Rigmarole by Colin Benders

Colin Benders - Rigmarole
Digital & physical release
Out on HIss & Hertz Records
Release date: Dec 17 2021

Following in the footsteps of his vinyl-only debut EP, “Floaty Things”, electronics transcender and modular warlock Colin Benders clocks in on Hiss & Hertz with “Rigmarole”, a five-track odyssey ushering us amidst mazes of intricately woven improvisations, hectic rhythmic landslides and mood-enslaved machine talk.

Recorded during lockdown, like its predecessor, the album pledges to showcase the darker side of Benders’ live streams turned archival recordings, whilst shedding a broader light on his breadth of scope as a spur-of-the-moment conductor of highly demanding, circuit-bending symphonies of sorts.

A shape-shifting flow of unpredictable essence, flush with climactic flights, untamed divagations and further mind-expanding excursions into chaotic sound expanses, “Rigmarole” is the fruit of a philosophy and particular relationship with his steadily growing online audience, with whom he’s come to go full circle; from sharing his knowledge and approach towards modular expression in open-ended, non-formulaic fashion, onto stamping the result of his jamming sessions on black wax thanks to the continued support of his community. Comprised of five live-recorded joints spanning the widest array of styles, tempi and moods, “Rigmarole” is a magnetic field where Benders’ sound blooms in all its alchemical potency and spontaneous finesse.

Via extended windows into his ever-resourceful headspace, Benders threads his way across brooding ambient scapes, sci-fi-indebted spaciousness and metronomic minimalism (“This Is Fine”), hi-octane, tribal-laced industrialism on a droney tip (“Wait”), stadium-sized arpeggiated techno (“What’s That Noise”), gritty basement thunder down your spine (“I Can’t Feel My Legs”) and wide-screen, cosmic-friendly exploratory wares (“Carry Me”) - somehow shaping a cohesive ensemble of music out of his all-embracing investigations in the realm of modular potentialities and live-told inspiration. Keeping you on the edge throughout, “Rigmarole” will be written down as a defining moment for Benders, an unpigeonholeable artist in constant search for the next thrill.

Having garnered a more than solid experience of the first-hand musician-to-listener experience, Benders keeps on cutting new trails for live electronics, away from drowsy standards and mimetic attitudes. Instead, the Dutch performer pledges to rethink our whole consumption and digestive process of music through lengthy, free-jazz-like momentums to lose your mind and body to.

colinbenders.com
hissandhertz.com