Audiopile Review: Three years on from her 2022 breakthrough on Smalltown Supersound, Perpetual Now, French producer rRoxymore lands on K7 with a balmy foray into new age and tropic-laced ambi-techno. While the long-winding futuristic club tunes of Perpetual Now shared much in common with her Smalltown label mates like Kelly Lee Owens and Carmen Villain, Juggling Dualities veers close to the succulent edges of new age and kosmiche in an effort to shake up her obtuse approach to the dance floor. But, as you might have guessed, these modulations are never straight forward from rRoxymore, a strain of kinetic propulsions certainly not far from the futuristic sounds of early Warp or the brightest constellations of Detroit techno shining through her sidewinding tracks. To be sure, she isn’t merely updating templates of the past, Juggling Dualities feeling very of the moment. Her intricate productions reach the humidity of Ramzi’s equatorial bounce or radiate the knotty bursts of Salamanda. Her best yet, and a summer highlight that we’ll surely be thinking about come year’s end. Huge recommendation.

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As rRoxymore, Hermione Frank has been exploring the outer edges of the dance floor and producing music that goes beyond traditional genre boundaries for more than a decade. In that time she has covered plenty of ground from caustic and abrasive techno to long-form and immersive grooves, always with a focus on contrasting tempo, texture and tone. On previous albums Face to Phase on Don’t Be Afraid in 2019, and Perpetual Now on Smalltown Supersound in 2022, she intertwined the electronic and the acoustic with elements of psychedelia and jazz. With Juggling Dualities, Frank takes a sideways look at New Age and Wellness culture.

Writing the album came about after many months of being unable to create during a complicated personal time which left her lacking inspiration, feeling creatively stuck yet emotionally uprooted. What helped was distance – taking time and space to disconnect from the struggle. That brought a different rhythm to life and a fresh perspective that allowed exploration without any expectations. A six-week surge of intense creativity followed in which the majority of the album was written. As she explains, “The record represents a journey of reconnection that conveys an underlying message of hope and healing at its core. I think it is my most honest work to date.”

Initially conceived as a New Age project but with a signature personal twist and some subtle humour, there is a familiarity to Juggling Dualities. It is warm and comforting with a sound palette that is refined but familiar – there are soothing signifiers and organic designs that nod to the motifs of New Age but passed through a more contemporary lens.

Opener ‘Am I Human?’ begins with a sensuous and slow-motion ascent on shimmering synths that take you up amongst the stars where heavenly arps and wordless vocals await. ‘Upward Spiral’ brings some tropical motifs, bird calls and woodwind sounds that hark back to peak New Age but with a trippy and playful edge. ‘Moodified’ pairs deep, meticulous drum programming and synth work that smudges electronic and the acoustic and ‘Embracing The Unknown’ brings synth curiousness to supple percolating rhythms. There is a bubbly energy to ‘Nectar’ that feels exciting and hopeful as myriad different melodies and pads busy around the mix, while ‘Bonded For Eternity’ is a moment to pause amongst unresolved loops and a sense of the unknown. The sci-fi and futurist beauty of ‘Solace’ pairs feathery jazz drums and short synth refrains that endlessly move about the scales and the healing power of ‘Lows And Attractions’ lies in its quiet yet majestic synth work.

Juggling Dualities is an invitation to reconnect with yourself. It’s music that encourages you to take a pause, be in the moment and reflect on the fact that no matter what challenges come your way, they shall eventually pass.