Rhombus Index - Hycean Revisited (2024)

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'hycean revisited' – Rhombus Index (SBA #057)

2024 has seen a flurry of activity from Rhombus Index on See Blue Audio. The year started with his remix of Lyli J’s ‘Tide’ from her ‘Majjie’ album, then came ‘Mutual Expression’, his collaborative project with f5point6, and finally ‘hycean’, his fourth release on See Blue Audio and representation of a further step in the electronic artist’s musical evolution. This seven-track solo album is a personal reflection on the fusing of organic and digital realities, and it embraces the full range of the signature Rhombus Index pastoral electronica aesthetic. Two tracks, in particular, express the spark of club culture that runs through his music, and these were selected for ‘hycean revisited’, a remix collection and the fifty-seventh release on See Blue Audio.

Rhombus Index, a West Yorkshire-based experimental producer and sound designer, is known for favouring of relatively short tracks, understated perhaps but always with an ephemeral charm. Musical ideas quickly come into view, their essence hangs in the air, and then they dissolve into the ether. This has always made them perfect candidates for remixing, and so the idea for ‘hycean revisited’ was born. ‘Digital Anemone’, the beating heart of the original album with its Balearic aura, was an obvious choice, but also ‘Polyeme’ which despite being essentially beatless, is a glorious invocation of the natural world. An international cast from the See Blue Audio roster were then invited to rework, reinterpret and reimagine as they wished.

This isn’t the first Rhombus Index release to feature remixes; ‘Kernel Phase’ at the end of 2022 included several from his back catalogue. ‘hycean revisited’ takes this one step further with seven new versions of ‘Digital Anemone’. As the most uptempo track on the album, it provided a base that could be turned and twisted into myriad shapes. Drone/ambient producer NRV strips the track back and adds subtle melodic touches to create a hypnotic reverie, while Lyli J expands the original into an eight-minute odyssey, rich and warm with a hint of a retro chillout vibe. By contrast, Bagaski’s ‘Eve’ mix is a swirling, atonal reinterpretation in his characteristic vaporwave style.

f5point6 takes ‘Digital Anemone’ deep into his cinematic world, while Barcelona-based Darbinyan, a newcomer to See Blue Audio, morphs the beats into a dub heavy, spaced out version. In conclusion, the Electric Supply Station Reimagination is an extended narrative where elements of the original are rearranged and interspersed with new sounds and dynamics. Rhombus Index has also created his own slowed down ambient version which allows the melodies to take centre stage. This is one for early Sunday morning as you ease yourself back into life.

A pause for breath follows before Gabriel Slick takes hold of ‘Polyeme’ and heads dark and techy with his RoboCrafting Material alias. To round things off, Kuma’s ‘Train to Todmorden’ mix goes a little strange and shadowy forces are unleashed. It’s the perfect epilogue to this return visit to ‘hycean’ and embrace of its multiple dimensions.

See Blue Audio is all about light rather than shade, contrast and contradiction, energy and calm, and ‘hycean revisited’ captures this essence. It’s a fine and sometimes darker companion to the original album, and a fitting epitaph for 2024.