Techno Nonsense: Ramp Recordings

The underground dance music scene in the UK is the healthiest it has been for a number of years. London is, as ever, a melting pot for musicians from a myriad of backgrounds who push the boundaries of what becomes many peoples’ 4am soundtrack. It is in testament to this that I devote a second label review to a London-based label: Ramp Recordings. Set up in 2004 by Tom Kerridge in order to give his life a direction, Ramp Recordings has released music from the likes of Flying Lotus, Zomby and Maxmillion Dunbar.

Kerridge professes to simply release music that interests him and over the past few years it seems that the world has aligned with his ideas as opposed to him changing his ethos in order to cash in on the flavour of the month. From American instrumental hip-hop to UK Funky and then Zomby, Ramp Recordings essentially sums up the current mood in UK dance music today. In 2007 the label helped bring Zomby’s lucid synth dreamscapes to the attention of the world, quickly turning him into extremely hot property. Even Lady Gaga used some of his music in one of the transitions on her recent ‘Monster Ball’ tour.

Although Ramp dictates a lot of what is going on in the UK music scene right now, a lot of the output has origins from across the Atlantic. P.U.D.G.E, Maxmillion Dunbar and FaltyDL all originate from across the pond and have contributed to some of the best releases on the label to date. P.U.D.G.E makes distracted instrumental hip-hop; his recent album Idiot Box weaves erratic beats with smooth synth lines over a strange vocal sample that continues throughout the whole record creating the effect of a radio that can’t settle on a single station. In contrast, Maxmillion Dunbar’s most recent effort Cool Water mixes smooth electronica with hip-hop beats and tinges of disco. FaltyDL treads a more familiar path with his most recent EP ‘Hip Love’, displaying elements of UK Funky and Garage through a beat that whilst continually tripping over itself, refuses to go down.

Ramp Recordings is an excellent showcase of where the UK scene is at at the moment, and to get a taste of it try these favourites. Doc Daneeka’s ‘Hold On’ warms up UK Funky with soul samples and a faint vinyl crackle, and JamieXX’s remix of ‘Hip Love’ by FaultyDL does away with the complicated drum rhythms of the original and replaces them with a bouncy bass line.

Simon Hunter will be playing a DJ set at 19.02.

Doc Daneeka - Hold On by DocDaneeka

FaltyDL - Hip Love (Jamie xx Remix) by RAMP Recordings / PTN