London-based electronic producer Ryan Lee West is notable for making synthesizers sound both human and atmospheric under the moniker Rival Consoles. Shying away from creating all of his sounds on the laptop, he instead molds and shapes his melodies on his Prophet, Moog Voyager, and tape delay, the same gear he uses in his live performances. Fascinated by sound from an early age, West chose to dedicate his time to studying, experimenting with, and producing sound, and graduated from de Montfort University in Leicester, England. One consistent element in his musical journey has been his desire to create a more organic, humanized sound. West often drafts early ideas on piano, violin, and guitar. He has repeatedly performed at locations such as the Tate Modern, where his performance resulted in the Boiler Room inviting him to perform a special audio-visual piece at the Victoria and Albert Museum. This CD combines West's 12" EPs Odyssey and Sonne, both of which sold out within only a few months. Synthesizers make up the core sound of the records, while tracks like "Helios," "Haunt," and "Think Tank" feature West playing live drums and acoustic guitar. West describes his process: "I'm often looking at art in exhibitions and I always think to myself 'why the hell don't I have this much colour in my work?' The answer in part I think is down to synthesis. It is very difficult to create colour without it sounding plastic. Colour in music is both the note combinations and the actual timbre of the sounds. There are lots of instances of very colourful ambient sounds, which I took great care to create for each song, using various methods - from passing analogue synths through chains of effects to chopping up random sequences of recordings and forming tiny collages." As of this release, Rival Consoles is working on material for his third studio album, which he showcased at SXSW in Austin before embarking on a North American tour with Warp artist Clark and US producer Nosaj Thing. This CD comes in advance of his 2015 appearances at The Great Escape Festival, MUTEK Montréal, and OFF Party Barcelona. It's presented in two-sided, die-cut sleeve that comes in two variations folded inside-out and combines the two original cover illustrations by South London artist Supermundane, with layout and re-packaging by Erased Tapes founder Robert Raths.
