Ramp Recordings At Juno Download

Review: Having received a barrage of interest from across the board (largely due to his sell-out debut release on Tough Love in '09), Becoming Real takes on Ramp Recordings with this glistening slice of glitched out, grime-influenced, half step beauty. The haunting, trickling rhythms so resplendent in "Fast Motion" encapsulate a multitude of clips, clops, vocal snippets and evolving melodies. Next up is "Jen's Clock", which ticks away moodily, creeping through the midnight hour, hesitating, pausing, never quite sure of where to go next. The DVA 'Hi Emotions' remix of "Fast Motion" completes the EP, adding a more spaced out, smooth, synthy interpretation of the original, with warm reverberating vibes to create that warm fuzzy feeling inside. Outstanding.

Review: Since first joining the Ramp Recordings family way back in 2008, Finnish bass heads Tommi Llikka and Samuli Tanner have generally impressed with their wonky blends of deep dubstep and icy electronica. Here, they get a chance to stretch their legs with a first full-length. It's an attractively leftfield concoction that effortlessly joins the dots between folksy Scandi-pop, tumbling dubstep and Hyetal-ish bass-tronica, all the while retaining an attractive electronic sensibility. This is arguably best showcased on "Get Over It", a James Blake-ish trip into heartaching, stripped-back electronica. The album also comes with a trio of remixes, including a booming techno makeover from the excellent Gerry Read.

Review: Ramp unleashes some more computer funk, this time courtesy of Computer Jay's "Maintain." Returning to the label following the huge success of his "Distance 10" that was picked up by the likes of Kode9 and Fly Lo, Jay delivers anther slice of computerised, synth-heavy freak out beats.

Complete with reworks from FaltyDL, Mike Slott and Ikonika, Ramp have certainly loaded this one up with fresh and contemporary, techy sounds. The self confessed computer obsessive from LA is part of a collective that includes Flying Lotus, Ras G and Gaslamp Killer. Their influence can be heard through his music but Jay unquestionably has his own inimitable sound. Ascending analog flashes scatter over minimal beats on "Maintain." Chopped up vocals pepper the track as it spirals around techy sounds and effects in a dizzying take on electronic funk. With a tempo that is completely bespoke for what Jay is doing, "Maintain" still manages to ooze charm and lay out a decent groove besides its highly unnatural approach. Ramp starlet FaltyDL turns in the first remix, again playing tricks on the mind with his use of tempo. His hyper-garage mix is an edgy and sometimes uncomfortable rework of the original. It manages to push the vocal and melody to the brink whilst keeping the groove in place.

Mike Slott then steps up with a more laid back, euphoric remix. Toning down the tech madness slightly, he opts for a more hip-hop infused offering. Ikonika slows things down further still to close the release. Adding a sensation of strangeness to Computer Jay?s track, she turns it into a wonky piece of tech-step that seems to revel in the space allowed to it that the original did not. Another wonderfully unique release from Ramp and Computer Jay, "Maintain" signals just how much one man can get out of a computer for a three and a half minute track.

Review: It's been four long years since the release of Franz "Cupp Cake" Baker's full-length debut Garbage Pail Beats, a strange but endearing fusion of leftfield hip-hop and samples from records aimed at children. Musically he seems to have moved on much in that time, because follow-up Retina Waves, is a totally different beats. He's still concerned with the possibilities of MPC beat-making and off-kilter rhythms, but the sounds employed atop - glitchy samples, woozy chords and twinkling melodies - are far deeper and, we'd argue, more organic than previous outings. It's a combination that largely makes for an enthralling am entertaining set, two parts Flying Lotus and three parts Broadcast.

Review: Australia's Dro Carey expands upon his promising initial moves with this utterly bonkers collection for Ramp, a logical home for his madcap styles if ever there was one. Approximating something of a mini-album, the styles, themes, thoughts and feelings come flying out at a rate of knots on Journey, but the real knack is in how Carey manages to convey depth and emotion amidst the sonic melee. The tempo and groove is a kind of pacey house, but really the atmosphere transcends common genre tags as haunting pianos can slam against R&B vocal slices and nasty electro bass and still come off sounding cohesive.

Review: After somewhat breaking through on Ramp with "Go Shorty" back in 2010, Hypno returns to the label for his latest, bringing yet more of that otherworldly beat science he so favours. "K2" in particular goes deep on the drum programming, twisting intricate and razor sharp percussion across a gamut of organic sounds and moving between moments of uneasy calm and intense workouts. "Kancourde" is based on a 4/4 template but uses it merely as a springboard to all manner of swung and nutty sample drops, creating a veritable jungle of funky weirdness along the way.

Review: A fast-growing poster boy for future garage beats and bass, SBTRKT has kept his identity (almost) secret whilst releasing gems like his "Inner City Life" edit or his 2020 EP. Here he teams up with Sampha on "Break Off", which keeps things bubbly with a broken beat flavour to the drums, alluding to SBTRKT's nu-jazz production work in the past, and with plenty of stabby bass to give it a hyped quality. With vocals floating in and out of the mix, it's a lethally sharp slice of dancefloor magic, with the more laidback "Evening Glow" backing it up nicely.

Review: Glorious, melting pot electronica, which can loosely - but not accurately - be described as dubstep, from Stay+ on Ramp Recordings. This five-track EP takes us from the muffled rhythms, pulsating groove and haunting lyrics of "Stay Positive", through the lucid, chiming, ice-cold tones of "Young Luv" and the jittering, bleepy melodies of "Scum" to deep, distorted bass weight of "Protection" and the upbeat, Rustie style tones of concluding cut "Fever", which rounds things off in style.

Review: As one of the first labels to springboard off of the creative potential of dubstep, Ramp has hit release number 50 and what better way to celebrate than by looking back over some of the strongest tracks they've put out in six years. In terms of style, no one track is easy to pinpoint let alone the whole compilation, as you would expect from the likes of Zomby, 2562, Ras G, Doc Daneeka and lots more. The unifying theme would be one of bright, colourful but most importantly imaginative electronic that favours the bump n grind to the all out stomp.