Ross From Friends - Family Portrait '2018

Tracks list

Tracklist:

[1:37] 01. Ross From Friends - Happy Birthday Nick
[5:06] 02. Ross From Friends - Thank God Im A Lizard
[5:19] 03. Ross From Friends - Wear Me Down
[3:34] 04. Ross From Friends - The Knife
[5:09] 05. Ross From Friends - Project Cybersyn
[1:42] 06. Ross From Friends - Family Portrait
[3:58] 07. Ross From Friends - Pale Blue Dot
[3:11] 08. Ross From Friends - Back Into Space
[5:23] 09. Ross From Friends - Parallel Sequence
[5:29] 10. Ross From Friends - R.A.T.S
[6:53] 11. Ross From Friends - Dont Wake Dad
[5:55] 12. Ross From Friends - The Beginning

**********



Having recently made his inaugural outing on Brainfeeder with “Aphelion
EP”, British producer Ross From Friends aka Felix Clary Weatherall returns
with his debut album on Flying Lotus’ label. Family Portrait is
characterised by a perpetual desire to experiment and Felixs obsessive attention
to detail, somehow marrying an intricately layered production style with warm,
heavily saturated sonics that elevate, rather than stifle, his melodious funk.
With a handful of revered 12”s under his belt via Breaker Breaker, Lobster
Theremin, Distant Hawaii, Magicwire and a 10” on Molten Jets.
“Family Portrait” showcases his ability to shift and evolve, moving
from the world of lo-fi to the world of FlyLo, he demonstrates a versatility
exemplified by the ease in which he can switch between playing shows with Little
Dragon, holding down a peak-time slot in Berghain’s Panorama Bar and
performing live at Maida Vale for BBC Radio 1.

The culmination of almost two years of intense studio time, working 20 hour
days, and often spending months perfecting just one aspect of a track. I tried
to be careful with every single sound” he explains, “Trying new
things, making a bit more of an explosive sound”. The album also finds
Felix recording his own voice for the first time, with the resulting tracks
acting as snapshots of his personal life while recording. “Every time I
went to make music the things which would really grab me are the emotional
things, and while I’m in that place I felt I could really focus on the
track. That was a massive part of this album, tapping into my emotions…
into my emotional instability”.

The album title - “Family Portrait” - also nods to a very specific
personal aspect of the record: the influence of his parents. Dance music has
always been a feature in Felixs life, with early memories of his dad producing
music on his analogue set-up, or pumping out hi-NRG tracks on the turntable, he
grew up discussing, sharing and learning about music from his dad. “My dad
has been hugely influential to the whole thing,” he explains. However it
was with the emergence of some old family VHS tapes, and the story of how
Felix’s parents came to meet, that the true significance became clear. 

Having built up a sound system in the 1980’s while playing at various
squat parties around London (including the then derelict Roundhouse)
Felix’s dad decided he wanted to get out of the capital and see some of
Europe. He got his hands on a bus and started putting word out through a network
of like-minded friends and acquaintances. At the time just a friend of a friend,
the trip caught the attention of Felix’s mum-to-be, who offered to
document the whole thing in return for a seat, and in 1990 they loaded up the
sound system and hit the road. Travelling through France, Belgium, West and East
Germany (though returning through a unified one) and beyond, setting up in towns
to share their passion for the sounds of hi-NRG dance, Italo disco and
proto-Techno through spontaneous parties in whatever venue they could find.

Related artists