ROY OF THE RAVERS

Review: Arriving some five years after the original 12" created a dance-floor paradigm shift, Roy Of The Ravers returns to Emotinium with an EP of updated retakes, complete with the previously unheard original demo mix in all its twenty minute glory. Emotinium first appeared on the '2 Late 4 Love' cassette in 2015, and caused a storm as part of a 4 track EP with the same name a year later. The track was played as a festival opener by the likes of Bicep and in Sameheads' Berlin basement parties - becoming a must-have that continues as today's second-hand prices testify.

A sense that the dreamy electro meets 303 melodics of the original could be brought up to (breaks) speed held in Roy's mind since creation, so Rave '22 is presented for hearts, minds and feet as we step(pers) out into an updated world. Cut, looped, and reformed, a braindance for millenniums.

This is accompanied by an Ambient Dub for the afters. Highlighting the TB-303's finest again, Roy's garden of dreams flies high, as artificial intelligence finally becomes reality. To close, the long-form Demo awaits. One for completists maybe but in letting the full 20 minutes play you can be drawn in or let go and drift as Tadao Kikumoto's masterwork is presented with respect. Arigato!

Review: Roy Of The Ravers takes a break from his mischievious outings on Acid Waxa et al to lay down some of his braindance tackle on Emotional Response. White Line Sunrise II.I (Le Roy Soleil) can rightly be considered a follow-up to White Line Sunrise II and indeed it represents a similar kind of spectrum of electronica. Roy's sound is edging further into the kind of 'artist' territory where slower, softer tracks, odd vocal diversions and some pop sensibilities merge with the acid, electro, breakbeat and other well-established tropes of his sound. It's the kind of record which could easily broach this quirky fringe operator of UK electronics to a broader fan base, and there's no doubt he's got the melodic, emotional heft on tracks like 'Versace 101624' to get everyone on board.

Review: Roy Of The Ravers may be best known for his lysergic rave pelters, but there's always been a hint of grandiose melancholy in his synth work that suggested there was more to the machine botherer than tear-out acid beats. Emotional Response worked with the artist in trawling through a vast archive of material recorded between 1997 and 2017, rescued from hard drives once thought lost, and now gathered as a compelling ambient release with the full fat hardware veneer of Roy's work to date, but coming from a more reflective angle. From cathedral-quaking drones to deeply submerged aquatic excursions, this album has plenty to draw you into the inner world of an acid hero.

Review: Roy Of The Ravers returns to his Acid Waxa stomping ground with a much needed vinyl pressing of last year's insanely good "Who Are Ya??" album. Keeping tracks these potent trapped on cassette would have been a crime, but fear not as they've been cut in all their squelchy, 303-baiting glory. There's a particular snappy appeal to Roy's style that makes it some of the most refreshing acid we've heard in some time, whether it's the proper naughty "Roy Shat Over Ref" or the slow-creeping acid of "All Aboard !!!" The vibe is raw and nasty throughout, just like how proper acid should be.