What happens when you bring together a gifted multi-instrumentalist and producer, L_cio, a cultural activist and DJ, Tessuto, both from Brazil, and Chicago House legend Robert Owens? They create a stunning ’Rising’ EP that remains true to Music For Freaks’ guiding principles and further solidifies the label’s commitment to celebrating the brilliance of true musical misfits in house music.
Robert Owens is an artist who needs no introduction. Arguably house music’s most recognizable voice, he was one-third of the legendary Fingers Inc alongside fellow Chicago icons, Larry Heard and Ron Wilson. Now based in Berlin, Robert has also performed on many major club anthems including ‘I’ll Be You Friend’ by David Morales, ‘Mine To Give’ by Photek, and ‘Lowlife’ by Layo and Bushwacker. A quote from i-D Magazine says it all, “If God could sing, he would sound like Robert Owens”.
L_cio AKA Laercio Schwantes is a virtuoso flute player, studio maestro and live-electronic-musician with residencies in his native Sao Paulo and a string of prestigious festival appearances to his name including Dekmantel, DGTL, Mysteryland, and Rock in Rio. Navigating seamlessly between acoustic and digital production, L_cio’s output transcends musical boundaries, as demonstrated by his instrumental contribution to Portable’s 2014 crossover hit ‘Surrender’ (‘Best New Track’ – Pitchfork).
Tessuto, is a former member of the diverse VoodooHop art collective, formed in Sao Paulo in 2009 with the aim of transforming the city’s abandoned buildings into creative spaces for music and art projects. In a city where 15,000 people live on the streets, Tessuto argues that reclaiming these areas is an important step in improving how people interact with their urban environment. Tessuto would subsequently create Carlos Capslock, the innovative squat parties dedicated to electronic music where L_cio, a fellow committed supporter of street-culture in Sao Paulo, is also a resident.
The coming together of these three artists began during the Pandemic lockdowns of 2020, when the world most needed a dose of unity and creativity. It started as a virtual jam session and led to two new productions being fully written, firstly ‘Rising’ – a track featuring a sublime blend of strings and synths from the multi-instrumentalist L_cio, and the ever-timeless vocals from Robert Owens. Followed by ‘Get Back Up Again’, a collaboration which brought in Paolo Tessuto to create an epic house/gospel fusion and a true testament to the power of electronic music to uplift and inspire.
On hearing ’Rising’ EP, we just had to send it to our friend of the label and the all-around-incredible-talent that is Luciano, who fell in love with Rising and gave us a 9-minute remix that blends all the musical elements into an epic minimal track.
We are presenting the remix from Luciano.
‘Rising’ EP is available HERE, and Luciano Remix will be available after the 5th of July HERE.
