Ramadanman & Appleblim – Void review

Everything Ramadanman touches at the moment invariably becomes a must have for DJs, be it a remix – his Burial beating Woon effort for example – or original production such as the recent contribution to Soul Jazz’s Future Bass compilation. Simply put the (still very) young man is a genius, constantly pulling from various genres to keep his work new and exciting yet somehow retains a large amount of consistency and class. This release sees the Leeds based producer return to Will Saul’s classy Aus imprint for a second time, on a collaborative effort with Skull Disco founder and Apple Pips head honcho Appleblim.

Together, Ram and Blim deliver a monster of a track in “Void 23”, which carries your senses on a journey down a deep dark tunnel of thumping basslines pressured against snares that collapse on top of the galloping percussion. It’s pitch black, 4am techno. It’s also heavily full of vibes and clocks in at a little over nine minutes. This alone is reason enough to purchase the 12” but Aus deliver a real treat in securing the services of golden era techno don Carl Craig to provide an edited version on the flip.

On his re-edit, the Detroit producer gives the track just the right amount of tweaks, using all his knowledge of how to build a groove and maintain the vibe. The little changes Craig implements in the rhythmic structure succeed in embellishing the overall feel with more urgency. This is yet another chapter in the bulging scrapbook of brilliance that has documented Craig’s career as a producer and demonstrates his consistent importance amongst the DJ community. The release marks another A+ outing from Aus Music as well as Ramadanman and Appleblim, which effortlessly joins the canon of music that will be played in clubs for many years to come.

Markus Garcia