Rival Consoles is youthful purveyor of intelligent dance music Ryan Lee West. With his highly anticipated debut album, West, the first born and long-standing artist on Erased Tapes, has crafted an electronic record to transcend the discerning and flirt a little with the club culture of summer 2009. I–II–III–‘IO’!
Born November 10th, '1985', Ryan Lee West grew up in the small city of Leicester in the midlands of England. Fascinated by sound from an early age, Ryan chose to dedicate his time to studying, experimenting with and producing sound at De Montfort University Leicester.
West strives to humanise and at the same time emphasise entirely computerised sounds to defy categorisation in modern electronic music. Rival Consoles combines a clever and complex mix of hard-hitting beats with catchy acid melodies.
Or as he desc
ribes it in his own words: ‘Rival Consoles is a musical project where I take ideas which are cheap and processed, and combine them with rich, unpredictable patterns – resulting in music which appears commercial yet typically against commercial music at the same time.’
Earlier EP releases clearly define his progression from ‘The Decadent EP’ and the follow-up 7-inch ‘Helvetica’, where instead of X-Box vs. Playstation, classical theory meets dance. More recently West contributes three album tracks, 'Milo', 'Func' and 'ARP' to his 12-inch split EP with Ólafur Arnalds’ minimal-techno outfit Kiasmos.
There is more to this freshly graduated 23 year-old than meets the eye, for those not content with 4/4 beat dance floor stormers; West is fast establishing himself as both a sound designer and programmer. Having repeatedly performed at the Tate Britain Museum in London, where he drew over 2000 visitors into his unpredictable, yet detailed sound drawings ‘…using self-created sound manipulation tools in MAX/MSP and Super Collider’. New York based composer Nico Muhly, known for scoring the Oscar-nominated The Reader and his collaborations with artists from Björk to The National, is amongst one of the first to receive West’s trademark remixes.
After having supported his city neighbours and label comrades Kyte on a first extensive European tour last winter, Rival Consoles will embark on a first headline tour throughout the UK and Europe later this year.
Incl. '1985' as introduced by Tom Robinson at BBC6 Music!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/6musicintroducing
‘West’s Rival Consoles project revives the schism between the commercial house music of suburban hell-holes and the perverted beats of electronica’s golden boys. A massive slice of jagged grandiosity... 'IO' is a party record even snobs can enjoy.' (7/10) – NME
'The music of Ryan Lee West writhes in a field of its own, twitching and buzzing like little else... One of the best releases of its kind this year.' – Clash
'A sleek and tidy affair laced with clean lines and Detroit pads and acid flecks. Thrilling stuff, primed for the more discerning floors...' Top Download – Bleep.com
'Like prehistoric Nintendo with its dubbed-out bump and 8-bit trills' (7.5/10) - XLR8R (US)
'One of the most exciting new British talents. IO is the confident debut album of a man dotted of a clear vision and a sharp mind' (4.6/5) - The Milk Factory
'Even if West proceeds from widely safeguarded templates (minimal, house, trance), he yet overrides all known dance floor clichés... Not as a simple overpowering with banging beats, bawl-along choruses and adrenaline overkill, but as a sneaky seduction with hypnotic rhythm work and elegant sound design. You don't need to get on a plane to explore the international club-scape: putting on IO by Rival Consoles will do' – Musikexpress (DE)
'Rival Consoles finally comes in full album length and satisfies all along the line. His tracks appear to be little short of celestial, are catchy and contain several grandiose melodies' /(5/6) - Raveline (DE)
'One very hyper man amalgamating the progressive beats of LCD Soundsystem with the wicked techno chaos of Aphex Twin. It is apparent that this is an act which it’s totally cool for you to like!’ – Rock Sound
‘Two words: Electro Genius!’ – BBC Radio
'An inventive use of machinery all-round, reaching a peak with the flood of analogue goodness that is 'ARP'.' – Boomkat (UK)
'It’s deep and dark like a half-filled mineshaft but still as pepped and cheeky as a chimney-sweep. If you’re after a fully-restored taste of the past that’s ready to take on the future, this’ll do you some serious good, trust me.' - Cokemachineglow.com
'A 7" on Erased Tapes has fallen into my fat lap and it's a beauty. 'Helvetica' spills with that melodic, scattershot breaks stuff, dramatic harpsichord synth lines crying over playful, erratic drum patterns to make wondrous childlike sonic architecture.' Single Of The Week - Norman Records
'West is in full-on techno mode. It’s hard to tell prior to knowing this where the Icelandic ends and the Leicester man begins as both have a flare for experimentation as their beats and their melodic and rhythmic synths flow seemlessly together.' (8/10) - Drop-D (IE)
'Sweet, sultry and seductive neo-romanticism between electro and IDM brands them as both recognisable and unique.' - Beat Magazine (DE)
'The attack of the console warriors!' - White Tapes (DE)
'The sound of a drum machine smacked by a serial killer invades these harrowing instrumentals making your every waking moment like walking down a darkened street to the sound of rustling bushes. An impressive selection!' – New Noise
'West crafts here a splendid example of modern electronic music at its most interesting and yet, he manages to keep his work accessible and enjoyable.' (4.3/5) – The Milk Factory
'It creaks, it rattles, it makes a horrible noise and sometimes sounds a bit like ancient Nintendo games. It's like nothing you've ever heard before!' – Musikexpress (DE)
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