{"title":"Ross From Friends","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"bf068","title":"Ross From Friends - Aphelion EP","description":"\u003cp\u003eBritish producer Ross From Friends aka Felix Clary Weatherall is the newest signing to Flying Lotus’s Brainfeeder family. The 24 year old has a fistful of releases under his belt, the distillation of myriad influences from hip-hop cut ’n’ paste culture, 80s Eurobeat, Hi-NRG and Italo into lithe, irresistible, raw dancefloor trax. He made his debut on Breaker Breaker in 2015, followed by outings on Lobster Theremin and sister imprint Distant Hawaii, Lone’s Magicwire and recently: Molten Jets.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“It’s honestly an absolute rush to sign to Brainfeeder,” he explains. “It has always been pushing such a forward thinking sound, one that constantly grabs my attention with every release. I put these 4 tracks together with Brainfeeder in mind; I wanted to explore the music that I’ve been developing over the past 7 years as Ross From Friends whilst trying to explore the explosive sound that the label is best known for.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUp first, ‘John Cage’ encapsulates both his desire to experiment but also maintain a sense of fun. “It originally began life as a tune for this goofy hip-hop project that me and my pal Guy from back home always do when he’s in London,” explains Felix. “I’d be making the beat and he raps. It’s always a refreshing approach making tracks in that atmosphere because we’re both always on such a spontaneous tip. When I’m making music alone, I’m obsessive and everything takes hours, whereas with Guy, we’d try and get as many tracks finished as possible in like a few hours. That’s him freestyling a relaxation tape in the intro.” \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ninjatune","offers":[{"title":"12\"","offer_id":44934132564127,"sku":"BF068","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0493\/8563\/5999\/products\/aphelion-ep-main.jpg?v=1736247201"},{"product_id":"bf071","title":"Ross from Friends - Family Portrait","description":"\u003cp\u003eHaving recently made his inaugural outing on Brainfeeder with “Aphelion EP”, British producer Ross From Friends aka Felix Clary Weatherall returns with his debut album on Flying Lotus’ label. \"Family Portrait\" is characterised by a perpetual desire to experiment and Felix's obsessive attention to detail, somehow marrying an intricately layered production style with warm, heavily saturated sonics that elevate, rather than stifle, his melodious funk. With a handful of revered 12”s under his belt via Breaker Breaker, Lobster Theremin, Distant Hawaii, Magicwire and a 10” on Molten Jets. “Family Portrait” showcases his ability to shift and evolve, moving from the world of lo-fi to the world of FlyLo, he demonstrates a versatility exemplified by the ease in which he can switch between playing shows with Little Dragon, holding down a peak-time slot in Berghain’s Panorama Bar and performing live at Maida Vale for BBC Radio 1.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe culmination of almost two years of intense studio time, working 20 hour days, and often spending months perfecting just one aspect of a track. \"I tried to be careful with every single sound” he explains, “Trying new things, making a bit more of an explosive sound”. The album also finds Felix recording his own voice for the first time, with the resulting tracks acting as snapshots of his personal life while recording. “Every time I went to make music the things which would really grab me are the emotional things, and while I’m in that place I felt I could really focus on the track. That was a massive part of this album, tapping into my emotions… into my emotional instability”.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe album title - “Family Portrait” - also nods to a very specific personal aspect of the record: the influence of his parents. Dance music has always been a feature in Felix's life, with early memories of his dad producing music on his analogue set-up, or pumping out hi-NRG tracks on the turntable, he grew up discussing, sharing and learning about music from his dad. “My dad has been hugely influential to the whole thing,” he explains. However it was with the emergence of some old family VHS tapes, and the story of how Felix’s parents came to meet, that the true significance became clear. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHaving built up a sound system in the 1980’s while playing at various squat parties around London (including the then derelict Roundhouse) Felix’s dad decided he wanted to get out of the capital and see some of Europe. He got his hands on a bus and started putting word out through a network of like-minded friends and acquaintances. At the time just a friend of a friend, the trip caught the attention of Felix’s mum-to-be, who offered to document the whole thing in return for a seat, and in 1990 they loaded up the sound system and hit the road. Travelling through France, Belgium, West and East Germany (though returning through a unified one) and beyond, setting up in towns to share their passion for the sounds of hi-NRG dance, Italo disco and proto-Techno through spontaneous parties in whatever venue they could find. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ninjatune","offers":[{"title":"2xLP","offer_id":44934132596895,"sku":"BF071","price":25.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":44934132629663,"sku":"BFCD071","price":13.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0493\/8563\/5999\/products\/family-portrait-main.jpg?v=1736247200"},{"product_id":"bf090","title":"Ross from Friends - Epiphany","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhile Ross from Friends’ - AKA Felix Clary Weatherall’s - debut album “Family Portrait” was dedicated in part to his parents, the new 12” “Epiphany” is an homage to (and named after) Clary Weatherall’s sister: “One of the most important role models I have”. The three tracks are sleeker and tougher than his acclaimed debut album but his signature warmth and personality is ever present. The artwork is by legendary pro skateboarder, entrepreneur and artist Chad Muska.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRecorded in the wake of the release of “Family Portrait” and constructed with the dancefloor at the forefront of his mind, he explains that the move to a new studio - “I finally got a place with a window” - coupled with the fact that he was also “getting into a lot of woodwork, DIY and making a lot of the furniture in the space” - precipitated a different approach in process when it came to the music. “I constantly wanted to take a step back and think about the structures in a more conventional sense. I spent a lot of time making it sound like it could be played in a club, particularly with ‘Phantom Ratio’ - I wanted to challenge myself to make a weird club track with that one.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor the title track in particular, he drew inspiration from sci-fi movies. “I was watching a bunch of these films like The Thirteenth Floor, The Matrix (happy 20th anniversary) or Fifth Element, and I wanted the release to play on the idea of a desolate physical and social landscape becoming a utopia from a communal epiphany - or revolution”.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Family Portrait” - hailed as “a powerful debut” by Crack Magazine - was described by Mixmag as “a gliding and glittering tour de force” in their ‘Albums of the Year 2018’ roundup. While NME praised Clary Weatherall’s unique sonic identity as “a mind-melting picture that takes in house, techno, jazz and ambient music, and ties it together to make something distinctly unique” and Rolling Stone declared him “a master of fun, gooey textures”. Similar praise came from the likes of Resident Advisor, The Wire, Pitchfork, AV Club, Loud \u0026amp; Quiet, DJ Mag, Clash, PopMatters, FADER and more. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ninjatune","offers":[{"title":"12\"","offer_id":44934132793503,"sku":"BF090","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0493\/8563\/5999\/products\/epiphany-main.jpg?v=1736247198"},{"product_id":"ross-from-friends-tread","title":"Ross From Friends - Tread","description":"","brand":"Ninja Tune","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":62708111081631,"sku":"BFCD113","price":12.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Signed LP","offer_id":62708111114399,"sku":"BF113CS","price":34.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}]}],"url":"https:\/\/merch.ninjatune.net\/collections\/ross-from-friends.oembed","provider":"Ninja Tune","version":"1.0","type":"link"}