14 May 2021
Symbolic use of the labyrinth dates back millennia. Its image has been found on Bronze Age petroglyphs, and its presence graces myths from all corners of the ancient and modern world. Labyrinths can symbolize liberation and escape, the pursuit of knowledge, or the journey through memory. This last route is the one Basic Rhythm has ventured down on
Electronic Labyrinth; a deeply personal exploration of the spatiotemporal strands of the London producer’s musical identity.
Electronic Labyrinth’s cover photo is of St. Fabian Tower, a now-demolished tower block in north London where Basic Rhythm (real name: Anthoney Hart) played as a DJ on the Rude FM pirate radio station. The analogue grit of the photograph possesses real texture and depth, the rich blue of the sky contrasting starkly with the sharp concrete of the decaying tower block. The idealistic photo could almost be imagined; the dreamy summer day, the warm texture of the film, it’s as though Hart has nostalgically conjured the image from within his own mental labyrinth.