‘Vision Quest’

a small space between two thoughts, opening, slowly. 

wyckoff and summerfield, cold streets, warm dances.

finding myself, in the jungle, in my mind, in you. 



Release Date: 7/7/21
Format: 12” / Digital
All Songs Produced by Robin Lohrey 
2017-2018 in Ridgewood, NYC 
Keyboards on ‘Life Goes On’ by Will DiMaggio

How do one really count the steps in a journey? There’s the movement itself, your balance, pacing and gait; there’s the world you pass through, and the vistas that stretch out before you; but from the moment you embark to the moment you settle in place, the trip is an experience in passing through. Looking back at the path taken, the horizon stretches out from your route on both sides, a million possibilities shifting around your chosen route.

Ronan’s journey has seen him move between Boston and New York, Washington State, Bogota, and most recently Mexico City. Rarely in one place for too long, his energy and enthusiasm for his craft carry that same roving sense of adventure, whether in his own expressive productions welding hyper-speed techno and classic hardcore into a dynamic whole, or through his Eternal Ocean imprint, which has notched a string of impressive releases from close friends and like-minded producers. Throughout, a sense of wide-eyed wonder and joy is the constant, an awe for its ability to transport and transcend, to become a calling in its own right, through sound and soul, a grounding force that becomes the guiding path through the world. 

It’s that sense of possibility that dominates the sensibility of Vision Quest, Ronan’s second outing on Eternal Ocean, a four track offering recorded in Ridgewood, Queens just before he headed west in 2018. The tracks echo this awareness of a road stretching out before him. These are tunes about the journey, best exemplified by the snaking routes and pathways they pull the listener through: half-time breakdowns, sudden vocal stabs, hard-left turns and sudden shifts of tempo. Where previous Ronan EPs found their strength in meticulous mixing and track-craft, these embrace technique and arrangement as means to an end, resulting in lyrical, ever-evolving tunes that show an artist embracing the time given to create worlds unto themselves.

Opening with a lush ascending arp, “Call of the Wild” sends it into full-time rave mode, a ragged break workout that feels like the perfect opening (or closing) a moment of wide-eyed reverie perfectly embodied in that first sub rush over the cliff, before the A2, “Ripples,” flips the script, turning the record towards the inner zone; a contemplative, thumping dub cut that’s equally at home as a 10pm staple or a peak-time curveball, calling to mind the richest dance-floor dub of early Moody Boys or a more organic contemporary to the work of Russian downtempo explorers like OL.

On the B-side, a similar pairing of banger and breather starts up with “Sea Cave,” another twisted break workout shot through with synth risers and one-shots shared by the best releases on Warriors Dance, before pulling the listener down a rabbit hole, layering dense pads and liquid leads that wash the dance out and hang it out to dry on the refrain. The record closes in full-meditation mode with “Life Goes on,” a last cut for the night, a slow-dance for everyone who made it to the last track, laced up by Will DiMaggio’s ever-expressive keyboard work.  

Shot through with moments of repose and longing, memory and hope, Vision Quest runs like an open question: how can one find a way to talk about a record that makes as much of the journey through it as Vision Quest does? Where do we find ourselves now? Where are we heading? Like the record itself, we can’t play it backwards, but we can play it again, even if there’s only one first listen.

- Daniel Creahan

Pre Order

Ronan "Vision Quest EP"

The thin winding streets were adorned with all manner of trinkets, gadgets and souvenirs; you could get everything you needed from these stalls, if you were willing to look hard enough. Without a plan of action, you're guaranteed to get lost, to come away with things you never needed, to spend money you didn't intend to. Haggling was the name of the game, and once mastered, this place could become your oyster.

After the success of their inaugural release from Breaka, Manchester-based platform Off Beat follow up with their sophomore release from one third of the brains behind the label, Rhyval. With nods to early Hessle Audio and Swap 81-backed Ramadanman records, percussion and bass play a central role across the three tracks, which is translated through warped subs, crisp snares and rumbling bass.

OBR002

PREMIERE: Rhyval - Hassle [Off Beat]

READ > https://inverted-audio.com/premiere-will-hofbauer-sangre-voss-pumice/ 

London's @ControlFreakRecordings ready 'Steppe', a collaborative EP from vibrant upcoming producers @WillHofbauer and @SangreVoss, featuring three original tracks and a blinding remix by @Ciel_DJ.

Steppe EP

Pumice

Will Hofbauer & Sangre Voss - Pumice [Control Freak Recordings]

This one taken from a super playful, modern and exciting 5 tracker from Bristol based Delay Grounds. Some of his best work yet!

OS Premiere
www.originssound.com/premiere

Release Date:
18th June 2021

Artist Name - Delay Grounds
EP Name - Upcycling EP
Cat Number - TROPOPAUSE001
Track Name - Metal Swinging
Label - Tropopause Records

Follow
https://www.instagram.com/delaygrounds/
@delay-grounds
https://www.instagram.com/tropopauserecords/

We want to hear your new music. If you have something you want us to listen to, please email danielle@originssound.com

Upcycling EP

OS Premiere: Delay Grounds - Metal Swinging [Tropopause Records]

PinballSpider - Gauge

The glass building soared high into the sky, its floor to ceiling windows reflecting the sun as dusk set in. He surveyed the city below him; from up here the people looked like tiny ants, much like the team of workers he now forced to do his bidding. It hadn't been easy for him to get to this level of superiority, he'd had to step on a lot of people to make it to the top; something only certain people could do without guilt or shame trailing them. The only trajectory he had set his mind on was upwards.

There's been a lot of good stuff coming out of the Programm camp: the London-based label dealing in "system frequencies to make you dance." Since launching with a VA of their nearest and dearest, they've set the tone for their explorations into breaks, dubstep and bass, following this up with their first proper EP: a four-tracker from D3U5E & Gav, that paid homage to conspiracy theories, obsession and corporate illusion. Now D3U5E returns solo to take care of the label's third release, delivering two tracks that showcase his own spin on shuffling bass-driven electronics.

PREMIERE: D3U5E - UPWARD [Programm]

D3U5E & Gav follow their debut EP 'Subterra Highway' with a fiery double single. Two tracks that are sure to wreck any dancefloor with their trademark off kilter UK hybrid sound.

OS Premiere 
www.originssound.com/premiere 

Release Date: 
22nd October 2021

Artist Name - D3U5E & Gav
EP Name - Upward/ They Choose You
Cat Number - PRGMM003
Track Name - They Choose You
Label - Programm

Follow: 
https://www.instagram.com/d3u55e/
https://soundcloud.com/d3u5e
https://www.instagram.com/programmldn/
https://soundcloud.com/programm_ldn
https://www.instagram.com/gav_fox___/
https://soundcloud.com/gav_the_fox

We want to hear your new music. If you have something you want us to listen to, please email danielle@originssound.com

OS Premiere: D3U5E & Gav - They Choose You [Programm]

Accidental Meetings drop their annual release with friends & family! A superb, varied compilation, welcoming an all-star line up with all profits going to mental health charity Mind.

https://accidentalmeetings.bandcamp.com/album/am-friends-family-vol-2

https://soundcloud.com/a_m_radio
https://soundcloud.com/rvwise  
https://www.instagram.com/harvey_wise_/

AMF&F002

PREMIERE: RV - Utter Gutter Butter Flutter [Accidental Meetings]

‘Silent Talking / White Divide’ is Bing’s first offering for Intercept. The hyper-detailed production style, combined with spacious vocal chops, bubbly synth work, and rumbling basses, make for a striking contrast that feels at home somewhere between head-in-the-clouds breaks and earthbound techno. The two tracks showcase just that. A-side ‘Silent Talking’ has gotten a special ‘Silence’ treatment by one of Intercept’s first artists: French II.

OS Premiere 
www.originssound.com/premiere 

Release Date: 
17th December 2021

Artist Name - Bing
EP Name - Silent Taking / White Divide
Cat Number - INT032
Track Name - Silent Talking (French II Silence Remix)
Label - Intercept

Follow: 
https://www.instagram.com/interceptrecords/
https://soundcloud.com/interceptrecords
https://www.instagram.com/french_ii_/
https://soundcloud.com/french_ii
https://www.instagram.com/bingstagram___/

We want to hear your new music. If you have something you want us to listen to, please email danielle@originssound.com

OS Premiere: Bing - Silent Talking (French II Silence Remix) [Intercept]

Labour of Love gives the opportunity to our guests to showcase sounds that are near and dear to their hearts or might not often be given the chance to play regularly.

Our first guest stepping up to the plate is, Meanjin local rising star Scalymoth. Who is taking us on a journey through hard percussions and all things evil, in her own words - "I went full evil with this mix cause like, don't get to play this dark stuff out very often but I love it"
  
Over the last year, she has quickly cemented herself as one of Meanjin stapes. supporting the likes of Xclub, Jad & The  & Iti while playing at such events as Fem Fale, S.A.S.H, Yonder Music Festival & General Press. 

Her most recent feat has seen her join forces with many of Australia's talented South Asian artists to create a community-based creative collective called "Kerfew", with the main focus being to uplift their communities and showcase the wonderful talent they have to offer.

She has now begun to dip her toes into the world of producing and we couldn't more excited to see what is to come with releases on Besancon Rhytimique Club and Backpocket Slammers, she's definitely on our ones to watch this year.

Soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/scalymoth69
IG - https://www.instagram.com/scalymoth69/
Kewfew - https://www.instagram.com/kerfew_au/

Tracklist:
玉名ラーメン - awai
Al Nather - Bil 3asaya
Dengue Dengue Dengue - Yacuruna 
Galtier - Phantasai
33EMYBW - English (Skyshaker Kodeswisha Novox)
Slikback - Ascension 
BFTT - XCUSEME
Itfill - Estemara Umru Mesa 
Breaka - Descending
DJ Eduardo da Favela do Pó - Onda Do Berimbau (ft MC MENOR MT)
Lil Crack - OTNOD
Ovid - Descent
Wristboi - H3RT
Scarlett - Sad Child 
WULFFLUW XCIV - Fuzza
Fearz - Desierto
T5UMUT5UMU - They Call It Gqomish Techno
Glimmerman - Sumatra 
3Phaz - Pressure
Lechuga Zafiro - Agua y Puerta
Simo Cell & Abdullah Miniawy - Locked in Syndrome
Hedchef - Loggerheads
Otone - In the years of salt lands 
Despina - Futurecrimes 
TSVI - Black Dog
MM - Constricted
Onsy - Withdrawal

Labour of Love 001 - Scalymoth

Austrian producer @awo_ojiji brings his Mantecatura EP to Scuffed, featuring four new intricately-crafted, bass-heavy cuts.

From the mid-tempo opener ‘Recess’, to the footwork-influenced ‘Stress’, bassweight-focussed ‘Balsam’ and percussive dancehall-techno hybrid ‘Inwards’, Awo Ojiji displays a unique slant across the course of the EP with tracks that are at once club and headphone ready.

Buy:
https://smarturl.it/MantecaturaEP

Awo Ojiji - Recess

Ransom Note is an online music, arts and culture magazine. We provide a home for readers and writers with boundless enthusiasm, esoteric knowledge, fierce opinions and impeccable taste.

With our core team immersed in all aspects of dance music, we publish news, articles, and interviews covering the greatest in innovative, underground culture from across the globe. We offer regular, exclusive music and mixtapes from our favourite artists, and publish features shining a light on everything from the freshest new artists to the untold tales from rave history.

Alongside this we offer musings on film, books, life, and art, generating some context and controversy as an antidote to the reheated PR that clogs up the internet. Our office is fuelled by Tunnock’s Bars, cat memes, hangovers and a ridiculous, never ending love for our culture.

We're always interested in getting new writers on board – feel free to get in touch if you’ve got a story to tell.

With love until the grave.