Zenapolæ · Netlabel for Ambient, Dark Ambient, Avantgarde, Scenic and Experimental Atmospheric Music. Free mp3 download under a Creative Commons license.

Gears in the Rain USA

Gears in the Rain is musician and producer Brian Ruskin from the United States. Ruskin is self-taught on guitar, keyboard, drums, and electronic music production. He began composing original music as a teenager using an array of effects pedals, instruments, and 4-track tape recorders.

Since upgrading to DAW-based production in 2002, Ruskin has recorded and released a prolific catalog of cathartic albums under various guises: Advances in Obsolete Technology, Mental Health Consumer, Down Team Up, and in partnership with Czech producer Jiri Blazek as ESCALE. Genres range from techno/electro to ambient to drone and incorporate found sounds, field recordings, and live instruments, alongside analog programming and progressive beats. Since 2008, he’s curated the netlabel Believe in Billy Records, and has released music through other independent labels.

I create music that functions both as cathartic output for myself and hopefully resonates with the listener on some level” explains Ruskin. “I’d categorize Gears in the Rain music as ‘melancholy electronic’, as the tracks are always inspired by a distinct impression of a time, place, feeling, and sense of being nonplussed or awe-struck. The tunes always have a sense of unease, nostalgia or melancholy just under the surface.

Many past releases on Believe in Billy Netlabel: archive.org/details/believe-in-billy-records
Collaborative music as ESCALE: jiriblazek-brianruskin.bandcamp.com

Releases by Gears in the Rain on Zenapolæ

zen293

Gears in the Rain: Eventide

Release date: 27.06.2024

electronics and ambiences, incandescent and colorful

01	Backyard Mysteries	03:54
02	Outside Self	02:41
03	Forever Better	02:58
04	We Only Have So Much Time	03:29
05	Gold to Indigo	03:03
06	Drifting Past	06:09
07	Hyper-Aware	06:08
08	I Hoped it Would End Like This	04:31

Full Downloads

zen293.zip (complete album with artwork)
(note: since all 8 parts are meant to constitute one unified piece, the album zip contains a single-file continuous mix, with a track list)

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zen280

Gears in the Rain: Endogeny

Release date: 03.12.2023

subterranean soundscapes for Autumn's turns, shifting perspectives, and uneasy realizations

01	Autumn Revelations	6:39
02	Tenuous Grasp	3:29
03	I Could See the Breath Freeze	6:24
04	Remnants	2:51
05	Opposing Views	3:27
06	Odd Evening	1:58
07	Temporary	2:50
08	Restless	1:37
09	Nightfalling	2:58
10	Immersion	3:40
11	Recovered Again	3:07
12	Endogeny	5:13

Harmonic drones, partial melodies, and skittering rhythms combine as nostalgic, melancholic electronic music. Endogeny progresses the unique genre and complex emotions of its predecessors, Brightness and Contrast (2020, Cold Fiction Music), Desiderium (2021, Cold Fiction), and Liminal (2022, Zenapolae).

Full Downloads

zen280.zip (complete album with artwork)

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zen258

Gears in the Rain: Liminal

Release date: 10.10.2022

positive atmospheres and melodies with an embedded sense of unease

01	Liminal 1	5:31
02	Harbinger	2:14
03	Liminal 2	4:11
04	Virga Thoughts	3:11
05	Figure It Out For Yourself	5:07
06	Priority Shift	3:31
07	MECE	4:04
08	Liminal 3	4:06
09	Eustress	3:33
10	Saudade	4:19
11	February in Ithaca	4:09
12	And Now You're Here	5:55