Rowlands Audio Research

[ThePumisher]

Aw yeah Tom's got the guitar out. Come With Us 2 here we go

now that we have two new tracks, can we spot the guitar on them?

[Wolkenkrabber]

now that we have two new tracks, can we spot the guitar on them?

, no?

(on the long version, I guess

tiny bit too)

[ThePumisher]

View this post on Instagram

[androidgeoff]

I thought they used a MK II? The grey one

Whatever, I own a white one and I am going to put a little label maker "!!NO!!" on mine now

[Stefan]

They also have a grey one as spare:
https://twitter.com/Midimatt001/status/1386971213440987140

[Ben_j]

I thought they used a MK II? The grey one

Whatever, I own a white one and I am going to put a little label maker "!!NO!!" on mine now

From what I remember, the studio one is the mk2 but the stage one has always been the white one

[Explud]

They used both on stage (one as a spare).

https://twitter.com/Midimatt001/status/1386971213440987140

[𝒥𝑅𝒮𝒵]

Ok, now tell me... WHAT DOES THE J A C O B MEAN?

[Wolkenkrabber]

So this regram leads to...

View this post on Instagram

...The Sonar website

On which we find not only a Spotify playlist and a message from the Chems, but also a Soundcloud embed.
And that embed is from the RAR soundcloud page.
As the Chems (and Errol K) appear to have had a hand in this Sonar page, it would seem to dispel any lingering doubts we may have had about the "officialness" of the RAR Soundcloud page.

PS It's appropriate that one of the busses has Further on the front. As per the Further bus in the Electric Kool Aid Acid Test. ...Which clearly had a big influence on Chems tracks and albums etc.

[Ak_30]

Let's get entirely and pointlessly too nerdy about this.

The header image is this:



It doesn't seem to match images of RAR that we've seen. The lighting, flooring, mixer, layout, etc look like a different setup.

BUT those synths! The one on the right is a Buchla 100 and it appears to be the exact model that Tom owns:

https://www.synthtopia.com/content/2009/04/22/the-chemical-brothers-buchla-100/

And the one just behind the yellow lamp is an EMS Synthi AKS, also in their collection. So that's certainly their gear. So far I can't find another copy of this image online. Maybe it's an older studio? Or that old version of their studio they created when writing No Geography?

HMMMMMM


The image for Bukui Psychdelico Demo is of a miner and his pit pony, it's a Getty Image and it was recently used in this Guardian Article from 6 months ago:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/03/country-diary-pit-pony-procession-halts-traffic-1970


Image for Latenight Psychdelic Mix is of Caja Eric (or Cala Eric), a Ziegfeld girl and performer in the late 1920s-mid 1930s. She wasn't terribly famous?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziegfeld_girl

https://www.flickr.com/photos/trialsanderrors/2804029225

https://www.doctormacro.com/Images/Erik,%20Caja/Annex/Annex%20-%20Eric,%20Caja_01.jpg




The pic of Tom in his man bun glory doesn't turn up on any reverse image searches.


Commence more speculation.

Didn't Tom tell in an interview during WATN era that he has a "writing studio"? This could be it. The mixing console is the Zähl Am1.
Here, the console maker:
Zähl

The Chemical Brothers are one of the customers.

[Wolkenkrabber]

Use the Chemicals To The World thread or RAR thread? Tough decision.
Perhaps the newer one of these Insta Reels is from the forthcoming "M, Son Of The Century". Maybe they both are?

EDIT: I didn't read Tom's comment until after I posted the recent Insta clip. I'm pretty sure "Mmmmmmm" is Tom's way of saying it's from M Son Of The Century. My feeling is that the other clip here is not, though. I'm sure he's finished the M soundtrack by now (the recent clip sounds polished), but the clip from 30th May seems to be Tom trying out something new on the Buachla easel. Incidentaly the cellos on the Mmmmmmm reel might be from the same source/synth as Free Yourself's cellos.

New One today yesterday:

View this post on Instagram

30th May:

View this post on Instagram

There used to be a "play" triangle/arrow on insta clips didn't there? But now there isn't. Just click the image anyway to get it to play.

[Stefan]

These audio clips definitely have a soundtrack-y vibe

[Stefan]

View this post on Instagram

Is this a BITE cover/artwork spinning?

[instantreigen]

@cowboy pointed out on the Discord that it could be the BITE slipmat!

[ThePumisher]

So, Tom worked with Kelly Lee Owens on this Track

[ThePumisher]

Tom has produced and co-written the new Kae Tempest single "Know Yourself"

Have to say i like those new tracks (Statue In The Square is also a good listen) of Kae, but i miss a bit the anger and the mirror towards us from some of the old tracks like "Tunnel Vision" [Now, it was our bombs that started this war | And now it rages far away | So we dismiss all its victims as strangers | But they're parents and children made dogs by the danger | Existence is futile, so we don't engage | But it was our boats that sailed, killed, stole, and made frail | It was our boots that stamped | It was our courts that jailed | And it was our fuckin' banks that got bailed | It was us who turned bleakly away | Looked back down at our nails and our wedding plans | In the face of a full-force gale, we said "Well, it's not up to us to make this place a better land | It's not up to us to make this place a better land."]

[Wolkenkrabber]

Gah! You beat me to it by 7 minutes (ok, more than 7 minutes now cos I've been searching Sacem).

For those unfamiliar with this artist, they used to be Kate Tempest. Then Kate dropped the T from her/their name and announced that they were non-binary. It now appears that Kae is a "he" - certainly in terms of the voice, haircut and stubble. Perhaps still officially a "they".
In the the video above you can see the old Kate on the TV screen with longer hair and a more female sounding voice.
From Twitter: "It samples a lyric I wrote years ago, where my younger self is talking to their younger self. A dialogue between selves across time, in real time."

I'd be lying to say that I've ever dug Kate/Kae's stuff, although some of the production underneath the vocals has caught my ear in the past.
I'm probably not going to become a Kae Tempest fan because of this Tom-related track, but it's good to see that Tom is still keeping on and engaging with new things.

From the "Topic" version of the YT video (not really a video, just a still image), we have some credits:

Spoiler

Know Yourself

℗ 2025 Kae Tempest, under exclusive licence to Universal Music Operations Limited
Released on: 2025-04-30
Drumprogrammer, Producer, Mixing Engineer, Composer Lyricist, Bassprogrammer: Fraser T. Smith
Composer Lyricist, Bassprogrammer, Producer, Drumprogrammer: Tom Rowlands
Engineer: Scott Barnett
Engineer: Isabel Gracefield
Engineer: Louis Rogove
Composer Lyricist, Vocalist: Kae Tempest
Stringarranger: Raven Bush
Mastering Engineer: Matt Colton

Same label as the Chems. I don't know if that's relevant TBH.

Also from SACEM:
KNOW YOURSELF
Sub-Publisher : KOBALT MUSIC PUBLISHING FRANCE, DOUBLE SIX PROPERTIES LIMITED, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT (FRANCE)
Composer/Author : TEMPEST KAE, SMITH FRASER LANCE THORNEYCROFT, OSTYN ROWLANDS THOMAS OWEN M
Publisher : KOBALT MUSIC PUBLISHING LIMITED, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT UK LIMITED, DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY LIMITED

Looks like Tom's worked on another track with Kae Tempest as well. From Sacem:
DIAGNOSES (track 8 from the forthcoming album, out July 4th. Lyrics are googlable already)
Sub-Publisher : KOBALT MUSIC PUBLISHING FRANCE, DOUBLE SIX PROPERTIES LIMITED, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT (FRANCE)
Composer/Author : TEMPEST KAE, SMITH FRASER LANCE THORNEYCROFT, OSTYN ROWLANDS THOMAS OWEN M
Publisher : KOBALT MUSIC PUBLISHING LIMITED, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT UK LIMITED, DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY LIMITED

[rynostar]

Kae has been one of my favorite artists over the last few years. They have a lyrical talent that hits hard. They hooked me with the track Three-sided Coin and the lyric "our leaders aren't even pretending to be demons".

Their transition has been interesting to listen to as they show how they've literally evolved. I've heard that sentiment from many artists, but it's been interesting to see them do it lyrically (and physically) each album. Hearing Statue In The Square threw me for a loop when hearing how hormone therapy changed their voice. I thought it wasn't them at first. Grew to like it. Heard Know Yourself earlier this week and loved the sample effect of using past and current voice to a track that is therapeutic and danceable.

[sneakerbeater]

I think the main connection Tom has with this project is Fraser T Smith. I seem to remember hearing that they were either childhood friends or went to the same school. 

Fraser  is quite a big time producer, I think he has worked with the likes of Adele. He never really registered on my radar until I heard his future utopia project. Which I have enjoyed. 

[rynostar]

On a few listens today, I can make a reach and hear hints of Tom's production in the track. The lighter parts at the start and on the chorus (piccolo or light wood percussion?) remind me of parts of TDYF (alto sax and glockenspiel).