Electronic music at its core is an exploration of music through technology. Creating music and technology go hand in hand more so than any other genre. Ross From Friends has released a new album today Tread, where he combines his own new tech with his inner thoughts and memories.
Ross From Friends was making music and got frustrated about the process of recording hardware and instruments through a computer. He hated the need to start, stop, save and catalogue as you go when recording instruments without a program or hardware doing that on its own. So he built a new plug-in called Thresho, available via Ableton’s Max For Live platform, which allows him to jam and experiment since the program will save and index clips with timestamps after hitting a certain threshold.
The new tech and an examination of his memories were inextricably combined.
“I’ve amassed all of these memories from a time spent just messing around in South London, as with ‘Thresho,’ I’ve amassed all of these recordings from sitting around and experimenting musically," Ross From Friends explains. “Tread refers to the marks that I’ve been permanently leaving, both in my memories and throughout the process using ‘Thresho.’”
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That experimentation can be found throughout the album. “A Brand New Start” comes in as a slight surprise with a classic jazz sound, while “Spatter.Splatter” has the sound of a jam session with constantly evolving drums, organ and other fx.
Fans of Ross From Friends will still feel familiar with this project, despite its continued experimentation. Tracks like “Love Divide” and “XXX Olympiad” provide the familiar airy breaks and house music that has become integral to his music. A garage two-stepper “Life In A Mind” also adds a slight touch of soul to the LP.
“Morning Sun In A Dusty Room” has the same relaxed feeling of a Sunday morning on a sunny day. These ambient textures then lead into “Run,” a song with a similar downtempo sound before slowly building with bigger and bigger synths.
Tread combines the familiar and the unfamiliar as rhythms change and evolve from jazz to jungle, while also giving Ross From Friends a chance to try some live experimentation. It opens new doors without blowing the hinges off of those doors.
Listen to album now and pick up your copy through Brainfeeder.
