Artist: RVO
Release: Taciturn Manner LP
Label: Telemorph
Release Date: 14th October 2016

 

Reggy Van Oers a.k.a RVO is back on his Telemorph imprint with the Taciturn Manner 2LP. I gave it a good listen and had this to say.

Primal Need begins like a heartbeat. Its build-up feels like the drawn-out breathing of a wounded carnivore cornered and under attack. The throb of the bassline is so natural you are immediately transformed to a primordial form of self; instinct is all you have. And as you search for a way out, the composition picks up pace and RVO builds on the foundational elements even further. The organic beast that is this track — sneaky percussion and intermittent monastic croak in tow — offers a candid confrontation of one’s urges and proclivities. Will you obey your nature?

 

On Taciturn Manner, the ambient space ebbs and flows in a teasing dance but the solemn, focused low-end means business. The track creates a meditative island of sound with a sweet spot at its peak — between its gregarious, fluctuating pads and its club-ready beat. This construct allows it to mask its true identity, distracting your curious ears; hiding behind a curtain, as any shy guy would. As far as title tracks go, this one is right on the money.

 

Parietal Defect  grows from a repetitive bellow — reminiscent of a shamanic didgeridoo-driven dance — into an atmospheric creeper. Its vines wind around neurons as they seek to fill the nooks and crannies of your cranial space. Sweeping sonics brush across from left to right ever so delicately, making this song as entrancing as it is haunting. By the time it winds down, you may not know where you are, and you’ll be sad to hear it go.

 

Character Arc is instantly striking. This is a piece that subtly blends ethereal and tangible essence to powerful effect. Whether intentional or not, the track reflects RVO’s mastery of his artform. It is built in the likeness of an introspective being; with a face of deep techno and a heart of raw emotions at its core.

 

Lace Monitor is resolute, raw and hard. The bassline seems to fall back as the blooming chords and hooking rattles mature in the course of the track. The result is a canvas that allows RVO to paint finer details into a well-sketched outline — a grainy scratch, a distant echo. At times the surroundings it envelopes you in feel so delicate, but the Dutchman holds everything together with a bespoke low-end truss.

 

Keen listeners may have problems hearing this from start to finish. There is a repetitive scene in the settings RVO creates, entrancing as they can be when viewed individually. Despite this, Taciturn Manner is a good addition to a long line of great RVO releases. It does not particularly draw one deeper into his techno lair, but that could be the very reason for its title.

Taciturn Manner 2LP was released today via Telemorph in digital and vinyl formats.

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