Ruster Presents:
Ruster Sound Part Vol. 1
This is the first release by Alessandro Ruggi under the alias “Ruster” reflects the studies of the artist during the second year of university, where he focused on the origins of the tribal sonorities and come questi grooves sono rimasti nella musica moderna a distanza di migliaia di anni, le principali influenze sono Babatunde Olantunji, Gaetano Parisio e altri esponenti della scena techno napoletana, Jeff Mills, la scena di Detroit, e ultimo ma non per importanza, Blawan.
L’ album è composto da 10 tracce: Thriller, Warm Malizia, Charged, Warum, Ruster Sound Part 1, Hoenders, Rosemary, Valve Lyra, Life of a DAW, Ruster Sound Part 2.
My production techniques are many. I love experiments, I love to be surprised. Mainly I arrange the tracks with Ableton Live, while the production of sounds consists in the use of field recordings, modular machines, acoustic instruments and sampling from old vinyl records.
The first track on the album is called Thriller, it is an ambient track with an eerie tone and some hip hop influences lasting two minutes. For this track, in order to give it an enveloping feel, creating a dichotomy between the sound and the melody, I decided to run it through an old tape recorder, which changed the feeling.
The second is called Warm Malizia, and it is my favourite track on the album. The bass drum is in 4/4, the bass has Latin influences that characterise the movement, and as a result, gives the rhythm to the other elements of the composition as well. There are many elements that refer to a tribal ideal, such as the synth that is there from the very first bars and the rhythmical shakers. Towards the end of the track there is also an acid part, which serves to alternate the rhythm and give more variety to the track in general.
The third track is Charged, the most 'tribal' of the album. In this composition I wanted to push my creativity towards different horizons, I tried to mentally project myself into a reality completely different from my own, into the jungle, and not the urban jungle I am used to. The elements that stand out in this production are the voice, passed through a granulator, and the very natural shakers that give a sense of maracas out of time.
The fifth track is Ruster Sound Part I. This record and its rework, also by me, Ruster Sound Part II, are both the result of careful research into Neapolitan techno, the techno that Gaetano Parisio, Marco Carola and Danilo Vigorito produced. The repetitive rhythms of their records never bore me, in fact I decided to bring this element back into my productions, listening to their productions has been a daily routine for months. The track is 5 minutes long, starting with the classic 4/4 bass drum. An important element, which in Ruster Sound Part II is even more present, is the pad that grows and grows within the record. I got the idea for this pad from a piece by Danilo Vigorito, called Swarm Attack, usually with tribal rhythms and spacious pads that reminds me of James Ruskin's way of production, while Gaetano Parisio was characteristic of pieces more similar to Adam Beyer's sounds of those years (late 90s early 2000s), Carola, on the other hand, was much more tribal than his fellow countryman, he had more connections with Jeff Mills, who confirms his knowledge and appreciation of Marco Carola in numerous interviews including one in 1998 for red bull music academy (Jeff Mills, 1998).
As the fourth track of the album there is Warum, this record does not follow the classic production standards of techno music, as the bass drum is not in 4/4. The writing and speed of the shakers was done meticulously, as I wanted to give much more importance to them in this track than in others. Towards the middle you can hear the influence Blawan has had and still has on my productions. When I think of something new, fresh and interesting to listen to I immediately refer to him and his productions.
The sixth track is Hoenders, the main element is a bell that generates a pseudo-Latin melody, followed by a field recording of congas and drums. For the production of this record I was very inspired by the very first productions of Jeff Mills, in which that 'dirty' sound design shone through, like in Kat Moda and especially Java Ep.
The seventh composition is Rosemary, a record that runs at 132 bpm, the aim was to make a track that initially reminded me of the old Chicago style tracks, and then evolve into a techno record with a bassline that meticulously follows the kick throughout the record. The synths are constantly changing throughout the track as are the shakers, which also in this track take space among the most important elements to give speed to the track.
The eighth disc is entitled Valve Lyra, a real trip. The aim was to use very few elements, which would alternate with each other in a natural way giving repetitiveness to the piece without making it boring. The kick was again not written in 4/4, because otherwise it would have been more monotonous. There are no shakers, no hats, I simply used a snare with white noise to give a part of the rhythm, while the other parts of the rhythm that make up the track are composed of synths and bass.
Last but not least is Life of a Daw, a record that was born from the need to produce something strange with the field recording of a plastic bottle rolling on the asphalt. Here too you can hear the influence of Blawan, with a particular use of drums to highlight the field recording.