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The Ruination originally started as a side project in January 2008 to enable its members to branch out from their dub reggae beginnings and expound upon the collective whole’s diverse musical interests. The quintet features effected drums, congas & percussion, bass, guitar, electric organ, effected saxophone, and various other synth sounds. The Ruination aims to create soundscapes drawing heavily on reggae, dub, down-tempo, hip-hop, drum and bass, and funk rhythms. These soundscapes provide an already detailed canvas for the group’s soloists’ improvisations and experimentations. With these elements together, The Ruination creates an eclectic sound that is wholly original in both style and substance.

In October 2009 The Ruination independently released a self-titled album and has since become a mainstay at Speakeasy’s “Free Acid” event series, incorporating a deeper, darker psychedelic sound. With the upcoming release of the Wham-Blam mixtape and the full length yet-to-be-titled LP, the band has become revered for their spaced out live shows and frequent collaborations with some of Atlanta’s most revered musicians.

Oh, and lasers, lots of lasers.

“Sprawling Atlanta outfit the Ruination knows no musical boundaries, flirting heavily and in equal measure with flighty dub reggae, psych-spiced freak-outs, free jazz firepower, freewheeling jam rock, and druggy downtempo rhythms. It’s a hot, glorious mess of a sound that astonishingly manages to hold its shifting shape, even when laden with the headiest of grooves. Imagine the lo-fi bedroom dub of recent underground acts like Sun Araw, only amped up to 11. This is some no-nonsense shit.” – Gabe Vodicka, Creative Loafing

They say it takes 10+ years to become an overnight success…

Obeah has been cutting his teeth for damn near two decades in America’s independent music scene, performing across the country, all the while remaining true to his desire to serve a cause greater than his own. Raised in Columbus, GA and now residing in Atlanta, Adam’s southern influence is undeniable but this Renaissance Man could never be defined by one genre, occupation or geographic region.

In addition to being an Activist, Sommelier, and talented DJ, Obeah’s true passion is opening closed-minds through poetic expression. Inspired by the legends like Chuck D and KRS-One, Obeah uses his lyrical platform to encourage the masses to stop accepting the bullshit status quo.

Some of Obeah’s most notable music projects include, The ContraVerse, Difference Machine, WAKE, and DJ Lord>2muchPossE. When Adam is not rapping, spinning records, or blind-tasting wines, you can find him fighting for justice through various outlets.

RMBA Bass Camp Alum 2015

“And then there’s Blursome, the ambitious Raleigh programmer who spins a web of disembodied samples and melodic fragments across intuitive sequences of bulbous beats. It’s like a nightmare dreamt in the back of a crowded nightclub.” —Grayson Haver Currin

“Over the past year, blursome has taken to Soundcloud to release a series of impressive tracks. They are uncluttered, propulsive, and generally dark, and the entire selection conveys a skillful and patient approach from producer Lara Wehbie. Moreover, the compositions mark blursome as an artist to watch moving forward, especially with an official release rumored to be coming from Locus Recordings in 2014.” – Hopscotch Music Festival

“The eight tracks of Blursome’s Age, on the other hand, drive straight to the beat in ways Wehbie never has. “Pretty Voice” pushes into a jarring four-on-the-floor rhythm before Wehbie parcels it into fractions. The tricky stutters and samples are strong enough to intoxicate. The repeating cycles of “Not Like This” harness jungle and trance in one brief, ebullient phrase. Even the functionally named “Intro” sorts through a web of tangled-and-mangled sources to find and emphasize a menacing, robotic meter. It swallows the voices around it every time it arrives. These are the most club-ready sequences of Wehbie’s admittedly small discography, and you imagine them vibrating the walls of a big room, not the shells of puny home speakers.

But Blursome has never been a mere beat junkie, and these songs’ accessories also seem like shutters to the world, or ways to shut attention out even as booming bass invites listeners in. The samples and the static, the effects and the echoes mute the maul. Wehbie has always emphasized the tension between electrifying beats and engulfing textures. Age amplifies that contrast like never before, allowing us to listen in on the private debates of a brilliantly bifurcated mind.” – Grayson Currin

aural manipulation + deconstruction