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Los Angeles-based producer and Tabula Rasa label-head RamonPang occupies two halves of the same whole. On one hand, his dance-ready bootleg remixes of dizzying, frenetic chaos were supported by Skrillex, Four Tet, and Fred again.. during their historic run of New York shows in 2023. These remixes were also featured in Ramon’s unhinged DJ sets, supporting acts like G Jones, salute and Ivy Lab.. On the other hand, he is unafraid to infuse his studies in naturistic tranquility and moments of mindful stillness into his music. This is evident in his sophomore album “Third Places,” which concludes with a 12-minute piece inspired by artists like Visible Cloaks and Hiroshi Yoshimura.
More-so than past releases, Ramon is invoking both sides in equal emphasis on his third album “Life Cycle Waves”. Calming melodies are woven over dense, shifting drum programming – crafting a listen where yearning melodies act as rhythmic hooks over cold, skittering drums.
On album bookends ‘Run Algae’ and ‘We Smiled Together’, rhythmic love is ever-present, but takes a backseat to floating, carefree instrumentation. ‘Waves Crashing’, ‘A Vast Expanse’ and ‘Be With Me’ take cold mechanical tropes from old school glitch hop and drill n bass, chopped with samples ranging from smooth jazz to ambient music. Energetic highlights ‘Daze’, ‘Nothing to Figure Out’ and ‘Third Freeze’ feature the album’s most active synth solos, most engaging drums and most personal samples.
