R Cole is a Brooklyn based producer, spanning breaks and UK bass, with clear influences from dubstep, techno, and drum n bass. His new EP, ‘In Fractions’ has an origin story going back to the start of 2022. After putting out two singles on Mechanical, he began exploring themes and sounds for what would end up shaping the In Fractions EP we hear today. R Cole told Magnetic that with In Fractions he “wanted to accomplish a full EP of club-ready tracks that people could get lost in a fog filled neon room somewhere.”
The four-track EP has dW Elektro, In Fractions, Citron, and dW Elektro (Escaflowne’s Breaky Mix). When speaking about the development of the EP, R Cole told Magnetic “I knew I wanted Brandon (Escaflowne) to do a remix on the EP – he’s someone that I started seeing out shows years back and have really enjoyed getting to know better. His level of taste is immaculate – check out his new jungle EP, Slipstream.”
‘In Fractions’ Tracklist
- dW Elektro: A bassline ripping song inspired by old school dubstep and electro, dW Elektro would work in any DJs set playing. This is R Cole’s favorite track off the EP, saying “At the time I wrote it I was really interested in making something that was a bit of a mash up between some Detroit electro and mid 00’s FWD style dubstep… I feel like I hit the nail on the head, as far as what I was envisioning, and I think it hits really hard in the club.“
- In Fractions: A hard hitting techno track with fluttering flute-esqe leads carried by a wubby underbody bassline.
- Citron: A spacey grime inspired track with hard hitting bass lines sure to set off any smoke filled dancefloor.
- dW Elektro (Escaflowne’s Breaky Mix): A new take on dW Elektro, this breaks mix is the perfect compliment to the original’s hard hitting nature.
R Cole’s musical journey started when he was 11, but later on when he was at Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design, he was introduced to the DIY Denver Warehouse scene, mainly Rhinoceropolis & Glob. From there, he started doing his own electronic productions, playing live electronic shows, and then DJing.
At the center of his music industry perspective is how he thinks about identity and community, “I spend a lot of time thinking about identity and community. Art and music have always been a central part of my life but as I have produced and DJed across a variety of scenes, those two concepts, and my relationship to them within my practice, has shifted drastically. I think we’re all continuously trying to deepen our connectivity to self and to understand where we fit in. When I first moved to NYC I struggled to find the same connection to the rave scene that I had in Denver – they are wildly different, which is a good thing. I’ve found a distinct comfort in places like Nowadays where community and safety are at the heart of the space. I really look forward to how conversations around inclusivity within the scene continue to develop – I think we can all agree that at the end of the day we’re all looking for support, for acknowledgement of our hard work, and to share our passions with others.“
Continuing to speak openly, he told us about his music making process, and the ups and downs that come with the production process, “to be honest – while I love producing, it can give me mad anxiety – is what I’m making good enough? Am I good enough? Finding and making the right sounds. I’m sure a lot of other artists relate. So when I sit down to work I want to make sure I’m putting myself in the right headspace. I light incense, make myself a drink, and usually need some kind of game plan about what I’m making.”
Diving further into his production process and getting into his favorite plugins, “one plugin that’s in just about every track I make right now is kind of boring, but it’s this really simple free one called Pitchdrift by Baby Audio. Similar to a tape plugin, but I like this a lot more than any of the tape plugins I have. I’ve also just been getting into more stock Ableton instruments and effects lately, I think they can be highly underrated. Ride or die probably the Arturia Filter M12, or Serum.”
The sounds that he gravitates towards while making music is usually FM-oriented, saying his favorite sounds are “any FM synth sounds. Whether it’s wubs, donks, 80’s sounding stabs, crystal bells, etc.– There’s something otherworldly about them that never gets old. Love FM.“
At the end of it all though, Cole told us that the best part of music making is a simple question for him to answer, “hearing the tracks out!”
With this EP out now, he’s currently working on his next EP set to come out later this year. He’s looking forward to working with some of his favorite collaborators on this EP, but can’t yet say who they are.
For a closer look at R Cole’s taste, if he was setting a dream lineup of five other DJs alongside himself, he would bring Neffa-T, Blumitsu, Ehua, Amor Satyr, and Maara.
To listen to more R Cole, be sure to check out his Spotify, SoundCloud, Instagram, Resident Advisor, and other channels.
