“I was like, ‘Right. I want to make some classic, ’90s jam kind of stuff,’” says Rob Orne of the driving force behind Are You Anywhere, his new album on Project Mooncircle. Growing up in the small, northern U.K. town of Runcorn, Cheshire, the 30-year-old beatsmith, who records under the moniker submerse, relocated to Tokyo seven years ago. And for many, his sound is synonymous with the Japan beat scene: hazy, textural electronic dreamscapes, all underpinned by his woozy kicks and snares. After his debut album, 2014’s Slow Waves, Orne released a string of EPs, including Awake (as submerse), and Wolves (as we could die here). Both were departures from his usual off-kilter, beat-heavy aesthetic, instead exploring ambient and drone—which was inspired by a stint in the hospital that left him unable to do much except listen to music and play video games. “Once ‘we could die’ here was done, I thought, ‘OK, I’ve had a bit of a break now. It’s time to get back into it.’” With Are You Anywhere, the producer has crafted an LP that oozes swagger and bounce in equal measure. “I was really influenced by 52nd Street and a bunch of ’80s stuff,” reveals Orne, “but then, also, a lot of guys like devonwho and MNDSGN, who are moving into more melodic, verse-chorus-verse music, with a lot more key changes.” From the salacious slow jam “Firstbase,” to the braggadocio of “Cool Off” and the 16-bit stylings of “Too Many Sidequests” (actually made using a Super Nintendo sound chip), Orne has leaned into his new stylistic direction with glee. The rolling, funk-drenched vibe of Are You Anywhere can, in part, be attributed to a shift in the way the 30-year-old makes music. “I’d managed to get my hands on a few snyths and borrow a [Yamaha] DX5 [synth], and I was going to a couple of studios and just really getting into jazzy, R&B-style chords,” explains Orne. “The process of making this album was so different from Slow Waves. With Slow Waves, I was very focused on field recordings and textures. Anywhere was more stripped back, using basic drums, bass, a Rhodes or a DX7 and not trying to fill it out with ambient textures.”
“I was like, ‘Right. I want to make some classic, ’90s jam kind of stuff,’” says Rob Orne of the driving force behind Are You Anywhere, his new album on Project Mooncircle. Growing up in the small, northern U.K. town of Runcorn, Cheshire, the 30-year-old beatsmith, who records under the moniker submerse, relocated to Tokyo seven years ago. And for many, his sound is synonymous with the Japan beat scene: hazy, textural electronic dreamscapes, all underpinned by his woozy kicks and snares.
ResponderEliminarAfter his debut album, 2014’s Slow Waves, Orne released a string of EPs, including Awake (as submerse), and Wolves (as we could die here). Both were departures from his usual off-kilter, beat-heavy aesthetic, instead exploring ambient and drone—which was inspired by a stint in the hospital that left him unable to do much except listen to music and play video games. “Once ‘we could die’ here was done, I thought, ‘OK, I’ve had a bit of a break now. It’s time to get back into it.’”
With Are You Anywhere, the producer has crafted an LP that oozes swagger and bounce in equal measure. “I was really influenced by 52nd Street and a bunch of ’80s stuff,” reveals Orne, “but then, also, a lot of guys like devonwho and MNDSGN, who are moving into more melodic, verse-chorus-verse music, with a lot more key changes.” From the salacious slow jam “Firstbase,” to the braggadocio of “Cool Off” and the 16-bit stylings of “Too Many Sidequests” (actually made using a Super Nintendo sound chip), Orne has leaned into his new stylistic direction with glee.
The rolling, funk-drenched vibe of Are You Anywhere can, in part, be attributed to a shift in the way the 30-year-old makes music. “I’d managed to get my hands on a few snyths and borrow a [Yamaha] DX5 [synth], and I was going to a couple of studios and just really getting into jazzy, R&B-style chords,” explains Orne. “The process of making this album was so different from Slow Waves. With Slow Waves, I was very focused on field recordings and textures. Anywhere was more stripped back, using basic drums, bass, a Rhodes or a DX7 and not trying to fill it out with ambient textures.”