Manchester techno-ish producer delivers album inspired by… Plato
Who He?
It’s best to think of Manchester-based Ruane as one of those achingly smart producers that comes along every so often and finds inspiration in less than typical things compared to others working in this neck of the electronic music woods (his excellent ‘Lakes’ EP for Proximal used field recordings from the Lake District for example).
Why Daniel Ruane?
Although Ruane’s music fits most comfortably into the techno genre, his approach and breadth are somewhat removed from others around him. The beats and sounds he deploys might have a classically industrial edge, but there’s something ever so slightly off-kilter going on here – a note that feels like it’s been clipped, a melody that doesn’t go where you expect it to, a stop-start rhythm that comes in in the wrong place – which gives his music a considered, thoughtful air as it continually catches the listener off guard.
Tell Us More…
Ruane’s previous album, ‘Arrhythmia’, took that style to an extreme, whereas new album ‘Arcs’ is a deeper, more even affair, switching from quiet passages of barely-there atmospheric minimalism to wild, intense and crunchy tracks that are distorted almost to the point of no return. Underlying Ruane’s credentials as a clever chap, ‘Arcs’ was inspired by Plato’s theory of anamnesis, which proposes that we are all born knowing absolutely everything, thus making our life work’s an attempt to discover what we actually already know. All of which would mean that you’ve theoretically already heard of Daniel Ruane and therefore don’t need Electronic Sound to tell you how brilliant he is.
‘Arcs’ is out on The Silent Howl
