Of all the trip hop records of the late 90s, my no-question favourite is Hooverphonic’s A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular. Moody, mysterious, and cinematic, with unique vocals, and strange samples, and a distinctly European vibe. I still play it regularly, mostly late at night.

That was the thing that leapt to mind in the first seconds of Rusticles‘ “Plastic”. Morgane Diet‘s vocals have a different sound than those of Liesje Sadonius, but there are so many elements of this song that would have fit right in with that record:

Not a lot to know about Rusticles, nor is there much to hear (yet). It’s a project from a drummer and producer named Chris Boot, who runs a recording studio in Lewes, UK, and plays drums in a neo-soul-ish band called Mamas Gun.

Starting this summer, he’s been releasing music as Rusticles — the three songs out now all feature Diet on vocals, and there’s even less online about her (though she’s a guest vocalist on this track too). Here’s Rusticle’s second single, “Elysian Fields”:

The details on these tracks is what makes them work so well for me. They feel fussed over in the best possible way, each song shifting and morphing as it progresses, introducing record crackle, audio beds or percussion hits that disappear just as quickly. At a couple of points in the song above, a single electronic handclap seems to work as a focus point or chapter marker. Boot’s attention to detail is clear throughout these singles.

Here’s the debut single “Silence Rendered”, from July. It’s probably the most cinematic of the three singles, and the last seconds are breathtaking:

Rusticles’ debut EP comes out on October 4th, and you can buy a pretty good-looking T-shirt from his Bandcamp right now if you’re keen to. Hopefully there’s a vinyl pressing of the EP as well.

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