Ratgrave

Berlin-based musicians Julius Conrad and Max Graef form the duo Ratgrave, whose output blends trippy, abstract fusion-funk. Their self-titled debut from 2018 and the 2020 follow-up Rock both set virtuosic guitar chops against fractured synth rhythms and bugged-out electronic effects, yielding a playful, lo-fi version of space-age jazz-rock.

The pair spent three years tracking Ratgrave, their initial joint release, shaping knotty instrumentals from vintage drum machines and analog synthesizers alongside chunky, obtuse bass lines. Apron Records issued the album in 2018. Rock, Ratgrave’s second LP and a weightier project shaped by the work of Frank Zappa, Blue Cheer, and Jimi Hendrix, surfaced via Black Focus in 2020.