- It's been quite the month for LA's ESP Institute, dropping four singles in a month while also announcing a new EP from Thunder Tillman and a Moscoman full-length. Newcomer Juan Ramos might get lost in the shuffle, if only due to the fact that he doesn't have the easiest name to keep tabs on. His Discogs artist page hilariously links his first single to a French tango artist and a Spanish crooner from the late '50s.
While obviously an error, that does suggest that the Berlin-based DJ's music might be hard to categorize, which is part of its thrill. "Last of the Natives" dabs a dollop of harmonica into a pistoning, electro-tinged track. What's nifty is Ramos's way of chopping vocals so that they hit like steel drums, these snipped exhales and gulps making the track increasingly claustrophobic. Even more mesmerizing is "Enemy Of Enemy Is Friend." It starts off as a paranoid acid track, fidgeting as a glob of bass gradually settles into a somewhat steady pace. While the A-side increased its tension, "Enemy"becomes looser as it goes, the shakers, eerie synths and guitars nudging outwards and making more space. As it continues to mutate, the track sounds like Autechre as rendered by Cuban percussionists.
TracklistA Last Of The Natives
B Enemy Of Enemy Is Friend