Rih Len effortlessly combines skillful electric keyboard jazz phrases, intricate bass lines, and inviting ambient textures into an artistic fusion that is truly remarkable. Read our interview with the artist below!
Describe your sound in 3 words
Hybrid, textural, free-form
Tell us a few things about Lmp2. Are there any specific influences or artists that inspired the musical direction of this piece?
LMP2 has some influences in the noisy, glitchy, smooth experimental scene, like Jan Jelinek’s classical productions. But there are other electronic influences like the “Bro Skyler & Joane Shuda” album from Broshuda and Joane Skyler. The rhythm and the drone layers were the foundations of the track, and then I wanted to add some soloing elements, in a rather free form. I played some keys and invited my buddy Rémi Wassim Chabanel to play some bass on the track and he added a lot of energy and groove to the song.
What challenges did you encounter while crafting this unique fusion of genres in Lmp2, and how did you overcome them?
Mixing the genres was rather fun. But I actually had to try a bunch of sounds and patterns for the keyboard, I did not directly find something that fitted the song well, both in terms of the actual soloing and the synth sound.
Is improvisation a talent or a skill?
At least for me, improvisation on the keyboard in a jazz-influenced, technical context is definitely hard work and preparation. However, you can also improvise in other contexts when playing with textures, pedals or synths, just to look for cool sounds. Then, the technical aspect is often not a barrier as much. In both situations, I think that the ability to listen to what is happening on the moment and choosing what to develop is one of the most important aspects.
Which is your go to synth (analog or digital) when you start a project?
I think don’t really have a go to synth, because I try different things and I react to them: I may sample some sounds I recorded myself or from a record (I used to produce a lot of hip hop) or play with a synth or another instrument. It is mostly sounds that give me ideas. However, on all the tracks of this EP, you can hear sounds made with my Korg MS 20 mini, which made the kick sound and several other textures in LMP2.
Favourite album of the past year
I really liked SEASCAPE – polyptych by Jan Jelinek. But I wish I would have spent more time digging and listening to new releases.
If the music of Rih Len was a film, which film would that be?
I really don’t know, because I do not see or imagine visual things when I make or listen to music, sorry !
Do you think there is a true underground sound today?
The notion of a local scene or sound has probably less sense nowadays as compared to the 90’s for instance, because of the Internet. However you definitely see online communities where people work together, experiment and support each other a lot, in an independent way, similarly to the underground. We could call them undergronline communities ?
Thank you!
Follow Rih Len
Instagram
Follow our Spotify Playlist “Reinvented Eclectic” feat. Rih Len
Secret Eclectic 