Bio

Rob Macleod is a producer born in Glasgow but with strong family ties to the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides having spent every school holiday in his family home roaming around the blackhouse village as a child into his teenage years. A place he was encouraged to see as his true home. A place where he is welcomed by the locals as part of the community and representative of the Macleod family heritage. Considering the drastic differences between a remote Gaelic speaking island and the urban mania of a city like Glasgow, where he currently lives, Rob has used his productions to bridge the mental gap he feels exists when moving between such radically different environments, 'I have never really been entirely comfortable in either place. Feeling like an outsider while participating in both. These selected tracks are a conscious attempt to fit my two islands together.' Rob speaks as someone who has struggled with mental health issues his whole life, 'For myself, audio is the most useful and potent medicine I have to soothe and focus my internal jitters.' Rob is a producer of the modular synthesis variety combining retro and contemporary keys and machines to create warm, glowing textures of sound that sweep over you like the waves of people on a Glasgow street, or indeed the waves of the Atlantic on a Hebredian beach.

EP

Partaig itself is a tribute to the area of Glasgow that Rob lives in, being the Gaelic word for Partick in the west of the city. These are city tracks, danceable from the part of Rob's mind focused on clubs. These tracks represent Rob, 'after a few espressos and remembering growing up in mid 1980s Patrick, hearing wild punk electronic sounds and sample laden music for the first time, dabbling in chaos. Exciting and entertaining, wearing cool sneakers, embracing technology and club culture. Playful and addictive. Future focussed.'

Yamazona opens the EP. A trippy, jazzy blanket of warm synth sounds, moving through consonance and dissonance with an ease it shouldn't have. A wonky riff is repeated with velvety bass pads soaking your ears. Downie Sunset is an electro workout with serious nods to early Detroit and blowing kisses towards the Warp Artificial Intelligence Series, UR and Planet-E. A hypnotic, locked groove with melodic sensibilities, space and presence it evokes a nocturnal, sci-fi look at Lewis' unpolluted sky. The title track, Partaig takes the listener back to the early days of house and techno, keeping it melodic and progressive but definitely with some drive, rasping bass and sequences dancing all over the main groove. This is a club ready, floor filler and no mistake about it. Harmonaig takes its name from the Gaelic for harmonic, a Celtic melancholy protrudes throughout, combining a broken beat with some acid sensibilities to create a squelchy modular bounce. Electro Whip closes this EP out with the obvious influence of early Italo records Rob heard at the Glasgow carnival in the early 90s. With percussion made from household items, this electro prog track ends on the high this EP demands.