Saucy & Josh Rombout
A corridor. And at the end: a door. Was it there a moment ago? You can’t seem to recall. You cross the space between and try the door handle. The large metal door screeches in protest. It’s darker than you expected, but there are colours penetrating the shadows. A lurid, pulsing glow. Dust motes dance in the air, disturbed by your intrusion. The air hums with the sound of machinery: A hidden factory. It’s hard to believe, and not at all what you were expecting.
Taking it all in, the veil of tension you initially felt now leaves. A surreal blend of 70s disco and futuristic neon surrounds you. Is this a nightclub? It can’t be. The walls are lined with pallet-racking, loaded with metallic barrels reflecting the shimmering lines of light. Above, a disco ball spins lazily, scattering fractured geometry across the scene. The barrels, dozens of them, are lined up in neat rows. As you get closer, you notice the labels. Each one marked with the words “Josh & Mike’s Special Sauce”. One barrel seems to vibrate slightly, an almost imperceptible hum that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand on end.
A sudden noise makes you jump! That veil of tension returning. Another door at the far end of the factory floor. You hesitate, but your curiosity wins out. You move towards the door, and enter a dimly lit room. At its center stands a console, bristling with controls and large panels displaying streams of data. And there, in the middle of it all…two figures. Dressed in white lab coats, the figures slowly turn to face you.
“Welcome to the Saucery” one says, his voice buttery smooth and strangely compelling. “What is this place?” you ask. The other laughs, sending a shiver down your spine. “This, my dear, is where the magic happens. Our secret sauce, if you will.” He gestures towards the barrels visible through the doorway. “Each one is a masterpiece, a blend of ingredients and special… additives.” “Additives?” you echo, that veil of tension becoming a knot of dread, tightening in your stomach. “Yes,” says the other, stepping closer. “Progressive House, Big Room, Rave, EDM…Some call it funky, others… something else.”
Before you can react, he presses a button on the console. One of the barrels nearby begins to hiss and steam, the top slowly unscrewing itself. You stumble back as the lid clatters to the floor… Darkness. When you awake, you’re back in the corridor. The door to the factory is gone- the barrels, those two men- vanished. Fearing a pounding headache, you rise up slowly. You stagger to your feet but the stagger becomes… a swagger and suddenly- its the strangest thing- you feel like dancing. Outside, the world feels different, sharper, almost hyper-real. You glance at your hands, and they seem… wrong, somehow. The images of the strange men spin hazily through your mind’s eye, and you know, deep down, that you’ve been changed in ways you can’t yet comprehend. The secret sauce, whatever it was, is inside you now. And you have no idea what it will do next.
Music
Artist Profile
Name: Saucy & Josh Rombout
Official Websites: https://thesaucefactory.com.au and https://www.sirusofficial.com
A hybrid House funk-machine and a Cyberpunk rocker-boy combine forces to create ‘Geometrie’: a unique take on progressive EDM from Saucy & Josh Rombout.
Saucy: Saucy is an Australian composer/engineer specializing in Production, Dance and Hybrid Orchestral music. With a diverse love for all things electronic, ambient, orchestral, dancy…and poppy, Mike Rowe has been working behind the scenes since the early days of Australia’s rave culture. With commercial releases under Bamboo and Bellarine Records, his dance music has been heard across dancefloors around the globe. Pony Club was featured on multiple releases including Ministry of Sounds ‘Tribal Nation’ as well as Tommy Boys ‘Alegria’ mix albums while Sex@Sunset made appearances on superclub Zouks inaugural mix CD. Four albums and countless singles through his own Sauce Factory Records have seen his style expand into brand new genres, branching into orchestral and ambient before making the jump to bespoke production/custom soundtracks. His work through Revolt Production Audio was picked to be the official music for the Civilization 6 teaser trailer on the Nintendo Switch, as well as a nomination for Most Epic Music 2016 by Epic Music VN.
Josh Rombout: Best known as the driving force behind Melbourne Cyberpunk act SIRUS, Josh Rombout is a seasoned music producer with roots in Melbourne’s alternative underground. A student of pre-millennium Cyberpunk, Rombout is a multidisciplinary multimedia artist, audio engineer and DJ, with an influential history of mixing contemporary Industrial sounds with the dark hybrid dance music styles that are the unique trademark of his own musical foray. A much sought-after producer and remix artist, Rombout’s works have been featured in various international installations such as 公司奴隶 2525 [Corporate Slave 2525] – Tomorrow Art Museum, Beijing and his original work across both video and audio have extended to other electronic acts, including DSLAM, KHIN, Damage Control and Chiron. Rombout has remixed a barrage of influential artists such as 3Teeth, Combichrist, Snog, Die Sektor, Angelspit, Ego Likeness and many more.