Description
Contemporary electronic music in 2025 experienced a seismic shift with the release of Authentically Plastic‘s second studio album, “Rococo Ruine.” The Ugandan producer, recognized for their riveting performances at the Nyege Nyege Festival, had already established a unique sound signature, a specific pulse that delved deep into the heart of global club music. However, with “Rococo Ruine,” Authentically Plastic redefined what rhythmic exploration means within the music industry.
The renowned artist, cherishing their roots in Kampala, extended the boundaries of club, noise, and Afro-futuristic music to a realm yet unexplored. The album, consisting of nine riveting pieces, had an apocalyptic ambiance about it. This was excellently conveyed through the album’s title, underlining an implied critique of Western world’s extravagances. A sonic immersion into the palpable rhythm of “Rococo Ruine” was akin to a journey through metallic echoes of half-steps and gut-grinding shudders, as demonstrated in the opening track ‘Shivers.’
Meanwhile, the intensely psychedelic aspects of Authentically Plastic‘s music took on a new dimension within their second offering. Unlike their debut album ‘Raw Space’ which leaned towards “sonic flatness,” this album saw a meticulous amalgamation of stabilized and fragmented potent rhythms. It created a pleasantly audacious sonic structure upon the listeners’ senses. The melodic hallucinations brought a fresh charm in tracks like the album’s title ‘Rococo Ruine’ and ‘Mercury Lake,’ standing testimonial to the artist’s compositional prowess.
Despite making significant headway with the rhythm on the debut, Authentically Plastic ingeniously integrated melodic elements into their second album. Their experiment with synthesizers birthed extended melodic sequences in co-existence with their previous steely rhythm structures. This move gave a new identity to the pieces like the ever-evolving and thrilling title track.
The dance-evoking number ‘End of the World Sale’ brought a unique perspective to the album. Here, the artist intriguingly manipulated the melodic components as if they were percussive objects, intensifying the overall listening experience. Tracks like ‘Polycollision’ and ‘Schizz’ rekindle the memories of ‘Raw Space.’ The artist brilliantly coupled polymetric experimentations with the jarring effects of comb-filtered oscillations in ‘Polycollision,’ whereas they channeled the energy into pulsating peak-time patterns in ‘Schizz.’
Certainly, with the release of “Rococo Ruine” in 2025, Authentically Plastic set new standards in electronic music. The album’s extraordinary blending of dystopian atmospherics with avant-garde rhythm patterns added a new chapter in the genre’s evolution. The project’s resonating influence could be sensed within the electronic music works of contemporaries like Slikback and Nkisi, escalating a wave of sonic exploration., thus reaffirming the lasting impact of Rococo Ruine on the music world.
