Rrose

Rrose crafts experimental techno and drone works that probe psychoacoustic phenomena. The name references Marcel Duchamp’s female persona Rrose Sélavy. The project surfaced without attribution in 2011, issuing material through the Sandwell District collective and label while attracting attention via cuts such as “Waterfall.” Over time the endeavor was disclosed as Seth Horvitz’s female alter ego, conceived both as a political gesture and an examination of identity. While refining a singular hypnotic, psychedelic techno approach, Rrose also interprets contemporary classical pieces, among them a 2015 recording of James Tenney’s Having Never Written a Note for Percussion and the 2019 collaboration with Charlemagne Palestine issued as The Goldennn Meeenn + Sheeenn. The project’s first official album, Hymn to Moisture, appeared in 2019; Please Touch followed in 2023.

Seth Horvitz had already gained recognition for glitch-infused techno and IDM released as Sutekh. Between 1997 and 2010 he issued four albums, a remix compilation, and numerous EPs on Force Inc., Drop Beat, Plug Research, and Soul Jazz, frequently alongside Twerk, Safety Scissors, and Kit Clayton. His focus gradually turned toward sound art and modern composition, prompting studies in electronic music at Mills College in Oakland. Still operating under the Sandwell District banner while remaining anonymous, Rrose released the 2011 collaboration Motormouth Variations with Mills professor Bob Ostertag. The album was accompanied by the EPs Primary Evidence and Merchant of Salt, the latter containing the breakthrough club track “Waterfall.” Artificial Light (1969-1909) arrived in 2012. After Sandwell District ended operations, Rrose began issuing material primarily through the Eaux imprint, starting with another Ostertag collaboration, The Surgeon General. Subsequent EPs included 2013’s Monad XVI, the first release on Stroboscopic Artefacts.

Further Records put out Having Never Written a Note for Percussion in 2015, documenting both studio and live performances of the James Tenney drone work. In 2016 Rrose issued split singles with Kangding Ray, Orphx, and Tujurikkuja, the collaborative EP The Lotus Eaters with Lucy, and the solo EP Arc Unknown. Lucy and Rrose followed with The Lotus Eaters II in 2018 and later released two albums together as the Lotus Eaters. Horvitz clarified his nuanced relationship to gender identity, describing Rrose as a persona rather than a personal claim to female identification and urging promoters to assemble more inclusive lineups. In 2019 Rrose released The Goldennn Meeenn + Sheeenn, a live recording reworking Charlemagne Palestine’s 1976 piece “The Golden Mean,” and issued the techno album Hymn to Moisture. The following year Rrose co-compiled the ambient collection Air Texture VII with Silent Servant and released the digital-only Organ Studies, Vol. 1. The 2023 EP Tulip Space preceded the full-length Please Touch, the project’s most extensive fusion of techno rhythms and psychoacoustic experimentation.