{"id":7516,"date":"2025-11-19T21:56:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T21:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/?page_id=7516"},"modified":"2025-12-01T21:57:22","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T21:57:22","slug":"ragger-euphonic-sounds","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/?page_id=7516","title":{"rendered":"Ragger &#8211; Euphonic Sounds"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/HAUSMO154-Ragger-Euphonic-Sounds-Digi-Cover-3000x3000x300-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-7517 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/HAUSMO154-Ragger-Euphonic-Sounds-Digi-Cover-3000x3000x300-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/HAUSMO154-Ragger-Euphonic-Sounds-Digi-Cover-3000x3000x300-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/HAUSMO154-Ragger-Euphonic-Sounds-Digi-Cover-3000x3000x300-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/HAUSMO154-Ragger-Euphonic-Sounds-Digi-Cover-3000x3000x300-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/HAUSMO154-Ragger-Euphonic-Sounds-Digi-Cover-3000x3000x300-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/HAUSMO154-Ragger-Euphonic-Sounds-Digi-Cover-3000x3000x300-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/HAUSMO154-Ragger-Euphonic-Sounds-Digi-Cover-3000x3000x300-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/HAUSMO154-Ragger-Euphonic-Sounds-Digi-Cover-3000x3000x300-2048x2048.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/a><\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">&#8211;<\/span><\/p>\n<h1>To be released on tape and CD on February 10th, 2026. Design by HausMo Max. Purple tape with black imprints packaged with a 2-sided 4-panel J-card. CD packaged in 4-panel gatefold digipak. This is the catalog page with album information and artwork. To purchase, head to our <a href=\"http:\/\/hausumountain.bandcamp.com\/\">Bandcamp page<\/a>.<\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">&#8211;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe style=\"border: 0; width: 400px; height: 120px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=3785734126\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/artwork=small\/transparent=true\/tracklist=false\/tracks=2100879729\/esig=dafed7e57dbe7dcaa8c69df44e79751d\/\" seamless=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ragger.bandcamp.com\/album\/euphonic-sounds\">Euphonic Sounds by Ragger<\/a><\/iframe><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">&#8211;<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><strong>Marc Riordan<\/strong> and <strong>Jon Leland<\/strong> make music together under the name <strong>Ragger<\/strong>. Each are multi-instrumentalists and avid collaborators in their wide artistic practices: Riordan performed and collaborated with the likes of <strong>The Cairo Gang<\/strong>, <strong>The Red Krayola<\/strong>, <strong>Xiu Xiu<\/strong>, <strong>Owls<\/strong>, and <strong>Joshua Abrams<\/strong> before moving from his longtime home of Chicago to LA, while Leland performed with <strong>Janka Nabay and the Bubu Gang<\/strong>, <strong>Glasser<\/strong>, <strong>Amen Dunes<\/strong>, <strong>Steve Gunn<\/strong>, and <strong>Skeletons<\/strong> before moving from New York to LA and then to the Bay Area to begin a career in video game development. The two began collaborating in 2017 after being invited by <strong>Cameron Stallones<\/strong> to form the current trio lineup of his long-running luminary experimental project <strong>Sun Araw<\/strong>, with Riordan handling bass and lead synth parts and Leland on electronic drum kit. They formed <strong>Ragger<\/strong> shortly after meeting, performing as a duo for a bi-weekly residency in the front caf\u00e9 of the noted experimental venue <strong>Zebulon<\/strong> in LA, with a very specific scope of material in mind: the ragtime compositions of <strong>Scott Joplin<\/strong> and his contemporaries, presented in synthetic tones for synthesizers and electronic V drums. Hausu Mountain is proud to introduce <strong>Ragger<\/strong> to the world with their first album of recordings in this style, <em><strong>Euphonic Sounds<\/strong><\/em>.<\/h5>\n<h1><\/h1>\n<h5>Riordan\u2019s love of ragtime piano dates back to his early days in Chicago, where he found a book of <strong>Joplin<\/strong>\u2019s collected rags during a rehearsal in the piano bench of journeyman keyboardist <strong>Ben Boye<\/strong>. Shortly after, he formed the acoustic quartet <strong>The Great Crush<\/strong> as a vehicle for close study of the particulars of the rag repertoire, a project that continued for the better part of a decade. Leland first dabbled in early American music as a teenage drummer in an extracurricular Dixieland jazz ensemble, and over the years developed an interest in electronic drum pads and machines. Through these lenses he creates percussion parts for<strong> Ragger<\/strong>\u2019s takes on ragtime from a modern, purposefully ahistorical perspective (in the absence of drum parts in any original ragtime music). Drawing inspiration from the <em><strong>Switched-On<\/strong><\/em> series of releases by <strong>Wendy Carlos<\/strong> and video game music composers like <strong>Koji Kondo<\/strong> and <strong>Nobuo Uematsu<\/strong> as much as the head-spinning prog instrumentals of bands like <strong>Horse Lords<\/strong> and <strong>Cheer Accident<\/strong>, Riordan and Leland approach the <strong>Scott Joplin<\/strong> ragtime songbook without any interest in \u201creviving\u201d the style or presenting an authoritative survey of the music\u2019s history, but rather as a fun opportunity to inject their own varied musical interests into the framework of ragtime. In their own words,<strong> Ragger<\/strong>\u2019s music embodies \u201cthat off-night bar gig where the video game music engine gets to play whatever it wants.\u201d<\/h5>\n<h1><\/h1>\n<h5>The idea of a simulated \u201cvideo game music engine\u201d gets to the heart of the <strong>Ragger<\/strong> project, as Riordan and Leland play extremely precise and complicated music with tumbling melodies flecked with ornamented details that spiral over busy percussion patterns &#8211; but they present the keyboard and drums in bright electronic voices that wouldn\u2019t be out of place in a <strong>Super Nintendo<\/strong> game soundtrack. <strong>Marc Riordan<\/strong>\u2019s synths shimmer with glossy detail in the upper register tones and bump with heavy-hitting bass, as the low, mid, and high voices interact in a state of tight counterpoint that highlights the complexity of ragtime as it was originally composed. His attention to detail in synth voice selection and programming positions <strong>Ragger<\/strong> as a funhouse mirror reflection of tone-obsessed stalwarts of the experimental underground like <strong>Emeralds<\/strong> or <strong>Oneohtrix Point Never<\/strong> \u2013 not to mention the duo\u2019s participation in <strong>Sun Araw<\/strong> as that project continues to dig deeper into synthesis with each new album. With his cascading electronic tom-tom fills and flurries of synthetic woodblocks clicking beneath FM synth cymbal crashes, <strong>Jon Leland<\/strong>\u2019s drum performances bring to mind a giant steam-powered calliope instrument with its pistons pumping as innumerable mallets strike row after row of miniature drum heads. Leland describes his kinetic drum style with <strong>Ragger<\/strong> as a \u201cplay-by-play\u201d reaction on a moment to moment basis to the rhythms presented by the keyboard melodies, with a focus on both maintaining a groove and decorating the space in the mix with all kinds of miniature percussive flourishes, from electronic squishes to 808 kicks to simulated hand drums. This style makes the drums feel like just as much of a lead instrument as Riordan\u2019s synths, as both instrumentalists lock into a tight symbiosis as they work through the winding architectures of their ragtime tune selections.<\/h5>\n<h1><\/h1>\n<h5>While <strong>Hausu Mountain<\/strong> has always highlighted an interest in \u201ccarnivalesque\u201d music, from the gonzo cyborg experiments of <strong>Wobbly<\/strong> to the sideshow psychedelia of <strong>Mondo Lava<\/strong> to the tongue-in-cheek freneticism of <strong>Jetski<\/strong>\u2019s sample collages, <strong>Ragger<\/strong>\u2019s <em><strong>Euphonic Sounds<\/strong><\/em> sets the carnival trapeze higher than anything else in the label\u2019s catalog, while also honoring HausMo\u2019s abiding love for 16-bit video game sounds and imagery. For label heads Doug Kaplan and Max Allison, <strong>Ragger<\/strong>\u2019s own elevator pitch for their music as \u201c<strong>Scott Joplin<\/strong> in <em><strong>Super Mario World<\/strong><\/em>\u201d seemed too good to be true on paper \u2013 somehow too dialed into the label\u2019s aesthetics to ever land successfully in practice. But guess what? Riordan and Leland nailed it. <em><strong>Euphonic Sounds<\/strong><\/em> overflows with whimsy and joy as much as a brand of casual virtuosity in service of the intricacies of music composed over a century ago. While ragtime might nominally be catalogued closer to \u201cclassical music\u201d by today\u2019s listeners, its deep roots weave into the origins of jazz, blues, pop, and dance music. We hear <strong>Ragger<\/strong> tease these threads out while transplanting the style into modern tones and ideas from the perspective of the avant-underground, attesting to the passion that the duo has for this music and the lengths they were willing to stretch themselves both mentally and physically to perform it at this level.<\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">&#8211;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Ragger-Composer-Shot-by-Doug-Kaplan.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7518 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Ragger-Composer-Shot-by-Doug-Kaplan.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Ragger-Composer-Shot-by-Doug-Kaplan.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Ragger-Composer-Shot-by-Doug-Kaplan-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Ragger-Composer-Shot-by-Doug-Kaplan-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Ragger-Composer-Shot-by-Doug-Kaplan-768x960.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Tape-Mockup-full-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7521 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Tape-Mockup-full-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"6000\" height=\"6000\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Tape-Front.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7522 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Tape-Front.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"6000\" height=\"6000\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ragger-Euphonic-Sounds-sheet-music-designed-by-Doug-Kaplan-and-Max-Allison.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7530 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ragger-Euphonic-Sounds-sheet-music-designed-by-Doug-Kaplan-and-Max-Allison.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ragger-Euphonic-Sounds-sheet-music-designed-by-Doug-Kaplan-and-Max-Allison.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ragger-Euphonic-Sounds-sheet-music-designed-by-Doug-Kaplan-and-Max-Allison-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ragger-Euphonic-Sounds-sheet-music-designed-by-Doug-Kaplan-and-Max-Allison-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ragger-Euphonic-Sounds-sheet-music-designed-by-Doug-Kaplan-and-Max-Allison-768x960.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ragger-painting-designed-by-Doug-Kaplan.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7531 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ragger-painting-designed-by-Doug-Kaplan.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2300\" height=\"2300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ragger-painting-designed-by-Doug-Kaplan.jpg 2300w, https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ragger-painting-designed-by-Doug-Kaplan-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ragger-painting-designed-by-Doug-Kaplan-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ragger-painting-designed-by-Doug-Kaplan-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ragger-painting-designed-by-Doug-Kaplan-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ragger-painting-designed-by-Doug-Kaplan-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ragger-painting-designed-by-Doug-Kaplan-2048x2048.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2300px) 100vw, 2300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ragger-Tape-Inner-spread.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7532 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ragger-Tape-Inner-spread.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2043\" height=\"1275\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ragger-Tape-Inner-spread.jpg 2043w, https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ragger-Tape-Inner-spread-300x187.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ragger-Tape-Inner-spread-1024x639.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ragger-Tape-Inner-spread-768x479.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ragger-Tape-Inner-spread-1536x959.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ragger-Tape-Inner-spread-481x300.jpg 481w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2043px) 100vw, 2043px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8211; To be released on tape and CD on February 10th, 2026. Design by HausMo Max. Purple tape with black imprints packaged with a 2-sided 4-panel J-card. CD packaged in 4-panel gatefold digipak. This is the catalog page with album &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/?page_id=7516\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":678,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-7516","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7516"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7516\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7536,"href":"https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7516\/revisions\/7536"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hausumountain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}