Ratoratiyo by mycrotom

RATORATIYO.
A quite unusual album title yet well fitting for this album debut created by mycrotom, because every and anything the Augsburg-based Italo- Canadian Tom Simonetti a.k.a. mycrotom has done throughout his 20+ years spanning exploration in sonic musings is somewhat, well... unusual and well different, in the most positive of all meanings, that is. Starting with him being involved in media- art, education projects or bands like Das Hobos, H and Rhytm Police, his app-focused approach to workshops for and lectures in music production, leading towards his love for 45 rpm records being played on a wrong, slower speed in his DJ sets.

Not to mention the influence of the Mongkong Music Network once co-founded by Simonetti many years ago. An ever growing, meandering network of friends, bands and music activists which makes a camo appearance in the albums catalogue number – MKNG-01.
To illustrate this artistically, a VR music video from Wide Horizon Films was crowd-funded. But this is just a side note.

RATORATIYO.
The phrase – spelled out as “RA-TO RA-TI YO” in its orginal form – originates in the language of the Mohawk tribe and translates to “the great hunter”, a phrase used for Simonetti by a Canadian Mohawk Native living in an area known as Goldenhorseshoe located in Ontario, who probably had no idea about how fitting and suitable a description it might turn out when applied to musical works of the artist at some point.

mycrotom is a great hunter of sorts, to some degree at least. A hunter for tiniest details, ever- lasting progress and sonic evolution. A hunter for polyrhythms and (mycro)melodies, for small but pivotal changes in a tunes low end, a hunter for everything new and different, yet keen to stay true to musical influences gathered over the course of years and decades prior to the release of this album. #balance and all that. This said, RATORATIYO is an album equally created for dancing and listening.
For dancing, even though some tracks on this longplay piece are based on a 5/4 foundation not necessarily referred to as suitable for (club) DJ use and abuse. But this low key subliminal difference won›t keep anyone from dancing at all because there’s an element of groove and swing everywhere. One track might be influenced and infused by Electro as a genre, another one sees IDM lurking, proving that so-called “intelligent dance music” is called “dance music” for a reason. And of course there’s the UK-centric “hardcore continuum” weighing in in terms of deepest sub frequencies derived from its gazillions of deri- vatives, especially those defined by the prefix of “post-”. Think Post-Garage x Post-Dubstep x Post-Whatever for a specific kind of dancefloor functionality which, all in itself, is very unique and most of all very mycrotom.

And listening, because RATORATIYO is an album
for headphone consumption as well. Because every- thing is moving and happening simultaneously. There›s way more going on than one could fully grasp and embrace in one session only, not to mention the obvious limitations of two ears being connected to one single brain only. Every moment, every second of musical evolution provides a new layer, new depth, new effects and probably a new additional groove. A certain kind of sonic infor- mation overdose which, catered and arranged in this specific mycrotom way, is not taxing or demanding at all, but rather slowing down and dissolving time in well a friendly, playful and comforting manner, hovering and floating beyond our three dimensional realm and providing an explorative journey into new territories for each and every listener.

This is RATORATIYO. A piece of music. Lasting a total of 2375 seconds. Shaped, sculpted and perceived in Augsburg. RATORATIYO reflects on an entire universe. The sonic universe of one Tom Simonetti.
The sonic universe of mycrotom.

_ baze.djunkiii / Hamburg / 2k21

Talk about #ratoratiyo

Tom Simonetti aka mycrotom blends IDM, Kraut, Dub, and minimalism on his solo debut Ratoratiyo—a rich sonic journey with analog warmth, VR visuals, and deep, slow-burning grooves.