Ahead of his new album, Landscape from Memory, electronic artist Rival Consoles (Ryan Lee West) has released the single “Soft Gradient Beckons,” accompanied by a breathtaking stop-motion video. The animation was created by filmmaker and visual artist Anthony Dickenson, who spent a year creating and developing the final video, painstakingly hand-painting every frame to create a fluid, ever-evolving visual piece that provides a pulsing rhythm.
The video, a testament to tactile artistry in a digital age, is a collaboration that feels deeply resonant with West’s own hands-on approach to creating music. “Each image became a fragment of memory, layered and stitched together to explore rhythm, decay, and time,” says Dickenson, drawing parallels with West’s approach of stitching together discarded audio snippets from the past, who said, “There is a kind of strange beauty to it because it involves the past, present and future in a very strong way.” A short behind-the-scenes documentary offers additional insights into the intricate process of creating the video.
“Every frame in this film for Soft Gradient Beckons was painted by hand—a slow, tactile process that unfolded over several months. What began as a simple experiment gradually became a response to the shifting rhythms of my own life. Each image became a fragment of memory, layered and stitched together to explore rhythm, decay, and time. The result is a piece that moves with the emotional undercurrent of the track—quietly pulsing, always evolving. What starts intimately opens outwards, hinting at the full scale of the work as it takes shape in physical space.” — Anthony Dickenson
This release sets the stage for Landscape from Memory, West’s ninth studio LP, out this Friday, July 4th, via Erased Tapes. The album promises a riot of colour and restlessness, born from a period of creative renewal. For Rival Consoles, a stalwart of the electronic scene known for his emotive soundscapes, this new work channels hope and euphoria, telling stories without words and solidifying his place as an artist who constantly pushes his own creative boundaries.
Pre-Order Landscape from Memory: https://idol-io.ffm.to/landscapefrommemory
Rival Consoles Tour Dates
8/9 – Budapest, HU — Sziget Festival
8/16 – London, UK — South Facing Festival
9/28 – Rome, IT – Manifesto Fest
10/8 – Brussels, BE – Abrupt Festival
10/11 – Bologna, IT – Robot Fest
10/29 – Belfast, UK – Mandela Hall