Juicing Beats to Create Nutritious Noises: An Exploration of “Spring Cleaning (Visions of Ma’at)” by Radius ETC

If you are not aware of Radius ETC, then I’m happy to be the one who acquaints you to one of Chicago’s most unique and dedicated artisans, a purveyor of music, photography, food, and most likely a few additional things I’ve yet to discover. Radius’s musical tastes are as nomadic as his lifestyle, and his synthesis of disparate influences always congeals to create something wholly unique. Like some of his other endeavors, this combination of styles and disciplines make his music hard to describe yet easy to absorb.

On his latest release, “Spring Cleaning (MA’AT Visions)” he channels the experimental stylings of avant-garde legends such as Sun Ra and Flying Lotus while updating their musical formulas with modern tools like sequencers, synthesizers, and drum machines mixed with an embrace of ancestral instruments like the Mbira/Kalimba and dreamy vocals. In addition to these influences, there are clear connections to hip hop culture and global influence in his sound. Throughout the new recording, there are several samples that serve alternatively as words of affirmation and signals of impending lessons – one example is on the track “Ausar333 (OMG)”: “Nature intended for you to achieve and succeed on this plane of existence, it is a part of your spiritual, as well as mental and physical inheritance from the creator”. The release perfectly navigates the boundary between experimental and traditional, illumination and shadow, and acceptance and frusteration in a way that few other artists are able to capture.

Though there are a few tracks that resonate with me stronger than others (i.e. “Spring Cleaning”, “Ausar333 (OMG)”, and “I Neeeeed It”) I believe that the project is best consumed in totality so to fully understand the complex ethos of the EP. From the moment the kick drum hits in the title track to when it’s the last sound after all the other instruments fade on “FirstEyesSeesNoLies”, the EP is a mystic auditory voyage that may be misunderstood during a casual listening. The project’s title references Ma’at, they Egyptian deity representing the principals of truth, justice, balance, harmony, order, reciprocity, and propriety. Though the work is largely instrumental, Radius ETC alchemizes these principals in a way that allows their wordless expression – though the message crystalizes on the few tracks where Radius ETC takes the mic. Beyond the principals listed above, there is an overarching theme of healing and release – an approach embraced by many of the sonic healers from his home base of Chicago. Overall, it is a high vibrational sonic experience, appropriate both for times of celebration and deep introspection.

The project (and his many others) are streaming free on his bandcamp, though please consider supporting the artist by purchasing his work.  If paying for music is (puzzlingly) not your thing, you can also support through his holistic nutrition business or photography work.  Additionally, he is currently fundraising for a full length album, which can be supported here.