Premiere: Bobcat Attack’s ‘Birds of Prey’ shows another side of the Record Machine’s Nathan Reusch

Nathan Reusch. // photo courtesy the artist

Anyone who’s followed music in the Kansas City area for any length of time knows the name Nathan Reusch. Not only is Reusch behind longtime local label the Record Machine, but he was also one of the organizers behind the Middle of the Map festival.

Now, as part of the new Record Machine electronic music imprint Les Bonbons Electriques created by Mark Ronning, Reusch is releasing his own music under the moniker Bobcat Attack. It’s chill, vibey, and exactly the thing suited for several cocktails and nodding your head while you wonder if you should get up and dance. Coming on the heels on last September’s debut release, “Pallas,” we’re excited to premiere the music video for the second Bobcat Attack single, “Birds of Prey.”

Check it out below and read our interview with Nathan Reusch about his musical project and the Record Machine’s new imprint.

The Pitch: What led you to make your own music after so many years promoting the work of others?

Nathan Reusch: So many people know me as the guy who does The Record Machine, but playing music was my first love and helped me make many connections and meet people. Over the years, I had always hoped to return to making my music, but eventually, my attention shifted. I had always taken everything else more seriously and put The Record Machine, Middle of the Map, or whatever else first. When the pandemic happened, life shifted unexpectedly, and I started picking it back up as a hobby, and it just kept growing. In many ways, it kind of felt like now or never.

When did you know that you had something?

I am still trying to find that constantly. I am always trying to capture lightning in a bottle when working on an idea for a song. I have always had a mentality of fake it ’til you make it, but the problem is that you ride the highs and lows of your imposter syndrome if you’re not careful. What makes me confident these days is just putting the time in to push an idea to flesh it out into a complete song. Or if it’s playing live, just do it enough till it feels natural again.

How do you approach making music versus the other ways you’ve looked at it as a label head and producer of events?

I don’t think it’s too different. Based on my instincts from seeing and putting on shows, I think about how to keep the energy up, what I should do next in a performance, or how I want to make a song flow. Sometimes, I think back to when I used to DJ; and now, I just have the hardware in front of me with the means to make it come to life.

Why did you and Mark come to work together on this new imprint and what made you want to feature electronic music as part of The Record Machine?

Our imprint, Les Bonbons Electriques, is Mark’s baby. He had done a few electronic showcases and I knew him a little bit before we started hanging out. As I got back into synths more, I would ask him synth questions, and he would ask me about the marketing and business aspects of running a label. I could tell he had a similar passion for music, so I floated the idea of him having an imprint. I have always envisioned The Record Machine as genre-agnostic, we have released a bit of everything over the years. TRM is a reflection of my tastes or what I am into, but I also love collaboration, so this was a way to get someone else involved and expand what I do.

Is this a singles-only project, or is there a full album on the way?

Personally, releasing music isn’t something I have done since my early 20s, and I was making CD-Rs, there was no Spotify, and it was done mainly by the time the label started going. At this point, I am just trying to experiment and see what works, but it’s also an opportunity to get some fresh first hand experience.

As for this release, I have a few other songs I am working on, so it might become an EP, and then I will start this process over again. I think albums are important, but it’s essential to keep getting something new out in today’s landscape. I think an album will come when I feel things are ready or I want to make a more significant statement.

Where do you plan to go with the live show, performance-wise?

The live show has mostly been live modular electronic music, which means it has been chiefly improvisational. I really enjoy that aspect of it, but now that I am releasing more music, my thoughts have been on melding how I play live with how I approach it recording-wise. But they are still very different experiences. Much of what I have been doing live has been learning or trying something new, and it only now feels like I am getting more comfortable with it all.

You can catch Bobcat Attack on Tuesday, March 18 for KC Synth Collective’s Western Waveforms performance series at Stockyards Brewing Co.