- The skeletal jack tracks of Leeds producer DJ Ford Foster paint him as the British counterpart to Delroy Edwards. Foster seems similarly captivated by the ghetto house aesthetic, though he also cites the likes of Joey Beltram and Yorkshire bleeps and bass as influences. But compared to the ragged ferocity and tape-crushed sonics of Edwards' productions, Foster's output can sometimes feel a little thin, his mixes not quite redlining in the places required to induce dance floor delirium.
Still, a considerable volume of releases over the past year, for Opal Tapes and others, have charted Foster's steady improvement. This EP, for new London label Bad Mums, appears more or less in tandem with the Ghetto Tracks EP for French label Fragil. Both are probably Foster's strongest work to date, but where that release is slower and more baleful, The Low Ceiling EP leans towards the frenetic. As usual for Foster, these tracks are DJ tools first and foremost, treading that thin line between functionalist sparseness and repetitious drudgery. "Clankers" and "Low Ceiling" maintain the heat through their full-bodied, bulldozing basslines. "House Chant"'s scrambled vocal sample makes explicit the ghetto house connection, but the whole thing fails to elevate itself beyond its referent. "Cold Water Extraction" is the highlight, lassoing a 140 BPM groove and riding it mercilessly into the barren earth.
TracklistA1 Low Ceiling
A2 Cold Water Extraction
B1 House Chant
B2 Clankers