Having set out his architecturally orientated sonic stall with an array of stark singles launched from 1996′s appropriately titled first Contact EP with Richard Polson, respected London-based producer James Ruskin got down to the task of his debut long-player for his own accomplished Blueprint imprint. The purposeful titles are the first clue of the minimalism at work here — “Enter,” “Internal,” “Beginnings,” and “Form” all give little away, preferring that the listener ditch their preconceptions in favor of taking the material for solely its aural qualities. Although Ruskin fills the occasional gap with the odd stretch of ambience, this material is a more floor-orientated than later albums and ultimately, like contemporaries Oliver Ho or the Surgeon, it is his perfectly calibrated percussion that speaks the loudest. – Kingsley Marshall
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