Euphone

Having drummed for punk, funk and art rock outfits, Ryan Rapsys finds his most rewarding work evolve on the solo tip. Under the moniker of Euphone, Rapsys has developed a beat-oriented project that now has a full-time collaborator. For the third Euphone release (the first album and EP being found on John Hughes III’s Hefty label), Rapsys is joined by bassist Nick Macri, a collaboration that is also represented in the band Heroic Doses. Macri complements Euphone’s soft groove vignettes by taking the heavy influence of jazz and funk on a more melodic turn. We discover hooky bass lines with the occasional catchy guitar lick augmenting the deep locked rhythms and warm keyboard vibes. The album’s sequencing has a charming flow as the wordless story seamlessly unfolds. Produced by Poster Children’s Rick Valentin and mixed by studio maven Casey Rice, the overall effect of Calendar… is an enthrallingly calm groove.