Offering a three track EP on Token, emblematic UK producer James Ruskin proves his capability and linear focus once again through ”From the Ashes”, bringing a dosed dissonance between the qualities of vintage techno and today’s capabilities and arrangement. Looking past trends to create a lasting record rich in texture and thick with impact, the project affirms what the scene has already known to be true about his work for the past 25 years.
To mark the club’s 6th Anniversary, Tbilisi club KHIDI announces a series of three VA EPs with tracks from its residents and artists closely affiliated with the club. It is Blueprint legend James Ruskin that opens up the first volume with his rusted loops and fizzing synths on ‘Kite.’ Yanamaste’s ‘Magma’ is then an eerie and empty dub that sounds like being lost in an old warehouse on your own. Tensal brings the rave with his hammering drum power and flashing synths on ‘Psychic Radio’ while Phase Fatale & Reka close things down with the jack-hammer beats of ‘No Esperes Mas.’
The next EP in Blueprint’s 25th birthday series sees another collaboration for label head, James Ruskin. This time Ruskin teams up with DVS1 for ‘Chapter One’.
Since 1991, Tresor has provided a home for artists to germinate their ideas for advanced new sounds and broadcast them to the world. The pioneers that first traversed the Detroit-Berlin connection and were at the forefront of a new cultural movement gave to Tresor its original and continuing mission: community, resistance and reshaping the world to come. The Tresor 30 compilation represents a major land- mark in this continuing history of electronic music. This unique collection of music profiles some of the artists that gave the previous three decades of Tresor its sound and foundation, but it also casts its gaze forward. Writing new postcards from the future, this collection brings new artists who main- tain a connection to that original mission to the fore, charting ways in which this ethos can contin- ue to build bridges and break walls in the next 30 years. Bringing together 52 essential tracks – both clas- sics and exclusive commissions – each of the 12 records in this box-set charts a unique line of flight from those artists that helped define the shape of this new music to those who continue to pattern its landscape further.
Blueprint continues to celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2021. James Ruskin returns to one of his regular cohorts and fellow UK techno luminary, Mark Broom with the follow-up to their ‘Basement Jams’ release. ‘Basement Jams 2’ is comprised of five new slices of scorching techno from this distinguished duo, who in the past have also brought us dark experimentalism as The Fear Ratio and inspired hip-hop as Deadhand. Now returning to their techno roots, ‘Basement Jams 2’ is primed with dance floor destroyers.
2021 sees EPM hit a new milestone as the digital distribution, rights management, PR company and record label celebrates 20 years of electronic music. The first part of the EPM20 celebrations sees a series of three multi-artist EPs released across the summer, each focusing on a different genre – techno, electro and house – the three main pillars of EPM’s musical heritage. EP1 focuses on techno and presents new tracks from four of the world’s leading techno artists, Robert Hood, Ben Sims, James Ruskin and Mark Broom.
James Ruskin and Mark Broom returned to their Techno bunker after some solo outings and their more experimental project, The Fear Ratio. They now deliver four new tracks of ”Basement Jams”. Expect heavyweight basslines, sharp stabs, tough grooves and a high level of funk to the metallic sonics that sets them apart from other releases.
Blueprint main man James Ruskin is back on his own outlet with a fresh platter of searing techno. “Consumer Patterns” is built on drums that hammer so hard they could put a nail in your wall. The loopy synth lines that run through them add wonky brilliance, then “Social Acceptance” is pure anxiety inducing techno with unresolved loops sending you wild. “Weakness Of The System” is more through, with broken beat patterns and nagging chords suggesting a sense of loss and bring real melancholia to the dance floor.
Stroboscopic Artefacts releases ‘X – Ten Years Of Artefacts’, a 13-track album curated by Lucy aka Luca Mortellaro. It celebrates ten years of his label by boldly confirming its raison d’être: a continual redefinition of modern techno. X – Ten Years Of Artefacts’ is a various artists album in which the label’s key artists respond to its tenth anniversary with fresh compositions. Artists with divergent perspectives and MOs are equally at home expressing themselves. These tracks’ timbres, tempos and moods differ greatly yet—somewhat improbably—they seem together, ideologically unified. The compilation features tracks from Lucy, Rrose, Zeitgeber, Lotus Eater, Shifted, Efdemin, L.B. Dub Corp, James Ruskin, Denise Rabe, Adriana Lopez, Chevel, Alessandro Adriani and Serena Butler.
The third collaborative EP sees Clergy boss, Cleric team up with French artist Kmyle. On remix duties is blueprint boss, James Ruskin. A perfect way to conclude the final chapter in this series of releases.
Founded 20 years ago, Blueprint Records has remained one of the true driving forces behind British techno. To celebrate this special anniversary label founder James Ruskin and Blueprint friends have created a compilation of brand new music to celebrate this landmark. These exclusive tracks are released here as the ‘20 Years Of Blueprint Compilation’ limited edition box-set, with a collection of four clear vinyl records as well as poster and sticker inserts.
If you are looking for a massive slab of techno, you won’t find anything released this week that’s as hefty as Aphelion. A triple vinyl box set from Belgian label Token, Aphelion is essentially a primer for the best in contemporary techno, featuring contributions from Surgeon, Rodhad, James Ruskin, Karenn and Planetary Assault System alongside some label regulars. You will have probably already heard “Fixed Action Pattern” from Surgeon, it’s possibly one of this year’s finest techno 12″s, but it’s got some stiff competition here with Ruskin in particularly funked up form on “No Trace”.
James Ruskin and Mark Broom return to Blueprint Records as The Fear Ratio with ‘Skana EP’. The EP delivers four new beautifully crafted cuts, while still lending themselves to the dancefloor. With their tough, heavy basslines, overlaid with syncopated beats, clipped tones and synth led melodies, ‘Skana EP’ continues where ‘Light Box’ left off and shows once again why these two talented UK producers are still at the very top of their game.
‘Light Box’ is the first artist album to bear fruit from the recent studio partnership of James Ruskin and Mark Broom – aka The Fear Ratio. As The Fear Ratio, Broom and Ruskin delve into the hinterland of contemporary music. A space where cold atmospheres meet lush melody and tough, yet clipped pulsating beats. From the warm polyrhythmic funk of ‘Ax’ to the deep spatial reverb of ‘Guv 1’, the dub induced strains of ‘Pinhead’ and melancholic refrain of ‘Morning Blues’ Ruskin and Broom deliver their new artistic agenda.
Sigha’s ‘Our Circula Sound’ presents the second release, with some dark, introspective and hypnotic techno. On remix duties are Shifted and James Ruskin.
The Hipodrome Of Music 