature vocoder lyrics and blackened subject matter are central tenets, as are hauntingly delicate melodies. The Riddler In Me is a deep psychological journey through cable and circuit, an unsettling monologue accompanied by liquid analogue lines. BPMs are allowed to rise for the shimmering warmth of In Exile and in the reverb soaked The Chariot. But these are the outliers. Across the collection, percussion drives without ever being a central force. Instead, the focus is the bewitching and brooding compositions. Take the drugged low slung groove of The Talisman of Algol or the loose modulations of Le Sagittaire, here the listener is brought into the heart of the machines and the musician. The curtain close, The Five Swords Of Venus In Aquarius gathers a spread of influences, bringing them together into one piece. Synth. Soundtrack. Strings. All culminate in this superb climax, a climax to an album that broaches the boundaries between terrifying and terrific.