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Premiere: Listen to Denis Rodd “Minotaur” Out Soon on Cochlea Music

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After the organic and natural-sounding debut, Denis Rodd was inspired by Greek mythology and modern cinematography for his second EP, which is out on Cochlea Music this coming November 24th.

In the opening track,“Charlie & The Acid Factory,” the label founder is found grasping Tim Burton‘s fantasy fairy tale Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and replacing the chocolate with acid, creating a track that has an alluring beat.

The energetic density increases in the track “Slow,” the drum machines and plug-in sounds pushing the vocals forward, which in any case aren‘t slow at all. Or is it the exact opposite? Tribal magic emanates the ’40s and ’50s Blues in the vocal samples, a touch of African ancestral culture, jazz trumpets – the minor scales are hypnotically similar to the techno scales.

In the title track “Minotaur,” which we are premiering today, Denis Rodd finally transforms the bull-headed monster from the ancient legend into a hybrid with a fidgety techno skull, and body and soul made from warm Deep House. Bittersweet, melancholic and yet joyful is the captivity in Minotaur’s labyrinth of BPM, melodic murmurs, small surprises and contrasting sound events.

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Q&A and Premiere: Denis Rodd Releases Debut “Embryo” EP on Cochlea Music

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Even with the first sounds, the organic structures can be heard – and felt. A crystalline crackling of the hi-hat very close to the ear, as if the black volcanic sand of Lanzarote would trickling on the metal. The echo of the samples does not point to endless distances, rather, it swings up the cochlea and enters into a special world in which sound material develops a delicate self-life.

It is the world of Denis Rodd, producer and label founder of Cochlea Music, who moved from the Canary Islands to Berlin. His first EP on Cochlea Music is Embryo. Everything stands at the beginning, also in the first track, “Crisalida”, Chrysalis in Spanish. The key note in the 4 tracks is a mumbled bass but also a gentle drone, accompanied by repetitive melody abbreviations from the synthesizer. The analog beats make it noticeable that dancing starts in the head, the upright patterns remain schematically open, requiring a waking state.

Out of the quiet shadows of electronica, voices emerge from an unknown source, a few effect-driven wind instruments, a vocal chord in the track “L’Opera” borrowed from the music library, or the drums in “Famara,” which we are premiering for you exclusively today. They change the dramaturgy between audio recording and digital sound production. From the recognizable, comes the foreign – and the experimental sounds thereby become the natural biotope of musical stages of development. Enjoy “Famara” below and head to Deejay.de or Vinylfuture for a copy of your vinyl of the EP.

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