Rustie (born Russell Whyte) is a Scottish musician from Glasgow. He is associated with the Numbers label collective and first received attention for his 2007 EP ''Jagz the Smack''. He signed to Warp Records in 2009. His 2011 debut album '' Glass Swords'' won him widespread acclaim. His music blends disparate genres, including hip hop,
rave
A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...
Rustie's first instrument was guitar and he bought his first decks at age 15. He is associated with the subgenre of aquacrunk, a genre described as an experimental offshoot of hip hop that emphasises slowed down, low-slung beats, with lashings of electronic mutterings and morphing basslines. He believes his work conveys movement and fluidity, and that his creative process is an "immersive world" wrapped up in sound, rhythm, and color. Rustie's long-time interest in video games has influenced his approach to electronic composition.
Rustie's first singles were released in 2007 and 2008. The producer signed with Warp Records in 2010 for the release of ''Sunburst'' EP. In 2011, Rustie released his first album '' Glass Swords'' on Warp Records. Brad LaBonte of Dusted Magazine wrote "''Glass Swords'' contains some of the freshest, most exciting electronic dance music I've heard this year. Put simply, nothing sounds like this record."
In 2012, "After Light" from ''Glass Swords'' was included in an
Adidas
Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...
television advertisement featuring British track and field athlete Jessica Ennis prior to the
2012 Olympic Games
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
. Three tracks from ''Glass Swords'' ("After Light", "Ultra Thizz" and "Surph") were used in the soundtrack to the video game '' Sleeping Dogs''.
The same year, ''Glass Swords'' won '' The Guardians First Album Award.
Rustie released his second album, '' Green Language'', on 26 August 2014 on Warp Records. Two tracks from the album, 'Raptor' and 'Attak (feat. Danny Brown)', received "best new track" awards by Pitchfork. Following the release, a second single, "Lost" (feat.
Redinho
Tom Calvert, better known by his stage name Redinho, is an English multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and producer from London. Calvert produced Swet Shop Boys' debut album ''Cashmere'' and ''Sufi LA'', and performed with them on The Late Show wi ...
), was premiered by Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1.
After a show for XOYO Loves at London's Coronet Theatre on 29 November 2014 featuring special guest, rapper Danny Brown, Rustie announced his upcoming 2015, 'Green Language Live' world tour. The 'Green Language' tour is his largest to date and featured dates across Europe, Australia, the USA and Korea. The events showcased immersive 3D visuals by A-Rock including lost Egyptian artefacts, swarms of birds amongst other extravagant effects.
Previously, Whyte has played live with collaborators;
Redinho
Tom Calvert, better known by his stage name Redinho, is an English multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and producer from London. Calvert produced Swet Shop Boys' debut album ''Cashmere'' and ''Sufi LA'', and performed with them on The Late Show wi ...
at his album launch party hosted at London's Oval Space on 18 September 2014, production/vocal duo AlunaGeorge, and Koreless.
On 6 April 2015, Rustie announced the next North American leg of his Green Language World Tour. It included stops at a number of festivals with performances at Sasquatch, Bonnaroo,
Firefly
The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...
and
Governors Ball
The Governors Ball Music Festival (commonly known as Governors Ball or Gov Ball) is a multi-day music festival held in New York City. Launched in 2011 by original founders Jordan Wolowitz, Tom Russell, Yoni Reisman, the festival features an arr ...
.
At the beginning of November 2015, Rustie announced that his third album, '' Evenifudontbelieve'', would be released on 5 November. '' Evenifudontbelieve'' was released via Warp Records, having made two of the singles taken from the album, "First Mythz" and "Peace Upzzz" available for stream only days prior to the release.
Late November 2015, saw Rustie take part in a live Q&A with fans on Reddit, answering questions on a range of subjects including his production techniques, his influences and previous collaborations.
After around seven years of radio silence, Sub Club hosted Rustie and other artists in collaboration with his label, Numbers, on 2 December 2022.
Production
As well as his own material, Whyte has produced three tracks for Danny Brown's 2013 album ''Old''.
Personal life
At the age of 15, Whyte was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
In the midst of '' Evenifudontbelieve''s release cycle and tour, Whyte announced that he would be cancelling all concerts "due to addiction and mental health problems".
Discography
Studio albums
EPs
Singles
"—" denotes single that did not chart.
Remixes
* "Spliff Dub" by Zomby on ''Mush / Spliff Dub'' (2008)
* "Another Day" by Jamie Lidell on ''Another Day'' (2008)
* "Let Me See What U Workin With" by Rod Lee on ''Let Me See What U Workin With'' (2008)
* "Drama" by Fool on ''Drama'' (2008)
* "In This" by Various Production on ''Versus'' (2008)
* "In The Blood" by Pivot on ''In The Blood'' (2008)
* "The Black Block" by
Modeselektor
Modeselektor is a German electronic music duo consisting of Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary.
History
The group members met in 1992 in Berlin with group member Szary performing live acid house music at illegal underground parties, under t ...
on ''Happy Birthday! Remixed #2'' (2008)
* "No Security" by Crookers feat. Kelis on ''No Security'' (2009)
* "Ariel" by Stateless on ''
Ninja Tune
Ninja Tune is an English independent record label based in London. It has a satellite office in Los Angeles. It was founded by Matt Black and Jonathan More (better known as Coldcut) and managed by Peter Quicke and others.
Inspired by a visit ...
XX: 20 Years Of Beats & Pieces'' (2010)
* "Ariel" (Second version credited as 'Rustie's Pentagram Remake') by Stateless on ''Ninja Tune XX No. 1'' (2010)
* "I'm Gone" by Lazer Sword on ''Lazer Sword'' (2010)
* "G41" by 8Bitch on ''G41'' (2010)
* "Dominos" by The Big Pink on ''Chysalis Music 2010 Coachella'' (2010)
* "Fancy Forty" by Lunice on ''Stacker Upper'' (2010)
* "On My Mind" by Joker on ''On My Mind'' (2011)
* "Brand New" by Gucci Mane (2011)
* "Lose Yourself" by
Surkin
Benoit Heitz (born 1985), known by his stage name Surkin, is a French musician, record producer, DJ and art director. He is known for his electronic music compositions under the name Surkin and GENER8ION.
Life and career
Surkin was born in Arle ...
on ''Lose Yourself'' (2012)
* "Love in Motion" by
SebastiAn
Sebastian may refer to:
People
* Sebastian (name), including a list of persons with the name
Arts, entertainment, and media
Films and television
* ''Sebastian'' (1968 film), British spy film
* ''Sebastian'' (1995 film), Swedish drama film
...
Machinedrum
Travis Stewart, better known as Machinedrum, is an American electronic record producer and performer from North Carolina.A. G. Cook (2014)
* "Midnight" by Joker (2014)
* "Hit Da Blokk" by Big Dope P (2015)
* "Where Are Ü Now" by Jack Ü with Justin Bieber (2015)