Rubin Steiner
Quirky, sample-heavy grooves that bridge the gap between French jazz and post-punk energy. Sophisticated yet playful music for late-night city wandering.
Quirky, sample-heavy grooves that bridge the gap between French jazz and post-punk energy. Sophisticated yet playful music for late-night city wandering.
Rubin Steiner creates a sonic world that feels like a meticulously curated thrift store where every item has a fascinating secret history. His music is a collage of warm analog textures, dusty jazz samples, and the steady, driving pulse of krautrock. It is sophisticated without being pretentious, offering a playful French sensibility that finds beauty in the 'lo-fi' and the experimental. You can hear the crackle of old vinyl rubbing against modern drum machines.
What truly sets him apart is his restless curiosity. He doesn't just stick to one lane; he weaves together elements of bossa nova, hip-hop, and post-punk into a cohesive, groovy tapestry. There is a specific 'handmade' quality to his production, where live instruments like trombone and bass guitar provide a human counterpoint to the electronic loops. It feels like a conversation between different eras of music history happening in real-time.
Start with 'Wunderbar Drei' to hear him at his most eclectic and jazz-influenced. It is the perfect entry point for anyone who loves the Ninja Tune aesthetic or the smoother side of the French Touch movement. From there, explore 'Drum Major!' to hear how he incorporates more rock and punk energy into his signature electronic framework.
Rubin Steiner (born Frédérick Landier, Tours, (1974-10-30)30 October 1974) is a French guitar, bass, and keyboard musician, and disc jockey specialising in electronica. He worked as a radio presenter between 1992 and 2002 for Radio béton in Tours, with a programme of free jazz, electro, punk, and experimental music. He organized concerts in Tours, edited a music fanzine, and was a guitarist in the group Merz from 1996 to 1998. His main influences are jazz, hip hop, punk rock, 1980s American music and pop, which he arranges into albums of electro-jazz, electronica, krautrock, pop, punk disco, post-punk, house music, and techno. He was nominated for the Victoires de la musique in 2006 for his album Drum Major.
Shares trip-hop, nu jazz (subgenres); playful, mysterious, wistful (moods)
Shares sample based, analog warmth, lo fi (production style); trip-hop, nu jazz (subgenres)
Shares sample based, lo fi, analog warmth (production style); trip-hop, nu jazz (subgenres)
Shares playful, mysterious, wistful (moods); sample based, layered dense, analog warmth (production style)
Shares playful, mysterious, energetic (moods); sample based, lo fi, analog warmth (production style)
Shares sample based, analog warmth, lo fi (production style); playful, mysterious, energetic (moods)
Shares sample based, lo fi, analog warmth (production style); trip-hop, nu jazz (subgenres)
Shares sample based, analog warmth, lo fi (production style); trip-hop, nu jazz (subgenres)
Shares sample based, analog warmth, lo fi (production style); trip-hop, nu jazz (subgenres)
Shares nu jazz, sample based, trip-hop, playful (signature)
Shares nu jazz, sample based, playful, spoken word (signature)
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