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BEHIND THE MASTER
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Sanr's 'ramak' has the honorary title of being the most challenging master in our time as a label. Not because the pre-mastered audio was poor or lacking, but because there were so many interesting ways one could finalize the sound.

Be sure to check out the original version on CD/DL:
sanr.bandcamp.com/album/ramak

We put Ian Hawgood through his paces with this one. Luckily he was patient with us and actually excited by the challenge. Our general mood back in mid-2021 most likely played the biggest factor in how the original master came to be. Wanting something heavy, aggressive, unapologetic felt like the right blend of suffering and resolve, mirroring where our heads were at around this time. Naturally that led to heaps of sub-bass and distortion, chaos and resolution entering the master. Helping to keep the demons at bay with a solid dose of noise.

Around that time, Ian had created another version of the 'ramak' master, with the working title "harshness control" or in Turkish, "şiddet denetimi." It was a lighter, gentler approach to the album. One that still allowed for some of the depth and chaos to remain, yet it pushed much of the heaviness into the realm of head-tingling, electro-acoustic goodness, sort of an ambient or asmr-like take (for lack of better terms). We loved it a lot, and vowed to one day return to this sound.

That said, we know that 'ramak' the original is a challenging album. Its heavy crushing weight is like trying to cuddle with a 800 pound gorilla, and we enjoyed producing something that felt like our own experimental form of heavy metal. Now we offer up 'ramak (şiddet denetimi)' not as an apology, but as a further attempt to reach new ears with this alternative approach to the album. Our hope is that the brilliance of sanr's work find new audiences regardless of the road taken to get there. 

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‘Ramak’ is a métissage, a sonic cross-breed so to speak. ‘Ramak’ was not synthesized, nor the product of intelligent design. It is more about multiplicities, encounters, fascinating coincidences, and simply absorbing the surroundings.

'Ramak' began taking shape during one uninterrupted recording session, where sanr made the most of a borrowed contrabass with only one string. They had only six hours with the embattled instrument and worked to make the most of it. As this session was the first and last time they ever saw the contrabass. This would become the only instrument used in the production of 'Ramak.'

Knowing little to nothing of how to properly play the instrument became a strength for the group revealing unconventional roads for the sound to travel. After the session ended the collaging began in DAW. Layering blocks of unruly sound, sanr exposed a rudimentary puzzle of hollowed wood and tense steel.

Just as the phrase suggests in Turkish, ‘Ramak’ is never completely finished or formed. 'Ramak' means to be on the verge of something, a near miss, almost happening. For sanr, it represents roaming the borders between composure and improvisation, sanity and insanity, planning and coincidence, musicianship and experimentalism.

'Ramak' is the third album from the Turkish experimentalists, sanr. Altuğ Kaptan (FenGi) and Devrim Kınlı provide the sound, and Semih Tokkuzun creates the visuals. Sanr have previously released works on Kate Carr's Flaming Pines label and Fallen Moon Recordings.