Rapoon :: Grain of Light (Unexplained Sounds Group)

Grain of Light is an experimental, swirling, and meditative album with ethnic elements and haunting sonic motifs from one continuously creative mastermind in the world of post-industrial music.

Hazy, looped sound ritualism

Pioneering figure and cult producer of the so-called post-industrial sound art movement with the project Soviet France, Robin Storey made a huge career as a solo artist with his project Rapoon. This musical entity operates a singular syncretism between hypnotic loops, tribal percussions, and diverse electronic manipulations, with ultimate classics (such as Raising Earthly Spirit). However, it also has a tendency toward ambient isolationism, favoring looping sequences and in-depth emotional or mental trance-inducing dronescapes (as in Time Frost or in the first effort I discovered from this project: From Shadows Sleep).

Having been primarily formed in ethnology, this new release leads me back to my interest in comparative musical traditions and specific collective neo-shamanic rituals—odd celebrations from indigenous subcultures. This collection of pieces summons highly psychoacoustic vibes and a search for inner ecstatic enlightenment, inviting the listener into a state of deep thoughtfulness.

Hazy, looped sound ritualism is engulfed in a vast array of micro-sounds and enhanced by spiritually energizing repetitive percussions, recommended for fans of occult sonic incursions and ritual driftscapes, from Alio Die and Robert Rich (for the more spacious ethno vibe) to Sigilium S, Halo Manash, Shandra Shukla, Phurpa, Rudolf Eb.er, and Muslimgauze (for the darkest corner of ethno meets industrial music).

Grain of Light is an experimental, swirling, and meditative album with ethnic elements and haunting sonic motifs from one continuously creative mastermind in the world of post-industrial music. This album is published by Unexplained Sounds Group, a key indie label and fine purveyor of (post-)industrial music, from its groundbreaking past to the present day.  

Grain of Light is available on Unexplained Sounds Group. [Bandcamp]