Reverse Commuter

If there are two sides to every coin then Kenneth James Gibson is working with more than just pocket change. The prolific Los Angeles-based producer and video artist is driven by a constant and insatiable hunger to create. He masterfully constructs a dizzying variety of music – from house and techno to dub and indie rock, including different blends between the styles – in a catalog of over two hundred releases. [a]pendics.shuffle, a mostly techno and minimal production alias, has been Gibson’s mainstay for quite some time, with Reverse Commuter recently joining this as his ambitious, song-oriented electronic music project. He also creates sounds under a list of other monikers that reads as a proper mouthful: dubLoner, KJ Gibbs, Bal Cath, Eight Frozen Modules, Premature Wig, and Hiss & Buzz (a collaboration with Jack Dangers of Meat Beat Manifesto). That’s not all, though; Gibson also has his indie rock band Bell Gardens, an acclaimed label named Adjunct Audio, and various video projects, often created as Captain Primo. As [a]pendics.shuffle, Gibson has releases and remixes on labels such as Get Physical, Leftroom, Planet-Mu, and Hallucination Limited. His own label,Adjunct Audio, has also been home to some of his more memorable releases. It serves as his platform for promoting cutting edge dance music from artists like Akiko Kiyama, Mikael Stravostrand, Mr. C, and Mathias Schaffhäuser, with many more releases lined up for the label’s future. Adjunct Audio recently released an acclaimed compilation titled For Every Moment of Triumph Vol. 4, which was mixed by legendary Shaboom founder Blakkat. The compilation is a benchmark for Adjunct Audio, as it’s the imprint’s impressive 67th release, and showcases the present roster as well as some newcomers to the label. Reverse Commuter is also an important part of Gibson’s creative life, as the project includes a more personal approach as well as collaborations with other artists. Reverse Commuter’s debut album Exposure – released on DJ Three’s new imprint Hallucienda – combines the sonic range of Gibson’s previous efforts but with a strongly developed color and warmth. The foundation of Exposure’s nine songs comes from a cinematic, post-minimal strain of house and techno but embellished and taken into a fresh territory. The album’s production palette features washes of synthesizer, guitar, and found sounds, all drenched in psychedelia and parlayed with Gibson’s own engaging vocals and those of collaborators Kelly Johnston and Douglas J. McCarthy of Nitzer Ebb. Exposure is an album clearly in its own time and space. Gibson’s foray back into organic song-oriented music has also taken the form of Bell Gardens, a collaboration with Brian McBride of the classical ambient duo Stars Of The Lid. Full Sundown Assembly, Bell Gardens debut album, was released on UK label Southern Records and a second album, Slow Dawns For Lost Conclusions, is coming out on the Rocket Girl imprint. In the midst of all this activity, Kenneth Gibson is also immersed in video work, including a recent music video for Francis Harris, and freelance composition of music for film and television. This multi-faceted producer and creative soul has no plan for slowing down, and further appearances of all these projects look to stretch into the future. Which side will land, of which coin … there’s no way to predict.