Purveyors of louche breakbeats
Who they?
Home counties duo John Ross and Rob Fitzpatrick are the Stone Roses/Stereo MCs of laidback ambient shimmerings. You see, their debut album, ‘In Glorious Black And Blue’, was released on Colin Newman/Malka Spigel’s Swim label in 1997. The follow-up, working title ‘Nettlebed Skyline’, is due out this autumn. That’s some hiatus. “We never actually stopped thinking or talking about Ronnie & Clyde,” explains Rob, sheepishly, “we just got distracted by life’s long and, at times, more scenic route.” Chuck in lockdown, a 90-day trial on Logic and R&C MkII was suddenly up and running.
Why Ronnie & Clyde?
Anyone who has heard their debut album should be rightly excited about this dramatic turn in events. Remarkably, there seems to be a plan this time round with a stream of releases leading up to the new long-player. First up is ‘In The Garden’, a slinky 60s TV theme/psyche affair with plinky guitar picking and, in a fresh twist, a soulfully drifty vocal, lyrics and pipes courtesy of Portland-born, LA-dwelling Jasmine Ash. Next up is ‘Last Retention’, all exploding harps and soaring ululations, it’s kind of in the Groove Armada’s ‘At The River’ ballpark.
Tell us more…
If ghosts in the machine are your thing, Ronnie & Clyde have been mixing and mastering at Electric Lady Studio in New York’s Greenwich Village. “Our dear friend William Garrett, who makes beautiful music as Singleton, has his own space there,” says Rob. “Electric Lady is an incredible place and run with such love and care and William’s mixes just blew our tiny minds. We very much hope to work with him a lot more in the future.”
‘In The Garden’ is out on Faroe Recordings. ‘Last Retention’ is released on 22 April
