FOUNDING MEMBER OF DIRTYPHONICS FORMS NEW PROJECT SPAG RUCKUS
SINGLE “AUTOPANIC” FEATURING REGAL STANDARD OUT NOW
SONG TO BE FEATURED ON SPAG RUCKUS’
UPCOMING ALBUM ‘GHOSTS OF PERVERSION’
“While for some the modular synthesis-based meditations that Thomas explores under his new moniker may seem light years away from the anabolic beats of his Dirtyphonics days, the full scope of his forthcoming album project, ‘Ghosts of Perversion,’ is perhaps best realized with the third single to be released from the LP. The tune is called ‘Autopanic’ and features an exquisite collab with the multi-faceted Regal Standard that refuses to be bound by genre and media conventions.” – Bassrush
“It’s hitting me in my industrial goth bone.” – Kat Bein
“Menacing but groovy.” – Krystal Rodriguez
Spag Ruckus shares “Autopanic” featuring Regal Standard, the second single from its upcoming album, Ghosts of Perversion.
Spag Ruckus is the new musical guise of multidisciplinary artist Matheo de Bruvisso aka Thomas Desbouvrie, formerly of the lauded French electronic music act Dirtyphonics. The modular synthesis-based project represents Thomas at his unadulterated, creative best.
“It’s like a new birth for me,” says Thomas who was introduced to the modular world by his sometime Dirtyphonics bandmate, Julien. He continues, “I feel like I finally found my instrument.”
Hot on the heels of the Spag Ruckus singles, the liturgical drum and bass nugget “Hypnos” and the old school acid jams of “The Chemistry,” “Autopanic” traverses an entirely different sonic route giving nods to the dark experimentation of Nine Inch Nails and the industrial undercurrent of Ministry. The sentiments of the song’s title are taken to the heart of “Autopanic” with frantic rhythms, a cacophony of bells and a grinding drum assault.
Riding high on “Autopanic” is Regal Standard’s vocal. The moniker of multipronged musician Laurence Schroeder, Regal Standard conveys fear and desperation in its lyrics and its delivery, in turns sugary and terrified, driving “Autopanic” from nihilistic to peak-of-the-dancefloor optimistic. The cover art is how artificial intelligence interpreted Laurence’s lyrics when Thomas fed them into the platform
This is a very different place to where “Autopanic” started, which was as a quick instrumental piece that Thomas created to accompany a video he made in an art workshop. With the lyrics Laurence sent over, Thomas says, “It was an immediate match, adding a new vibe to the music.”
“I always write from a subconscious place but the song title was already there so I embraced that,” says Laurence. “To me, ‘Autopanic’ is a sudden feeling of anxiety or the fight or flight response.”
Autopanic I can never leave/This is not the way it’s supposed to be
While the chorus is about trying to resist the unavoidable urge for flight, the verse is about being a slave to the feeling, always worried that it will come at a moment’s notice, finally reconciling with the fact that it’s not something that can be fought and won.
“I usually don’t know the meaning of my lyrics until I analyze them later,” admits Laurence, who comes from a very different cultural and musical background to Thomas. The latter electronic-driven, the former acoustic-based, Thomas and Laurence nevertheless speak a common artistic language.
Says Thomas, “I felt [Laurence’s] sensibility instantly when I heard his songs.
“My aim with Spag Ruckus is to experiment without a format, to feel free to do what I like. I want to explore unexpected structures, weird ideas, bizarre melodies and ambiances, have fun and surprise myself. I want the room to do all the things my previous collaborators didn’t want to hear about. Spag Ruckus is my freedom playground.”