Born in Miami and raised in Atlanta, Guillermo Scott Herren is the producer behind Prefuse 73. Actively making music since the late ‘90s, Herren has also released material under the name Delarosa and Asora, Piano Overlord, and Ahmad Szabo. He also began collaborating with Death Grips drummer Zach Hill in 2009 under the name Diamond Watch Wrists and the two released an album titled Ice Capped At Both Ends in April of the same year. Along with his pair of 2015 EPs Forsyth Gardens and Every Color of Darkness, Rivington Não Rio is Herren’s latest release with the standard release featuring only 11 tracks. The kind folks at KJHK are pleased to offer you the expanded version featuring three additional tracks from each of the Prefuse 73 EPs released earlier in the year tacked on the end .
The album features guest artists Rob Crow, Sam Dew, Milo, Busdriver, and Helado Negro and is out via Temporary Residence Limited. Herren last released a full-length in 2011 called The Only She Chapters via Warp Records but was later informed that the label had chosen not release any more of Herren’s music in the future.
Rivington Não Rio begins with the ominous, orchestral intro “Señora 95” and flows into a minimalist “Applauded Assumptions” at times reminiscent of Aphex Twin. Herren’s production is always enough to suffice but tracks with featured vocalists like “Quiet One (feat. Rob Crow)” are delightfully layered and more listenable. “Through a Lit and Darkened Path, Pts. 1+2” features a Flying Lotus-esque background that fleshes out into a more twisted, complex arrangement. In many ways, Herren is just as much a composer as he is a producer. “Infrared (feat. Sam Drew)” is one of the best tracks and, again, pairs off-the-beaten-path instrumentals with haunting vocal contributions.
“I’ve come back to hyper focusing – immersing myself in the sounds, rhythms, and formations that created Prefuse 73 in the first place” said Herren.
“Open Nerve Farewells” is the finale of the standard full-length and features crisp, submersed production and is a beautiful bookend of the record. Following this track is the aforementioned bonus EP material that shines and satisfies even after the album’s true conclusion. “Prime Meridian Narcissism” rounds out the expanded release with a more up-tempo, polyrhythmic approach similar to the likes of Atoms For Peace or Shigeto and later evolves into a collage of chopped vocal samples and pulsing brushstrokes of production. Rivington Não Rio is the next inimitable chapter in the career of Herren and rests firmly within a style he can call his own.
Recommended If You Like: Flying Lotus, Four Tet, Aphex Twin, Dan Deacon, Shigeto
Recommended Tracks: 6 (Infrared (feat. Sam Dew)), 4 (Through a Lit and Darkened Path, Pts. 1+2), 9 (See More Than Just Stars (feat. Helado Negro)), 11 (Open Nerve Farewells)
Do Not Play: 8 (140 Jabs Interlude (feat. Milo & Busdriver))
Written by Harrison Hipp on 10/28/15