Electronically Yours

'Don't be surprised if I'm ripping out my eyes'. Watch this video and you might just join her but if you like something a little left field, frankly rather odd, you certainly won't be ripping your ears off too. Planningtorock is Janine Rostron, Bolton lass, now residing in Berlin and hanging out with The Knife, certainly an interesting concoction.





Casting minds back to early 2010, Planningtorock was collaborating with The Knife along with Mt Sims on the rather fab Darwinist Electro Opera 'Tomorrow, In a Year'; a mergence of art, theatre and electro and much love here for the bonkers brilliance of 'Colouring of Pigeons'. On her solo project, Planningtorock is unsurprisingly churning out more of this unique brand of fearless and forward thinking electronica on the mysteriously titled 'W'.

'The Breaks' is the second single out and has echoes of my favourite Knife track 'Marble House' and a touch of 'Heartbeats' plus a big dose of Fever Ray's 'If I Had a Heart'. Not unlike the electro queen Karin Dreijer Andersson, she hides her face and physicality with strange masks and prosthetic, warps her voice making a pulsating track that is beautifully awkward and eccentric, yet a melodic oddity.

This lady likes to experiment with gender, vocally and visually her artistic approach seems to question specifics, leaving you wondering 'he or she?' at times. It seems she is taking away any pre conceived limitations surrounding issues of sexual identity and making music, not dissimilar to the work of Austra, Creep and Fever Ray.

The album has moments where you question what you're listening to but cleverly draws you into the alternative existence of Planningtorock. Experimental, haunting, occasionally startling (ahem, saxophone), this is a collection of tracks with atmospheric instrumentation. Jump to soundcloud here where it's being streamed.






The opening track ' Doorway' is more brilliance and has been spooked up with the Flax/Dillard genius of Creep and a touch of XX bass, an eerie beep beep pleasure. Rumours are afoot of Planningtorock doing vocals on a future Creep single; this is an artist definitely evolving with her second album into something very interesting to keep an eye on.





Continuing things weirdly and wonderfully electro, EY will keep seeking out and sharing music we love and think people would like to hear; sometimes it will be synthpop for the masses, at others it will be dubstep crossover madness; lately it's been haunting and tribal electronica...enjoy the ebb and flow of diversity.

Planningtorock's 'W' is available now on DFA Records

Related links:


Planningtorock 'Doorway' (promo video)
Planningtorock @ myspace
Planningtorock 'W' - BBC review

Previously on EY - Niki & The Dove live, Ronika, New Order & Robyn