D. Ramirez - The Nitr8 EP

What’s with all the 8s? Nitr8 sees Mr. D update that classic, wiggly, dark-tinged tech house groove sound and update for ’10, with super tight sounds as always, womping bass and sounds that punch through the speakers like a hyperuppercut from Street Fighter’s Ryu. There’s little in the way of melody, more FX and digital stabs and other sounds peppering the mix. Heads down stuff, with weighty bass, shuffly rhythms and quite a lot of his earlier tribal sound permeating the mix.
 
Devia8or on the flip is the one for us though. Again harking back to his pre-electro-house sound, it’s a more uplifting cut with a big rolling b-line, snappy percussion and a little tribal vocal blast that leads the way. Listen carefully and you can hear his detailed sound, little snippets punctuating the track here and there, and plenty of saucy effects to add gusto to them. It’s techno, but with a big room house twist.
 
Paul Woolford goes more tribal still on his remix of Nitr8, combining it with his famous acid house feel – so that’s on-beat cymbals, old skool synth bass and slow-building dark room feel. Not a bad effort at all.