Jeroen Search melts masterful fluid textures and quirky minimal techno into the “Nautilus Lost” EP release off Rotterdam’s Repetitive Rhythm Research imprint.
Jeroen Search’s style is culminated from decades of experience, and it shows. This EP is more or less a flex of Jeroen’s artistic prowess, attempting to satisfy some curiosities, as well as maybe something beautiful to get lost in along the way.
The big standout on the release is “The Lost Land,” where it presents itself as a bit Detroit techno-inspired, such as Carl Craig’s 69 alias, but also defined by Jeroen Search’s own parameters coming from his history, bringing crunchier and more mental techno that is muted to highlight the moody synths. There’s also the deep, clay drum-sounding percussion in reverb. If it might not be too bold, we’d love to ask for a whole release of this sound. It would be amazing to have in your back pocket as a DJ or just to listen to a deep techno mood as the winter rains slowly bear down on us.
Other tracks on the release explore the deeper side of techno, but in a colder and hypnotic approach, such as “Mu” and “Hydrospace.” “Mu” explores pressed, randomized, and resampled note sequences in a filtered texture pad, and is layered by FM texture synth (or is it an elongated, time-stretched sample of a ride cymbal timbre?) and wandering chords. There are a lot of synthesis ideas going on inside this track; if you’re not looking for them, they will pass you by. Mostly, they present themselves as a personal investigation into the ideas of layering for the artist, but it’s a great chance to step inside Jeroen’s mind for a few minutes.
“Hydrospace” comes out as a standard techno offering, but the timing of the reverb and the tonal colors come off as cold and deep. The coolness of the silvery rides are mixed with the deepness of the FM blips in reverb. Deeper in the track, and highlighted at the 3:30 mark, there’s a very strange synth pattern that is fascinating, as it provides a pull against the composition.
The tracks Lemur and Delta 404 are bouncy and playful with a lot of interesting quirks. “Delta 404” provides a swampy twang to the lead synth line. And “Lemuria” continues to explore this controlled randomness that has been a consistent idea throughout the EP in small doses, but really comes into its own here, giving a closer listen to the idea in full.
Jeroen Search is a consistent and accomplished artist, presenting ideas as an artist would. That’s the real message. There’s no struggle to achieve. At all points in the release here, he is looking to express something that satisfies a creative itch. Stepping into his world for four to six-minute intervals is a way to see where his mind is looking to explore and identify with that path. Which is, honestly, more refreshing to understand and identify with than trying to understand why this other artist made a soulless dance floor belter devoid of any meaning or purpose.
It would be far better to hear 20-100 more artists with Jeroen Search’s mindset on this EP than it would be to sift through 100s of tracks that exist solely so DJs can claim their top 40 spot on a social media post. But we’ll save that story for another time.
-Sean Ocean
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