Ripperton - Niwa

 

RIPPERTON - NIWA

Green

The appeal of electronic dance music has always, in part, stemmed from the interchangeability of its parts—tools in the hands of DJs, who space out predictably structured anthems among pastiches of bare-bones instrumentals.  Some fought back against this dominant paradigm, creating “headphone music” designed for the ears and not the feet, as if the problem stemmed from the dancefloor itself.  Others have sought the middle ground between these two poles; indeed, many of the most creative moments in electronic dance music have come from such syntheses.  

But electronic music can also be said to suffer from an unimaginative and staid set of musical vocabularies.  Nowhere is this more apparent than with house music, the most the most hedonistic and disposable of electronic dance genres.  Constrained, in various corners, by disco sample and “jazz chord” clichés, house music desperately needed the imagination that minimal and glitch producers brought to it nearly a decade ago.  Now even that’s grown formulaic.  Simply put, house music needs another kick in the pants.   

Enter Switzerland’s Raphael Ripperton, and his surprising new album on Joris Voorn’s Green label, ‘Niwa.’ Quirky and fresh, ‘Niwa’ combines the earnest soul of deep house with more than a touch of nostalgia.  That tends to come cheap these days, but Ripperton avoids the clichés of referential music and brings new perspectives to bear.  As Ripperton himself acknowledges, ‘Niwa’ is heavily influenced by 1970s psychedelic rock, and fans of King Crimson, Tangerine Dream and more obscure bands from continental Europe will hear little nods from the Swiss producer. Of course, that’s not all you hear.  Ripperton also draws upon Detroit techno, IDM, hip-hop, downbeat and just about every other respectable form of electronic music from the past three decades.  But references are subtle enough not to be become dreary or overbearing.  At times, you’re not even sure what his music reminds you of, but the distinct feeling of recollection tugs at the soul.  Bibio?  M83?  Maybe, but it’s also very much house music—real, proper house music, only smarter.    

Starting with the European soul of “A Simple Thing,” through the dark bass of “Echocity” and whimsy of “The Sandbox,” to the cosmic Balearic beat of “Des Promesses de Couleurs,” there isn’t a fully bad moment on the album.  The closest thing would be album-ender “A Train to Nowhere,” which has the misfortune of just being a well-crafted dance track.  If I were hard-pressed to name the album’s standout, I might go with the majestic, cinematic “Random Violence.”  Scratch that, it’s “Farra,” an otherworldly moment that manages to be both epic and restrained.   

‘Niwa’ is, without any doubt, the best electronic dance music album I’ve heard in 2010. Highly recommended. 

Gustav Brown