Sounds Of Green From Robotic Hands

3;45am my partner and I have dozed off and let YouTube auto play through it’s algorithm on the tv as we sleep into each other.

Suddenly I wake up to a man staring with his eyes wide closed… and that’s how I was introduced to Robohands’ Green.

Through correspondence I got in touch with Andy, the doctor in the high castle as lighting strikes in the background, multi-instrumentalist genus behind Robohands to question him about things.

 

Your record “Green” seemingly blew up over night! It’s in the YouTube algorithms and

bandcamp suggestions along side classic obscurities such as Ryo Fukui’s “Scenery” did you

expect this to happen?

 

It did, which still surprises me today, and people mention the project alongside some huge artists

which is really cool. I’m still learning and want to improve my playing, writing and production too

so hopefully people like the new stuff and the way the project develops in the future.

I’ve read that you worked a few part time jobs to fund this project, how did you remain so

focused at work and with your music? For some artists it seems almost impossible to find a

balance

I had a really productive period a few years ago juggling lots of different things but then got some

health issues after burning out in 2018/2019 so I wouldn’t recommend over working to anyone, its

really important to rest. I like doing logical problem solving tasks like fixing/modifying microphones

and other equipment to get out of the creative mindset. Then returning to playing music with a fresh

perspective, that way you don’t go too crazy. Although the process is always difficult and its easy to

lose confidence, sometimes just having a hard deadline forces you to be efficient and get things

finished when you’re busy. On the other hand, I think I do well when I treat music like therapy and

not as an end-product oriented job, trying to stay in the present and being creative for the sake of

enjoyment. That way the ideas just finish themselves.

 

You’ve said you like to experiment with equipment and create a bass sound/textures, what’s

the most obscure way you’ve created a Soundscape?

 

We recorded the sound of waves against the side of a boat recently, that was cool and a bit obscure.

I want to get more into using samplers at some point, recording weird sounds and then maybe also

sampling some old Robohands stuff and making it into ambient music/trip hop.

 

Where did your taste in such a broad array of music come from?

 

I’m lucky in that I grew up in an environment where the turntable was always on, so has always

been an eclectic experience. I think more people are listening to music without thinking too much

about genre these days which is cool.

 

What is your favorite record, the story behind buying it and where you were at that time in life?

 

I’ve got quite a few favourites, I’ll say ‘Promised Heights’ by Cymande, I don’t actually have a copy at the moment...

 

When digging, did you eat much fruit or vegetables?

 

I did, that vinyl and vegetables place closed and became a gastropub I think.

 

What’s your favorite sci-fi novel?

 

Has to be Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, with Brave New World close second.

What’s your favorite non-music related possessions?

 Just realized I own very few non music related possessions at this point! I like having plants in my

flat, a nice way to counteract the oppressive feeling of living in the middle of a large city.

Thanks for your time! Please checkout the music!

B A N D C A M P

I N S T A N T P H O T O

Proud to be a Larry!

 

“I’ve been into records and tapes since about 2010”

Founded in New York in 2019 by a man with the middle name of Lawrence and the logo, a memorial of his passed kitten named Cannoli, Larry records are known for putting out the best screamo in the world, or for you genre specific frothers out there "post-hardcore" as well as the niche over looked under appreciated genre of emo violence. Now I know some of you out there will cringe at the mention of “emo” as a genre and think of more contemporary acts that bare little resemblance to the original wave of emo but trust me, don’t judge this book by it’s cover.

Joining his first band in 2012, People’s Temple Project.

“we didn’t release a lot, but we toured and played with a lot of good bands”

“one of my best friends owns a grindcore label Third Eye Grind, he taught me how to dub tapes and showed me the ropes”

In a sense Larry Records works as an archivist of the genres, releasing Nayru’s The Disease Of Language and Ice Hockey’s A Brief History Of Time, both bands being defunct at the time of the releases.

The label holds true to the do it yourself aesthetic with unique packaging such as a miniature coffin for the release of a four way split tape and strange added extras such as a wisdom tooth.

 “It’s really been uphill since then. I really thought I was just gonna put out a tape here and there but it exploded, and here I am”.

The future of Larry records has more records and definitely more merch as well as a lot more "lathes" and a few tapes. 

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