ramadanman At Juno Download

Review: You can always rely on Ramadanman. The ever-prolific, highly renowned Hessle Audio favourite comes up trumps once again with this beautiful, soulful slice on Hemlock Recordings (the label co-owned by London based producer, Untold, which has seen such luminaries as James Blake, Pangaea and Fantastic Mr Fox pass through its forward thinking, open minded doors already). Inspiring, deeply moving and delicately articulated, "Glut" is possibly one of Ramadanman's most poignant and reflective works to date, with a wailing synth slowly dying and trailing out towards the end. "Tempest" may be familiar to those of you who heard Scuba's 'Sub:stance' mix from earlier on this year. The seven-minute contemplation is initiated by a simple rat-a-tat of wood on metal-sounding timbre. A defiant drum kick interrupts the blissed out subtle euphoria of the first section half way through, marking a movement towards a more punchy, bleepy second phase, yet strangely retaining the ambience that seems to consistently underpin Ramadanman's productions. It's tempestuous, but not entirely tempest-like (there's a distinction to be made here, somehow).

Review: Post-dubstep darling Ramadanman pairs conga drums with combing rhythms for a Shackleton style venture on 2nd Drop in "Revenue". Taught bleepy pads add a certain je ne sais quoi to the equation and whilst it's firmly at 140 tempo, the stomping drum kicks and exotic SFX mean there's oodles of tribal tones here. Hemlock owner Untold steps up for remix duties, transforming the original into a more abrasive, but just as interesting cut, with extra percussion and woodblock beats creating a more heavily punctuated incantation.

Review: In a twist of fate that saw one of UK bass music's undisputed heroes name his track with the same title as one who he would later work with (Jamie Woon), this 2007 release returns to the collective consciousness once more, and what a gem it is! Even in the early stages of his career, Ramadanman displayed an ear for space as well as sound, pairing murmuring vox, with hollow, tripping beats, gradually layering sounds like a finely woven musical cloth. There's a delicious dubstep swagger which comes in and out of focus, marking this out as a must for Ramadanman fans new and old.