Bleep

When EP 1 dropped on Suction Records in 2016, it was enveloped in mystery. RX-101 was an anonymous artist, with a late 90s archive of tapes that the label felt compelled to release from its hiding place in a forgotten box in the attic. There was much speculation to be had, but on EP2, Dutch producer Erik Jong’s identity was revealed, along with a sudden stylistic shift from roughly hewn, noisy and experimental bangers to lowkey, nostalgic tape sketches.

The second of four volumes in RX-101’s archival EP series shifts gears to ambient techno and electronica. Along with the first volume and some exclusive tracks, EP2 was compiled into his debut album Like Yesterday, whose title describes the material perfectly with its warm, analogue synths and cassette tape haze that dial the clock a few decades back to the golden age of Rephlex.

‘August ‘97’ enters the mist with billowing kicks and gated snares, and a breezy, carefree attitude that characterises much of the EP. ‘Morning Glory’ continues the melodic thread, amphibian synths jumping all around the mellow and inviting atmosphere. The watery percussion of submerged ruins overflows on ‘Gemini Launcher’, where dub chord smashes are like rays of light, painting lapping waves in sunrise orange shades.

EP2 presents yet a scintillating facet to RX-101’s varied and transportive discography.