Euphoria

Swirling guitar harmonies, evocative yet elusive layers of slide guitar, club and hip hop beats, and trance/ambient production just begins to describe how Euphoria works.
Euphoria, the brainchild of Ken Ramm (Toronto-based guitarist), is a blend of the sounds of American blues and modern electronica. If you imagine Ry Cooder and Pink Floyd playing together, you can get at least a hint of what this record sounds like.

"Pink Floyd had an early influence on ambient music. I've always been drawn to their music – the way they use the slide guitar on some of their records. It has a real expressive, emotional quality," Ramm notes.

Euphoria was recorded in London's West End at the studios of Trevor Horn. Anne Dudley of Art of Noise, ex-Soft Machine bassist Roy Babbington, and Rush bassist Geddy Lee are just a few of the musicians who added their distinctive sounds to Euphoria.

The slide guitar is one of the signature sounds of the Euphoria project. "I like the emotional effect of getting between notes," Ramm explains. Certainly an appropriate comment from a musician whose music gets into the cracks between styles. "It's definitely a hybrid," he says. "It has a real hypnotic quality, but it's got a strong beat, strong hip-hop elements too."

On Euphoria, Ken Ramm plays many of the guitar parts himself; but the pedal steel guitars are played by England's legendary B.J. Cole. Ironically, Cole does not play traditional-sounding slide guitar solos, but adds his more atmospheric, electric textures to Ramm's project. —Courtesy Calabash Music