Lotus Eater (Lucy & Rrose)^IT/US

Layered in textured synth harmonies, tape echo, feedback loops and shimmering drones, the sound of Lotus Eater oscillates between meditative and narcotic. Riffing on the name of their first two collaborative EPs (and on a Greek myth of dreamy indulgence), Lotus Eater fuses the similarly inquisitive and inventive approaches of seasoned producers Lucy and Rrose.

Lucy and Rrose met long-distance through music, remixing tracks for each others' labels. Soon enough, Rrose visited Lucy in his studio, where they intuitively began to make music together over two sessions, blending their distinct techno styles and gathering enough material for an album. Rrose creates atmospheric industrial layers of wide-toned synth melodies, foggy effects, sound-designed noise and solid bass beats—all the while subtly interrogating both gender norms and artistry in techno circles, especially via live sets. The gender-defying alter-ego of inscrutable veteran techno producer Seth Horvitz, Rrose prefers to stay enigmatic: Rrose’s name and image allude to Duchamp. At first shrouded in mystery, Rrose released a debut on Sandwell District in 2011, and continued in a collaboration featuring Bob Ostertag’s Buchla 200E synth, with several 12”s on Rrose's Eaux label. Other releases range from a gong-only drone rendition of composer James Tenney's Having Never Written A Note For Percussion, to the equally intense Beware of Shells, a partially beatless EP.

As Lucy, Luca Mortellaro crafts deep, body-moving tracks, splitting his work into solo albums and hearty collaborations. His debut Wordplay for and a series of followup albums, captured a relentless yet ethereal drive, while his latest releases, including 2016's full-length Self Mythology, see him going further down an experimental ambient techno path, replete with covert dark corners awaiting sonic illumination. His collaborations have included work with Speedy J, Xhin and Silent Servant, an EP spanning ambient and club sounds with Ben Klock, and a recent 12” of pummelling cinematic techno with Rødhåd. Keenly blending the analogue with the digital, the abstract with the danceable, Lucy has energetically alternated from club tunes to remixing the Rossini Opera Festival.

Lotus Eater appears at MUTEK partly shrouded in mystery and partly as two known entities with a depth of musicality and machine mastery, capable of building an enthralling, kaleidoscopic ambient world and throwing the heaviest of techno riots within it.