RIVAL CONSOLES - PERSONA VINYL (LTD. ED. CLEAR 2LP / STANDARD BLACK 2LP)

VERSION 1: LIMITED EDITION CLEAR 2LP VINYL GATEFOLD

VERSION 2: STANDARD BLACK 2LP VINYL GATEFOLD

Release Date: 13th April 2018 

Rival Consoles, the moniker for the London-based electronica producer Ryan Lee West, returns with the follow-up to 2016's mini-album Night Melody and the last full-length record - 2015's incredible Howl. Armed with his incredible array of analogue synths, instruments and an arsenal of effects pedals, Persona blurs the line between electronic and acoustic sound, making the record sit somewhere between techno and shoegaze. This is a fully immersive record that will suck you in and only spit you out once it's complete - just in time for you to re-live the experience all over again!

For Fans Of: Jon Hopkins, Kiasmos, Pantha du Prince, The Field

"Ryan Lee West aka Rival Consoles presents his expressive new album Persona via Erased Tapes. Recorded at his studio in south-east London, Persona benefits from Ryan’s exploration of a dynamic production process that combines analogue-heavy synthesisers, acoustic and electric instruments with a shoegaze-level obsession with effect pedals. A greater depth of emotion and confidence can be heard across the album. From the deconstructed movements on 'Unfolding' that starts the album with a snap of delayed snares, the apocalyptic drones of the title track and thundering drums in 'Phantom Grip' to more restrained ambient feels of 'Dreamer’s Wake', 'Rest' and 'Untravel'. The latter transverses six beatless minutes of undulating melodies representing “a limbo space, a feeling of ennui, of not really ever being known to others and others not ever really being known to you”. 'Be Kind' reveals a musical connection with fellow Erased Tapes artist Nils Frahm, with its minimal approach and improvisational nature. On the more complex sounding 'I Think So Ryan' aims to replicate a colour collage with sound. Like a musical kaleidoscope, a flashing and convoluted mass. Written after he saw Slowdive perform live last year, 'Hidden' builds from whispers to landscapes of controlled noise. 'Fragment' closes the album as an innocent sounding ambient piece, almost nursery rhyme like, yielding time for reflection on how the persona has changed."