Blank Tapes are proud to release the debut album from Bass Clef, aka Ralph Cumbers. Having spent years refining and distilling his sound, Ralph finally locked himself in his tiny studio in Hackney 8 months ago to emerge with a clutch of demos that contained some of the freshest, most dazzling beats that the Blank Tapes posse had heard in years.

Anyone familiar with his earlier release as RLF for labels like Rex or Hombre will notice a distinct progression in his sound. Gone is the clatter and clutter and higher tempos, instead things have been eased to the steady hearbeat of dubstep. But there the similarities with the fashionable new genre end.

Utilising just an old cassette four-track (ask your parents), a drum machine, a sampler, a vintage synth and valve compressor, Ralph has conceived a striking and original debut. Opting out of the race for the latest sequencer/processor/sound card which drives much IDM, Ralph is somewhat of a connoisseur of vintage analogue equipment, polishing his literally broken beats with analogue fx held together with blue tac gives his work a wholly unique character, charm and depth.

Think the viral dubspaces of Mad Professor, the DIY intimacy of Third Eye Foundation and the brain-teasing beat-programming of AFX, all with live interventions on trombone, theremin and cowbells and you're nearly there.PR by Hermana, so expect the same kind of response as with “Scatter”, the last Blank Tapes album, if not more.

"(Bass Clef) is a real breath of fresh air, I'm happy to admit that I'm absolutely crazy about him!" Gutterbreakz, 02/06