"I want more risks." The French DJ and producer talks about groundbreaking musical practices, musique concrète and her forthcoming album, Juggling Dualities.
There's a history of groundbreaking musical practice that's lost in modern dance music, at least according to Hermione Frank, AKA rRoxymore. The French DJ and producer has been questioning the dominant modes of creativity for a long time. First, she learned from the world of free jazz and Afrofuturism as a child—her dad was close friends with pioneering spiritual jazz musician Sun Ra. She then went on to study musique concrète, the avant-garde school of sound collage pioneered by Pierre Schaeffer.
Today, Frank makes music that's geared more towards the dance floor, and in this RA Exchange, she uncovers how she brings her background pushing musical boundaries into more "listenable" contexts. She also dives into working with the now-defunct collective Room 4 Resistance—an intersectional feminist party for Berlin's FLINTA community which also hosted workshops dedicated to fostering systems of care—and why she's moved on from Berlin, a city that she once viewed as a hub for creativity, accessibility and as the nucleus of political, risk-taking art.
Frank has a new album, Juggling Dualities, out July 17th on !K7. It sits at the fringes of New Age and dub, taking a sideways look at wellness culture by meditating on the importance of self-care while simultaneously poking fun at it. Pre-order a copy here and listen to the episode in full. -Chloe Lula