Cosmonaut
The Cristal Ensemble Orchestra E.P

Rod20 is a new project from ROD, the Rotterdam based artist mostly known for his well received contributions to Ben Klock's Klockworks label. During the rise of Covid19 ROD decided to ditch the computer and dust off his vintage hardware collection, challenging himself to create strictly (analogue) hardware jams using only 1 synthesizer + 1 drum machine per track, recorded in a single take. Rod20 (as in 2020 as well as ROD 2.0) kicked off in style with ROD2001 'In The Mix', a 13 track Mix CD (also pressed on 20 highly limited 3x LP copies) sold personally at the height of the pandemic, followed by 2 conceptual mini-albums 'The Hidden Notes Project (Part 1 & 2)' released on Jeff Mills' Axis Records. Now with most 2022 dance floors in full swing again, it's time to unleash the Rod20 project in full, starting with ROD2002 'SteraStudent EP', a personal tribute to 1 of of ROD's biggest inspirations and mentors in the world of techno; Sterac (aka Steve Rachmad). No computer. No edits. No nonsense. Just pure & raw stripped down (90's) basement techno cuts designed to make you sweat.

Chicago-born composer, producer and arranger Charles Stepney is known to some for his work with Earth, Wind & Fire, Deniece Williams, and Ramsey Lewis, or for his work with Chess Records in the 1960s, where he was an essential creative force behind seminal recordings by Rotary Connection, Minnie Riperton, Marlena Shaw, Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, Terry Callier, The Dells, The Emotions, and many many more. In the decades since his untimely death in 1976, the presence of his name in liner notes and on vinyl labels has become a seal of quality for record collectors, music historians, and aficionados, while his sound has been used by countless samplers in the hip-hop world including Kanye West, A Tribe Called Quest, The Fugees, MF Doom, and Madlib. But in comparison to the post-mortem renown of his sound, or the music he created and the artists he supported while he was alive, Stepney is a greatly under-appreciated figure... a genius relegated to the shadows.