Rise of the Speedmen: CRITICS

<bgsound src=http://www.arisespeedmen.com/audio/RISE_OF_THE-Another_1-clip-15-203.mp3" loop="infinite">

Few people can honestly say this, but being hit by a drunk driver may have been the best thing ever to happen to Gene Padigos, or at least the best thing for his music career. Padigos, a.k.a. Rise of the Speedmen, invested his insurance payout in a Tascam 8-track and began recording his own lo-fi compositions in his garage while he recovered, playing all of the instruments in the guitar, drum, and synth combo that is ROTS.


He soon discovered the electronic music scene and digital processing, but his music still clearly evinces his analog roots. His tracks still feature his own live instrumentation, and only the occasional bleep or programmed drum line remind the listener that he is working with more than just a mic and a tape.


While Rise of the Speedmen cites My Bloody Valentine and the Smiths as influences, the resulting product sounds more like Beck's more contemplative work or Department of Eagles without the irony and New York edge. Most tracks move along in a dreamy lurch, underpinned by complex, insistent drum patterns that seem to keep the melodies from dissipating into the ether. The vocals float along a few steps behind, subdued and often low in the mix, sounding as though Padigos is behind the next wall, quietly singing a melancholy ditty to himself in the shower.



While the tracks showcase a variety of textures and tones, they're never too down tempo, yet never too energetic. Indeed, Rise of the Speedmen seem to abide in the borderland between resignation and abnegation, in the luminal state between the dream and the opened eye.



The final analysis: ROTS makes spacey indie-pop that never sacrifices complexity and depth for accessibility, but is accessible all the same. As a result, it makes for great walking music in the headphones or solo mood music for a relaxed Saturday afternoon at home. Recommended for the artsy set, shoegazers, or anyone that likes to look (and think) twice before leaping. Northeast IN tune magazine

"Rise of the Speedmen a.k.a. Generoso Padigos is the one man band behind the lush melodies, sequenced guitars, and the cut up drum beats from San Diego, Ca. After getting insurance money from a motorcycle accident, he started his first recording studio in his garage with an analog Tascam 8 track. Playing each instrument, he made lo fi tunes influenced by indie bands such as My bloody Valentine, Sea and Cake, and Ariel M. In 2000 Gene moved to Hawaii, where he became engulfed with the electronic music scene. He began DJing for underground clubs and promoters including the short lived Quiet Storm, featured in ID Magazine.It wasn't long until he discovered computer love, where he found his calling for the digital sound. It was a natural progression to change from analog recording to digital, because it took his self-reliant music production ways to the next level; giving him the ability to orchestrate, manipulate, and filter the very root of sound and placement from the click of a button. . Finally for 2005, R.O.T.S give you the very first album "Introduction" which fuses indie guitars, deep vocal melodies, dark synths, and driving percussion. The album starts off with the instrumental "Portrait of a Dead man" provoking a dark mood from the deep bass melody, an 808 drum beat, and a distorted Rhodes. Next comes "I hear a symphony", a beautiful orchestrated masterpiece that brings melancholy through the melodious vocals and filtered symphonic samples. Composition after composition "Introduction" delivers experimental production with reverberated vocal lines and organic instrumentation." - Rise of the speedmen