Lapalux - Ruinism '2017

Tracks list

Brainfeeder’s British attache switches to an all-hardware setup with
richly textured and soul-infused results, particularly in the Fever Ray-like
“Flickering” and coruscant ache of Rotted Arp

“Lapalux releases his third album, “Ruinism”, on Flying
Lotus’ Brainfeeder imprint. His previous LP, “Lustmore” was
partially inspired by the concept of hypnagogia, a suspension of consciousness
occurring between wakefulness and sleep. Throughout “Ruinism” the
British producer takes this exploration further, journeying onward to the more
ominous limbo space between life and death. In this liminal space where the
finite and infinite intermingle, Lapalux sounds more at home than ever. 

Much of “Ruinism”’s inspiration was born out of a theatrical
score Lapalux (aka Stuart Howard) wrote for the performance art piece
“Depart” which was performed in an East London cemetery. The aptly
named project served as genesis for a direction wrought with doom and
melancholia. “Ruinism” is all sonic wreckage and rubble created
using only hardware and real instruments. The sound simultaneously destroys and
redeems itself across a tight and formidable forty-eight minutes. 

“‘Ruinism’ is a made-up term I use to describe the way in
which blended sound palettes and inspirations interact with one another to form
this album,” Howard explains. “I would record synths and drum hits
and re-sample, re-pitch, twist and blend the sound until it was
‘ruined’ and then salvage it again in an attempt to make something
coherent.” 

Amidst the brutal landscape that Lapalux (de)constructs, he makes room for
softness and slivers of beauty that, as with most things subtle and delicate,
inevitably cut through even the harshest of environments and juxtapose the rigid
exterior that characterizes most of the record. For example, ‘Rotted Arp
(feat. Louisahhh)’, the first single to be lifted from the album, begins
with a spoken word poem written and performed by Louisahhh over a decaying
arpeggiated riff that churns and builds until it splits apart just as easily as
it begins. The ethereal ‘Falling Down (feat. JFDR)’ communicates a
near angelic sense of hope and possibility despite the inaudible nature of
granulated vocals performed by Icelandic singer Jófríður
Ákadóttir (JFDR) of the bands Gangly, Pascal Pinon and Samaris.

Similarly, ‘4EVA (feat. Talvi)’, winds through a cloudy haze
reminiscent of the space between life and death and remains there like a slowly
dying pendulum. There’s a warm elevation across the female-driven tracks
that, as it unfolds, stand in stark contrast to the industrial and often
discordant beginning of the record, most noticeable on cuts like the menacing
‘Data Demon’ and chilling opener ‘Reverence’, which
was inspired by French Dada artist Frances Picabia’s 1915 painting of the
same name.”

TRACKLIST:

01. Lapalux - Reverence
02. Lapalux - Data Demon
03. Lapalux - Petty Passion
04. Lapalux - Rotted Arp
05. Lapalux - Falling Down
06. Lapalux - Displacer
07. Lapalux - 4EVA
08. Lapalux - Essex Is Burning
09. Lapalux - Flickering
10. Lapalux - Running To Evaporate
11. Lapalux - Phase Violet
12. Lapalux - Tessellate

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