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Techno stalwarts James Ruskin and Mark Broom have followed up last November’s Basement Jams with a sequel. The former artist’s Blueprint Records is the proud home of Ruskin & Broom‘s Basement Jams 2. The five-song EP released June 9th in digital format.
The bouncy verve encapsulated in Ruskin & Broom’s preceding effort is alive and well in Basement Jams 2. Tracks like “Latch,” “Zone” and “Arc” fuse rubbery acid techno leads with rapid-fire rolling kick drums. The bleeps and bloops of “Twister” set it apart as arguably the most abstract song of the bunch, and “Drive” brings a measure of groove to an otherwise robotic EP.
James Ruskin and Mark Broom need no introduction among longtime techno enthusiasts. The former artist’s DJ career extends back three decades, and his recording career inaugurated with a 1995’s Shock Treatment / Snuff under his Void project. The same year marked the latter’s debut release under the Repeat project: the album Repeats via long-defunct U.K. label A13.
After a brief hiatus, Ruskin and Void collaborator Richard Polson relaunched Blueprint Records in 2009. In addition to Ruskin & Broom releases like 2010’s No Time Soon EP, it has provided a platform for music by the likes of Surgeon, Truncate and Rommek in the years since.
Purchase Basement Jams 2 in digital format via Blueprint Records Bandcamp.
