Ramadanman – Ramadanman EP review

Artist: Ramadanman
Title: Mystic Voyage
Label: Hessle Audio
Genre: Dubstep/Grime
Format: 12″, Digital
Buy From: Juno Records, Juno Download

The latest release from Hessle Audio comes in the form of a six-track, double vinyl pack from label co-founder, Ramadanman. For those that don’t know, Ramadanman – also known by his other moniker, the lesser spotted Pearson Sound – has been sending shockwaves across the electronic music scene since he emerged in 2006, armed with a couple of WAVS which he sold digitally on the dubstep forum. Now at the forefront of cutting edge music, Ramadanman’s label, which he runs with Ben UFO and Panagea, the zeitgeist imprint, ’Hessle Audio’ has become a code word for fresh, genre-defying electronic music of the highest calibre, loosely revolving around the 140bpm mark, but delving into house, techno, minimal and future garage territory.

Kicking off with ‘I Beg You’, with its ominous sounding groaning and sampled French vocals, which would not go amiss in a Pinter play, Ramadanman goes in deep, with trademark glockenspiel like percussion and grouchy b-line. Next is ‘No Swing’, with its gently taut, echoing soundscape and gloopy SFX adding deeper dimension to the slow burning piece. ‘Tumble’ showcases squeaky, grating synths which come in and out of focus until it falls into the most minimal of drops, heralded by live drum rolls, rather reminiscent of fellow Hessler, James Blake.

On the second vinyl, ‘A Couple More Years’ gets things going nicely, whilst the stabbing detached rhythms of ‘Bleeper’, with sampled city noises, refined bleeps, quirky, panting atmospherics and all manner of oddities, sees Ramadanman take things on a more experimental tip. Finishing up with ‘Don’t Change For Me’, the EP closes with this hissing percussive, synth-drenched piece, with chiming gong-like sounds and strained vocal snatches, plus distinct echoes of Joy Orbison creeping in here and there. A finely crafted EP.

Review: Belinda Rowse