The Rust Music
The Rust Music is an independent electronic music label, blog, production company, and artist management agency. During its first years of existence, I provided a consistent stream of blog articles, product descriptions, and social media posts while serving as the blog and web editor.
In the underground electronic music community where mass marketing is sparse, an organization’s reputation truly precedes it. And because there are fewer barriers to entry and less industry infrastructure, almost anyone can create a company or collective. So when a group of friends founded The Rust in 2017, they needed to prove to fans, musicians, and industry stakeholders that they weren’t just anyone, but a group of true insiders offering polished, one-of-a-kind content.
From 2017 to 2019, I developed a style guide, managed a content calendar, and wrote and edited multiple blog articles weekly while also providing product descriptions for the label side, and email marketing copy. The group’s web traffic and social media following began to increase, its reputation grew, and slowly The Rust went from working mostly with friends and smaller artists to collaborating consistently with established, globally-recognized acts and event brands.
Today, the company has a dedicated community of readers and listeners, and a reputation for content that is more detailed and nuanced than competitors. I helped build the foundation that enabled this reputation and community to grow and flourish.
Blog Articles
“Mark wrote the best words anyone has ever written about our music.”
Hip-Hop Pianist Kazumi Kaneda Outdoes Himself with “Morpheme Tone” LP
11/21/19
Psy-Fi Festival Brings Best of International Bass to Netherlands
8/26/19
“It Was Really About the People and the Land:” A Weekend at Shambhala
8/22/19
Get to Know the Shambhala Favorites Starting With Slynk
7/2/19
Coalesce Event to Write New Chapter in History of Bay Area Bass
12/13/18
Product & Playlist Descriptions
Lo-Fi Sundays 088 - Kazumi Kaneda
Once you’ve heard a handful of licks from the Tokyo-based pianist and producer Kazumi Kaneda, you won’t be able to forget his warm, one-of-a-kind sound and feel. When those minor chords start to jingle around like a set of keys, you know Kazumi is on the track. He’s a visionary jazz pianist who knows how to work with hip-hop material, too, and blend both worlds effortlessly. Listen through to the end because we saved the best knock for last this weekend.
Rumpistol - In My Room
Music from the Danish producer Jens Christiansen aka Rumpistol has never been conventional. It was his ability to create experimental yet accessible electronic music that first earned him notoriety over a decade ago. Now, a new five-track collection called In My Room finds the producer leaning ever further into that absence of orthodoxy. In My Room takes artistic risk and combines threads from many electronic styles. It showcases non-linear songwriting, bold textures, and an uninhibited array of sonic material. Yet despite Rumpistol’s endless tinkering and flirtations with the edge, In My Room still offers a deeply comforting listening experience.
Tempos and moods are fluid throughout this release, but the common denominator is a sense of wonder. The sort of wonder surrounding something ultimate and grand that we can’t quite grasp, yet we know is out there. The sort of wonder that surfaces when we’re lost in thought alone in our room. Rumpistol can fit so many distinct, disparate sounds into his music without creating a crowded mix. Each element has room to breathe. In My Room offers another great example of this dynamic.
In the past several years, Jens has been working with his jazz and world fusion supergroup Kalaha, and maneuvering through the United States’ bass music circuit. The sounds of these two different worlds appear to have heavily influenced In My Room, and as such, it represents a new evolution of Rumpistol’s music.
Gaddy - Mixtape Mentality
A kick, snare and killer bassline is all Gaddy needs to get the bodies moving. The young man from Austin, Texas by way of Houston knows these fundamental musical elements like the back of his hand. On Mixtape Mentality, a seven-track release that straddles the line between EP and LP, they serve as the foundation for experiments in groove. The common denominator is a steady head nod, and the rest is up for interpretation.
Many musicians blur the line between what is and isn’t electronic music. Gaddy was unaware the line existed. As a musician, he’s rooted in archetypal American sounds like hip-hop, rock, and soul. Instrumental samples from guitar and keys are leveraged as much as synthesizers or sound design. Both are given enough space on Mixtape Mentality to mingle and form strong bonds with one another. Tastefully tuned sub-bass generates enough weight to flex sound systems and ignite dance floors. At the same time, elusive pads and smoke-filled arrangements create a relaxing swing to keep the atmosphere activated after the party’s over.
Gaddy’s released a string of EPs and singles before with labels relevant to the underground electronic sound. But now there’s no more messing about. His creative energy is focused singularly on expanding the groove. He’s in a mixtape mentality and everything is fair game as long as it starts with a sidewalk-stomping beat.