Ryan James Ford is back on Clone Dub Recordings with his debut album, Exshaw.

Ford found electronic music in the ’90s in western Canada, drawn to it by the community that surrounded it, at least until the council outlawed the then-burgeoning rave scene. But it’s only after relocating to Berlin, where’s he’s become a staple of the techno and breakbeat scene, that Ford has come to realize how much the soil of his home town has shaped him.

Across 14 tracks on Exshaw, which is the name of his hometown, he tries to capture the freedom of his youth there, “where ravers throw open-air summer parties in the woods, where the raw nature shows its esoteric side to the explorative youth.” We’re told to expect “stories of haunted areas, swimming in the cold river water, going to raves in the ’90s.” His memories of Exshaw are “translated in the sound design and programming” and the sound ranges from “almost cinematic pieces to full-on dancefloor belters.”

In 2015, Ford released on Marcel Dettmann‘s MDR label, paving the way for outings on Trip and Answer Code Request‘s ACR. Much of his material has come out on his own label, SHUT, founded in 2016. For more information on Ford, check out his wild XLR8R podcast here.

Artwork comes from Delphine Lejeune and Jonathan Castro.

Tracklisting

01. Tr4in1ng D4y
02. 2 Seebe Exit 2
03. Kaki Promethazine Mix
04. Slushie
05. Honey Hole 4th Cut
06. 22 Reset 11 R2
07. Avant Guaze
08. Lost And Found
09. Rad145
10. No Step L24A 7J6
11. Max Bell
12. Multigrade RC Deluxe
13. D614G
14. Jumping Pound Creek

Exshaw LP is scheduled for September 6 release. You can hear clips over a Clone, where you can also pre-order.