Unless you live in France where Paris-born producer Erwan Castex is already a household name thanks to his 2009 debut Spanish Breakfast), Rone is probably as foreign to you as he was to me. Turns out Rone is synonymous with an experimental, atmospheric and very melodic hybrid of house and techno dance music. Rone's sophomore album Tohu Bohu has much to live up to, though it's important to note that since I never heard the first album I can't give any worthwhile comparisons.
Right away, Rone's sound is gripping due to its more sophisticated brand of electronica. Surreal, mesmerizing, and even hypnotic, while it's certainly dance floor friendly, it feels much more graceful than its counterparts. There's also a wealth of genres explored to give it a very diverse feel, another difference from like-minded outfits, who often sound like they made one long album of the same pattern and sample looped.
The most obvious examples of diversity here are “Bye Bye Macadam” and “Let's Go,” both of which pull from the rap/hip-hop world; the latter features rapping by High Priest Of Antipop Consortium. Other tracks draw more from Rone's more expected influences, “Parade” being a colorful techno tune and “Icare” injecting lots of synth-pop that hovers like a film score. Robust rhythms are all over the place: “Tempelhof” is the best example of this, while “Beast” follows a similar principle but sounds like Rone is flexing his musical muscle. Though much of this doesn't sound distinctly French, “La Grande Ourse” sounds very much suited for the always-progressive French dance/electronic label Kitsune.
A very polished affair, the production here is top notch; that, combined with the high attention to melody and detail, make this a very pleasant listen with a cinematic, glitchy, and very modern feel. You can tell a tremendous amount of work went into this disc, though it unfolds with the greatest of ease for the listener.