“Citizen Roots” EP finds a home on UNDERRADAR, Ecilo’s Jakarta-based techno label.
RAF TRK is a veteran of the underground dance music scene in Asia, living in Indonesia for many years. He’s held residencies and played all the major hubs in this part of the world, known as a long-running talented selektor. He’s evolved rapidly–from deep house, to minimal, to house and techno. His releases all have an underlying thread of melody, deepness, and a classic dubby flavor throughout all the genres.
“Emit Love” is heady, deep, dubby, intelligent, and progressively adding elements, morphing gradually into unexpected forms along the way to tell a story. The tone he sets is deep, yet retains a trippy thematic melody at the same time without coming anywhere close to crossing over into “melodic techno”.
“Pumpui” opens with a driving percussion section. It is tribalistic into techno territory with an African type pattern, and a metallic texture to keep things modern. A surprise hint of disco floats in within a drop, with a momentary shuffling indie beat with a different color, then tastefully disappears back into a deep techno groove.
“Voice Spectrum” continues the storyteller vibe, as Raf introduces another wistful, emotive, atmospheric melody. Punctuated by edgy stabs and dubby hits, off kilter arps are then introduced, shifting the story towards a bit of darkness, providing a new direction and shifted sense of balance.
“Internal” picks up where “Voice Spectrum” left off, with unresolved tension, syncopated clap riffs, and questioning synth leads drive the main section with deep dubby intensity. This tune drives firmly into the tense dark side, punctured in classic dub techno fashion by the big atmospherics of cavernous stabs.
Toro Laksana shifts “Pumpui” into futuristic techno territory with his remix. A squelchy synth riff drives the tune, while deep atmospheric leads wax and wane in the background. It’s a tense and trippy effect, trance inducing, and hypnotic. Serving as the release closer, it appropriately adds to the evolving techno sensibility built into this EP, promising more to come.
We’ll keep an eye on RAF TRK as he transitions in 2025 to Europe, after years of being based in Asia. Working these days on a modular, his releases are sure to be full of analog techno flavor and a signature mark of melody.
-Nicolaas Black
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