Igloo Magazine :: RGL :: Untitled (ato.archives)

Everyone is here riding into the unknown

The sound of strange science fiction dreams and dramas creating whole universes of the mind, with mutant ambient guitars, synths and beats, Untitled showcases a wide-ranging sonic palette, such as abstract drones placed alongside rhythm-driven tracks, modern electronic music that explores deep philosophical and psychological themes, encouraging the constant listener to contemplate the kind of future that waits somewhere ahead.

If we don’t innovate, something else will. Untitled brings a form of fantasy music where society or environment is imagined in an advanced technological and scientific age exploring the universe, time, future tech, and humanity. The monstrous and crazy hypnotic repetitive sound is the art of the impossible, famously indistinguishable from magic, a way to test new ideas and take tomorrow.

Let’s get started.

The opening track is “I” (2:45). I imagine a twisted clock with sparks flying, heavy echo, busy guitar clockwork and pulsing electronic splashes. We are heading out into the unknown, with no name. Traveling like this distorts time, the sunrise starts again, “II” (3:48). Once the beat starts the sense of motion pushes ahead. I see endless fields and the electronic drone, with visitors speeding over the rising haze of sunrise, endless flickering misty tall grass fields. We move on, into the swirling darkness. A hidden orchestra warms up slowly, one or two at a time, then more join in becoming a slow imperceptible development of the environment and atmosphere, “III” (4:44) is like a sun bath, just sit and enjoy. “IV” (6:28) has a mysterious opening, entering into a dark Funhouse, a nervous fast beat shadowed by drones and other strange things, with voices somewhere else, it is impossible to hear people talking, but there are clues. Perhaps now we are riding next to the engine, things start purring as if under the rhythm of the rails, feel the power, steady and sure. The forward motion starts again with “V” (5:23), a strange wet munching beat, bobbing in the void with others, we are not alone and they are hungry. There is also a flute, which fits in an odd twisting solo over the strange wet sloshy beat that chews along at a slow and dangerous pace.

I see distant embers glowing at night ::

“VI” (4:34) starts with the sound of wet rocks, or perhaps the surface of a large body of water when it is very quiet, I don’t know. Maybe I see distant embers glowing at night, an old campfire by a new lake, more new things come and go but the main thing is the pattern itself. There is a huge rainbow glow in the sky which dominates the imagination. Next, on “VII” (3:18), the call goes out. The darkness is thick. The drone of the searchlight as it reaches into the inky blackness covers the visiting Martian judges, who are mumbling quietly amongst themselves. For the final séance the beats pick up as we go along into the end of it all, “VIII” (5:04). Opening into a frosty sparkling shimmering sunrise, phantom drones sustain throughout. Soon a beat bangs into form, abruptly kicking and tapping, the rhythmic machine builds and builds. The force stays strong, the elements shift and fit into new forms, bringing a host of wanderers. Everyone is here riding into the unknown.

RGL is a Tokyo-based producer known for his lo-fi house productions and analog-textured dance music, with releases on labels such as Diskotopia and Breaker Breaker. In 2025, he released his debut album, Touzan. He is a member of the producer collective COSMOPOLYPHONIC and co-hosts the radio program COOL RADIO with fellow collective member RLP. The result is a work that crystallizes RGL’s distinctive sensitivity to sound and texture.

Untitled is available on ato.archives. [Bandcamp]