James Ruskin

Croydon-born producer and DJ James Ruskin is one of the most respected figures in British techno, both for his <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Blueprint%22">Blueprint</a> label and his own recordings, which are equally informed by the no-nonsense drive of the Birmingham sound as well as the adventurous sound design of <a href="spotify:artist:6WH1V41LwGDGmlPUhSZLHO">Autechre</a>. Consistently releasing quality material through <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Blueprint%22">Blueprint</a> since the label's mid-'90s foundation, he's also issued several full-lengths and EPs through German institution <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Tresor%22">Tresor</a>, including 2001's Into Submission. In addition to releasing collaborations with <a href="spotify:artist:1PSylklb2w06BAAHEtepqM">Surgeon</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:5rLUaBMqu6XMcMGhodaOmg">Oliver Ho</a>, Ruskin has also worked with <a href="spotify:artist:4erwZm1JybuSPTUg5Bu7nT">Regis</a> (Karl O'Connor) as <a href="spotify:artist:14sJn2j9uN9XF5Ips5qU5n">O/V/R</a>, and produced more experimental, IDM-leaning material with <a href="spotify:artist:56HBXB2JoYhf04oMeko90l">Mark Broom</a> as <a href="spotify:artist:6e6qkEsLUF72vmxPuQQPHG">the Fear Ratio</a>.

Ruskin began to DJ in 1991, and started producing in 1994, initially with studio partner Richard Polson. First releasing a 12" under the name Void in 1995, the two founded <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Blueprint%22">Blueprint</a> in 1996, and started issuing records as Outline, quickly establishing the label's hard, uncompromising techno sound. Ruskin began releasing material under his own name in 1997, and his debut full-length, Further Design, arrived on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Blueprint%22">Blueprint</a> in 1998. <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Tresor%22">Tresor</a> released his next two albums, Point 2 (2000) and Into Submission (2001), and Ruskin continued issuing EPs on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Blueprint%22">Blueprint</a> and Coda. Ruskin and <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Blueprint%22">Blueprint</a> went on a brief hiatus in 2006, following Polson's death due to natural causes, but Ruskin returned in 2008, issuing fourth full-length The Dash through <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Tresor%22">Tresor</a>. He formed <a href="spotify:artist:14sJn2j9uN9XF5Ips5qU5n">O/V/R</a> with <a href="spotify:artist:51CANyDEIfgYt0mwLKCpZ6">Sandwell District</a>/<a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Downwards%22">Downwards</a> co-founder Karl O'Connor, debuting with Interior in 2009. This was followed by 2010's Post-Traumatic Son; the EP's title track was subsequently remixed by <a href="spotify:artist:5ipQlfnpRCtyOuhYqvPvQ8">Robert Hood</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1sxHp39RqBEE01pgVqsdyP">Marcel Dettmann</a>, and others.

Starting in 2010, Ruskin released several techno EPs with <a href="spotify:artist:56HBXB2JoYhf04oMeko90l">Mark Broom</a>, and the two formed a more abstract, fractured project called <a href="spotify:artist:6e6qkEsLUF72vmxPuQQPHG">the Fear Ratio</a>, issuing debut album Light Box in 2011. The pair's second album, Refuge of a Twisted Soul, appeared on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Skam%22">Skam</a> in 2015, and Live E.P. surfaced in 2018. After going five years without a solo release, Ruskin returned in 2019 with Reality Broadcast Off (<a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Blueprint%22">Blueprint</a>) and Siklikal (<a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Tresor%22">Tresor</a>). He kicked off 2020 with the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Blueprint%22">Blueprint</a>-issued Consumer Patterns. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi