Arutani

Arutani, a producer operating out of Basel, shapes a subdued, slow-burning strain of techno laced with light psychedelic touches, drawing on distinctive synthesizer textures and atypical audio fragments, a style showcased throughout his first full-length project, the 2020 album Memories of Something New. Originally from Venezuela, he relocated to Switzerland in 2013, establishing himself in Basel and aligning with the LOKD collective that also features Dandara, Ăvem, and Digitule. The group’s open structure allowed him to test ideas and work jointly with its members, cycling through numerous musical directions until his individual approach crystallized. His earliest outing arrived in 2016 via the single “SUEÑ002” on Sueño, marked by an eerie, fragmented atmosphere. He adopted his performing name from a nearly extinct indigenous tongue once spoken in a remote pocket of Venezuela, seeking to evoke an otherworldly, enigmatic mood through gentle, subtly hallucinatory synth layers, unhurried low-tempo pulses, and singular samples. Additional mostly digital singles and EPs soon appeared on Amselcom, Metanoia, Heimlich, Voll Schön, and Serafin Audio, the last of these issuing his longest EPs to date: the 40-plus-minute I Will Still Be Water in 2018 and Nostalgia in 2020. German label Laut & Luise released his debut album, Memories of Something New, in 2020.