Ryan Lee West, better known as Rival Consoles, may go down as one of my sweetest discoveries yet.
I had just completed my first 5K in years and wandered blocks away from the starting line to the infamous VooDoo Donuts that opened in downtown Austin. There was an hour wait for a rainbow-colored, cereal-covered donut, but I happily hopped in line with a few new friends.
We were talking and giggling, sure, but I kept finding myself straining to hear the wildly intriguing beats hovering above our heads. When it was our turn to order, the first words out of my hungry mouth were, “What the heck is this sound?”
Rival Consoles, that’s the sound. London-based West just released his third album Howl, and is flirting with my still-not-deaf-ears. According to his press release, West used synths (my fav), guitar pedals, tape delay, and cello (your fav) to make this masterpiece.
On his Facebook page, Ryan writes:
I'm drawn to electronic music because the patterns your hands learn as a musician sometimes dictate too much in the creating process, with electronic music you don't have the same muscle memory.
I’m left even more intrigued, and sort of smitten. I’m admittedly a stranger to this space. Sure, I cling to Tycho and love experimental electro, but these spacy nerve endings and rhythms are foreign to me.
I like it.
Cheers to donuts and beautiful beats for breakfast.
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