Ghosts On Tape // Nature’s Law [Icee Hot]

New to me, San Fran-based Ryan Merry now has a new fan as he delivers a warped, bass heavy selection on this, his new label.

Fuzzy synths, urgent house riffing and shuffling drums are roughly the name of the game with a certain slam that will capture floors. The title track is all of these things and more as it breaks and permeates without a moment to spare over an eight minutes that never get dull. Rough, rugged, ready, but well-executed.

The second track “No Go” is all about the bass line. Uncompromisingly, it arrives amidst much that is squelchy and bassbin bothering, planting it somewhere between DJ Sneak’s tougher late nineties moments and Huxley’s dub house ethos. Again, very strong and breaking into more Dancemania territory as it develops, this is for the peaktime, yes, it’s tough, but it retains the soul.

Lando Kal will release the second record on this label and it Is he who lends a hand on a mix of the title track, bringing in a fazed-out, blurry excursion that is dark but quirky in the same bar. New York’s Jus-Ed adds a double dose of Big Apple heritage with an equally compelling version that rounds off one of THE releases of recent months for me.

Sometimes an EP does it across a couple of tracks but all four pieces of work on here are vital and going to remain on rotation throughout autumn… roll on the second release.

Release Date: Out Now
Words: Colin Cook