Rumina – Chase Review

What does Rumina sound like?

Techno, industrial and deconstructed club beats having their own ancestral ceremony.

The review of ‘Chase’ by Rumina

Precious Metals describes their music as “emotionally-led dysfunctional club music” and it is a fantastic descriptor. The UK-based label supports all kinds of underground artists who deconstruct club music or move it in different directions, and this is where Rumina comes in. Rumina is a Swedish-Turkish producer and DJ and their new EP ‘Chase’ delves into what techno and club music sounds like when channelled like an ancestral percussive ceremony.

Each track on ‘Chase’ tackles this idea in a different way. ‘Bodies & Rivers’ opens the release with Rumina starting slow and steady at the source of the EP. The beats are stretched and caustic. The tones are warped and slowly gathering momentum. After the opening section, the track picks up pace and continues to shift gears, getting faster and more aggressive. It is as if Rumina is setting us sail down a river without a brake pedal and that speed rarely lets up for the rest of the release. ‘Drag’ is a throbbing subwoofer smashing pacey beat with a claustrophobic electric guitar sizzling underneath. It sounds like the song is trying to borrow under your skin and hide whilst also reminding me of a ritualistic ceremony. It is taut and mildly horror-inducing.

The percussive breakbeats of ‘Quarry’ are like a rhythmic gymnasium. There are huge metallic smashes and clangs as we clatter our way into industrial beats and these rhythms carry the track along like a machine. Filling out the sound are microbeats clicking and flitting around the edges. This then escalates in pace and intensity with ‘To the Ground’. Industrial meets techno, and the amount of riding cowbell in this track is insane. I’m reminded of watching skiing at the Winter Olympics and hearing all the cowbells ringing out but now we’re hearing it on fast-forward. Despite all the clanging – both of these tracks sound dynamic and alive, even if the sounds are like broken bones and smashed souls. This brings us to the closing title track. ‘Chase’ feels like Rumina has channelled Gazelle Twin, techno and jungle into one cohesive piece. It has distinct melodies to the percussion and whispery synths that underpin warning siren-like sound effects. As it builds to its dramatic finale, the chase is truly on.

Thinking of the EP as a whole, it sounds like a continuous ancient ceremony. The gates of emotions are opened in the first track and then we’re on a wild ride until it’s a finale. If you overlay that structure to a ceremony, it would be like taking a potion or herb and then riding out whatever visions come afterwards. The way electric guitars and synths are used to herald in swooshes and half-motifs sound like spirits encircling the listener too. It’s a potent mix of heavy percussion and bold structures. Anyone who enjoys percussion-first music will get something out of this EP.

Recommended track: Quarry

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