London-based producer Ryan Lee West, better known under the name Rival Consoles, is notable for making synthesisers sound human and atmospheric. It’s rarely reported that Rival Consoles was Erased Tapes’ very first signing, with a CDR of early demos under the name Aparatec that inspired founder Robert Raths to start the label in 2007. Indeed West has more in common with his contemporaries Nils Frahm and Peter Broderick than some might think. His consistent desire to create a more organic, humanised sound sees West often draft early ideas on traditional, acoustic instruments like the guitar or the piano; forming pieces that capture a sense of songwriting behind the electronics. Fascinated by sound from an early age, Ryan chose to dedicate his time to studying and producing sound, graduating from De Montfort University in his hometown Leicester. In the early years as a recording artist West continued to experiment with a broad palette of electronic sounds, from his emotive yet glitch-heavy Vemeer EP, The Decadent EP and 2009’s Helvetica, to the French electro-inspired full-length albums IO and Kid Velo, released in 2011. It was with the release of his Odyssey and Sonne EPs in 2013 and 2014 that West started gaining more of a reputation for making thoughtful electronica that spans a wider spectrum of musical ideas. Foremost a guitarist, growing up listening to rock rather than club music, his last full-length album Howl released in 2015 saw West strive towards finding a more personal balance between music for home listening and larger spaces. Having repeatedly performed at such prestigious venues as the Tate, and having created a bespoke audio-visual performance for Boiler Room at the V&A Museum, the blueprint for West’s current live A/V show was formed. Featuring self-programmed visuals in Max/MSP has earned him appearances at music festivals around the world including Moogfest, FORM, Mutek, Big Ears, Lovebox and Berghain’s Pop-Kultur Festival, as well as tours in support of Clark, Nosaj Thing, Luke Abbott and Kiasmos. 2016 marked the release of Ryan’s new mini album Night Melody, born out of and shaped by long hours working into the night. Having previously remixed the likes of Jon Hopkins, Vessels, Ólafur Arnalds & Nils Frahm, further commissions followed from Max Cooper, Noisia, Sasha and UNKLE band Toydrum. 2017 will see West continue touring in support of Night Melody before locking himself away to start work on his next offering.

Since the dawn of beat-music in the online space, Eastghost’s presence has remained ubiquitous across multiple genres. Each song is a detailed unfolding of self, taking shape ecstatic anthems of driving melody and at times, in a wash of delicate harmony. Ryan J. Akeley (he/him) also known as Eastghost is an electronic music artist based in Portland, Oregon whose project originally formed in the DMV tri-state area in 2012. Over the years, his music has been featured by labels such as bitbird, Sable Valley, WeDidIt, STYLSS, Magical Properties, and Tipping Hand Records. In 2022, he produced a musical score under his full name for the contemporary and Aerial dance company, AWOL entitled, “Glass Shadows”. Eastghost has supported multiple touring acts including San Holo’s ‘Album 1 Tour’, Minnesota’s “Exit/Reality Tour, & G Jones’ “Visions Tour”. His collaborative work includes music with UV boi فوق بنفسجي , Demon Slayer, Onhell, The Last Artful, Dodgr, & a ‘Mega Collab’ on bitbird’s Gouldian Finch 2 featuring San Holo, Droeloe, Analog Dear, & Taska Black. In early 2015, the 8 track EP “Omniscient, They” was released in affiliation with STYLSS and put Eastghost on the map as an innovator in the realm of experimental electronic music. The leading single entitled “Wraith” was one of many tracks of the era to bring forth a sound known as “Wave” music. From there he traversed many styles while playing events across the country and the world including Lowend Theory, Red Rocks, ADE Amsterdam, and a guest appearance at EDC Las Vegas’ 2019 Main Stage with San Holo. He went on to release his debut full-length album entitled ‘Misery & Wonder” on bitbird in the spring of 2019. Although his label affiliations are many, the greater part of his catalog is self-released material. Eastghost’s music can streamed on all major platforms e.g. (Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora) and purchased directly at the artist’s bandcamp page (eastgh0st.bandcamp.com)