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Old 02-28-2012, 11:13 AM
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012...?newsfeed=true

RxGibbs
Ron Gibbs is a nostalgic futurist who makes ambient dub in the style of the Orb or Aphex Twin

Paul Lester
guardian.co.uk, Monday 27 February 2012 09.59 EST

Slow, drifiting technoscapes … RxGibbs

Hometown: Michigan.

The lineup: Ron Gibbs (music, production).

The background: There are probably better genres of music to enjoy right now than ambient dub as the weather improves and thoughts drift (a key word here) towards summer, but we can't think of any. Michigan producer Ron Gibbs, who operates as RxGibbs, is a nostalgic futurist, his electronic reveries made using modern technology and evoking memories of the/his past. It recalls that style of music popular in critical circles 20 years ago (and not from Seattle or "Madchester") – the slow, drifting (told you) technoscapes of Seefeel, and those artists involved in the early UK dance scene who had mental or musical links with shoegazing and/or 70s psychedelia and prog, such as the Orb. Says Gibbs: "I've always drawn inspiration from bands like Seefeel, Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine, Andrew Weatherall's projects, the Orb and such. These were the bands that blew my mind way back in high school." One of his tracks, High Moon, from the Disclosure EP, sounds like something Weatherall might have recorded for Primal Scream circa Screamadelica. That album is another touchstone for Gibbs, although he's more into the sonics of the era than the messianic posturing. He thinks early Verve produced "some of the most beautiful music ever" and digs the musicianship of guitarist Nick McCabe and bassist Simon Jones, but believes Richard Ashcroft "is the one that ruined them in the end".

There are also probably better labels for Gibbs to release his music on right now than Cascine, but we can't think of any. Cascine is the New York-London label whose acts, such as Chad Valley, Selebrities and Jensen Sportag, we've been saying appreciative things about recently. They don't have a label sound as such – although Factory meets early Warp isn't far off – but they do have a label "feel": it's the sheen that celebrates itself. And they have managed, with their stylish sleeve designs, to convey that feel even in this no-product, digital-only age.

Cascine's signature look and sound are instantly recognisable in RxGibbs's latest EP, Futures. It's his third, as far as we can tell, and first for Cascine, preceded as it was by the Disclosure and Bleu Celeste EPs. We tried listening to the latter pair on his Bandcamp, but that site appears to be experiencing problems, so we downloaded them instead. There is a marked progression from his early work to Futures, even if it's of the slow-evolving kind. If anything, his music has become poppier, less chillout than chillwave. Sometimes, this poppiness is subtle: the title cut and Lumiere are like backing tracks for fully fledged songs, while Proxy has the melancholy motion of New Order's best wan disco. It goes on and on, yet you still feel sad when it stops. Silver starts off dreamy then speeds up to become the Fleetwood Mac-in-space we were expecting from Chad Valley's side project Jonquil. The final track, Split Infinity, is in the same vein: electronic MOR, a blur or blend of Selected Ambient Works and Tusk. If Aphex Twin and Lindsey Buckingham ever did a mashup for Cascine, here's some idea of the result.

The buzz: "Luscious, heavenly ambience".

The truth: Time once again for Cascine to be heard.

Most likely to: Have an ever growing pulsating brain.

Least likely to: Become addicted to cocaine.

What to buy: The Futures EP is available now on Cascine – digital release only.

File next to: The Orb, Seefeel, Washed Out, Andrew Weatherall.

Links: www.facebook.com/pages/RxGibbs/158355017591638

Tuesday's new band: Smiler.
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