- The anonymous R-Zone series had a prolific start in 2013, but it has since cooled off. The project's founder, Crème Organization's DJ TLR, launched the heavier Jericho One label project in the meantime, which might explain the lack of action. After a 12-month pause, R-Zone 17 shifts the focus back to weirder sounds with one of one of its most intense records in years.
Each track has the elements of a breakbeat banger. There are epic pads, slamming drums and shrapnel-like synths, but the erratic music moves without much groove. "Rise" is the exception. It begins sparse and static, slowly morphing into techno, with a massive kick, ominous horns and drum flurries. "Greatest Enemy" has cold, spacey pads that hover above its blistering percussion. On "Spike" and "Faramone Agent," the music walks the line between manic and messy. "Spike" features ear-piercing synths, while "Faramone Agent"'s brutal landscape is topped off with a vocal proclaiming, "It's the point of greatest intensity!" The track is unhinged, but that statement never quite comes true.
TracklistA1 Greatest Enemy
A2 Spike
B1 Faramone Agent
Digital: Rise