A-Jay – Ghost Robot Machine EP (JBTK016)

It’s been a busy year for Lankan record label Jambutek Recordings and here’s one of their stellar EP releases (Ghost Robot Machine) off their must have catalog from producer & Dj – A Jay, who also has been known for his radio show / podcast ‘My Kind Of Groove’.

Ghost Conspiracy (Original Mix) 

This is a very dark and gloomy, no nonsense minimal tech bomb that can do a lot of damage in the right hands. There are a lot of industrial elements going on, from a deep dark tunnel vibe to echoing drips of liquid that haunt you till the end. The offbeat sub bass has just right amount of swing to sit well with the kick which gives movement to the track while atmospheric stabs and glitch jabs give some body. Definitely not for the faint hearted but for the real techno Vikings out there.  

6/10

Funky Robot (Original Mix)

While maintaining the industrial theme, ‘Funky Robot’ manages to inject a healthy dose of organic material through the means of processed guitar licks and humanized claps. The very techy bass gives a nudge to tap your feet in sync to the tune but it never lets you out from that warehouse space. What sounds like bionic bird chirps also act as a constant reminder that you are indeed away from your comfort zone. Fiery sparks fly off when the triplet percussion starts twisting the groove after the main drop. This tune starts off at point A with the intention of going to point B but in between goes through C, X, W and few other points along the way; which is not necessarily a bad thing. 

6/10

Acid Machine (Original Mix)

I felt the title was a bit misleading as I expected a roaring 303 line. What I found instead was a chunky Tech House thumper that could easily compensate my fantasies. This is probably the most danceable tune off the EP with but that is subjective. The progressions in Acid Machine are very subtle and polished. It’s the kind of track that keeps going on and on and you’re still tapping your feet until it all of a sudden stops. Very DJ friendly construction, to the point I would call this more of a tool if you’re creative enough.

7/10

Overall 

The EP is named using simple word play on the names of the tracks that it hides under its sleeve. However the production quality from the mixdown to mastering is excellent. The EP manages to maintain its industrial theme throughout with different levels of dance-a-bility for each track. I doubt it is for everyone out there but at the same time I would expect the Techno community to accept this EP with open arms. The only minor gripe I have is that maybe there’s a  bit too much going on in the first two tracks. But hey that’s only me and it’s still an EP that I would proud to be say is from Sri Lanka.

6/10

Purchase and check out the Ep here

Review By Dan Othnapitiya