Arutani

Basel-based producer Arutani creates a low-slung, downtempo, faintly psychedelic form of techno filled with exotic synth sounds and unusual samples, as on his 2020 debut album, Memories of Something New.
Born in Venezuela, he moved to Switzerland in 2013 and settled in Basel, where he became part of the collective LOKD alongside artists like Dandara, Ăvem, and Digitule. He used the freedom of the collective to experiment and collaborate with the other artists, going through a variety of musical styles before he perfected his own. His first release came in 2016 with the single “SUEÑ002” on Sueño, which had a haunting, glitchy feel. Taking his stage name from an almost-extinct indigenous language spoken in a tiny corner of his home country, he aimed for an exotic, mystical feeling in his music, which incorporated soothing, often vaguely psychedelic synth work, laid-back low-tempo grooves, and unusual samples. Many more, mostly digital, singles and EPs followed on labels like Amselcom, Metanoia, Heimlich, Voll Schön, and Serafin Audio, which put out his most substantial EPs: the 40-plus-minute I Will Still Be Water (2018) and Nostalgia (2020). His debut album, Memories of Something New, was released in 2020 by German label Laut & Luise. ~ John D. Buchanan