Ramix Volume 2 Launch and Release Party
Ramapo College Music Program Launches Ramix Volume 2
Collection of Music by Ramapo Students and Alumni Released 11/30/18
MAHWAH, N.J. -- The Ramapo College Music Program is proud to announce the launch of RAMIX Volume 2, the second annual compilation on the college-based independent record label. Ramix is dedicated to developing and promoting Ramapo student talent and providing Music majors with hands-on, real world experience. Ramix Volume 2 will be released on Friday, November 30. This edition features 10 Ramapo artists and bands who are either current students or alumni of the Music Program. On Friday, December 14 the label artists will perform in the Adler Theater at 7PM to celebrate the launch of the new recording. Current members of the DJ Culture class will be presenting DJ and VJ sets beginning at 5PM and throughout the evening, and free food and drinks will be provided.
Ramix Volume 2 features 10 songs by current Ramapo Music majors and recent Music Program graduates. The recording will be released through all major digital outlets. The wide ranging genres represented on the second release include hip-hop, indie rock, and EDM, reflecting the Music Program’s diverse student interests. A new set of label branded merchandise will also be available through the Ramix website, www.ramixrecordings.com.
Ramix is an important component of Ramapo’s contemporary-focused Music Program. Recent graduates have found great success in the popular music and entertainment industries, and the label is designed to help students start building their careers as performing/recording artists and music industry professionals while still in school. The school’s state of the art Les Paul Studio, created thanks to a grant from the Les Paul Foundation, opened in 2016 serves as the primary production and mastering facility for Ramix releases. Ramix Volume 2 features hip hop/R&B tracks from Omiette, Brendan G and Empty Matrix, by JRIFTR,, and indie rock from solo artists Hadar Baron, Brady Bock, and Dani Zanoni. Three rock bands are represented including Callout, This Year’s Comeback, and Pink Lemonade, a group from the UK whose members are currently exchange students at Ramapo from Anglia Ruskin University. All of the music was written and performed by the student artists, and many of the recordings were produced in the school’s on-campus recording and production facilities.
For more information, contact Hadar Baron, Label Manager <hbaron1@ramapo.edu>or Professor Ben Neill, Executive Producer <bneill@ramapo.edu> or 201-684-6283.
Theo Sayers AKA Black Tibet – Interview
Last month, we had the chance to sit down with Theo Sayers (AKA Black Tibet) and get the inside look into his music, his concepts, and what he’s been up to!
Our first question was probably one of yours too - where does the name Black Tibet come from? Theo mentioned that he came up with it a few years ago, not with the intention of using it as an artist name but just because he liked how the words sounded together. While it didn’t mean much to him at first, Theo does appreciate the name’s enigmatical nature and its parallel to the different type of music he makes under the Black Tibet name. The Black Tibet music, he continued to explain, has a particular aesthetical concept to it that is influenced from world music, creating electronic sound that strives for something early and primitive. This differs from his music released under his own name (Theo Sayers Music), which is more straightforward electronic. Most of Theo’s music is electronic or digital, but can sometimes sample acoustic instruments. Though the difference between the two is a blurry now, it becomes clearer to him as he continues along his musical explorations. Theo plans to carry on producing music under both names - and we can’t wait.
As Black Tibet has been mainly a side project until now, Theo has been releasing music under his "Theo Sayers Music" name. Most recently, he released a track called “Goddess” this past Valentine’s Day - an instrumental electronic track that features samples taken from a YouTube video which compiled sample music from the 1980s. Theo thought this particular video went well with his track, and similarly, most of the music released under Theo Sayers features samples from Youtube videos or other sources.
When asked what we can expect for the near future, Theo mentioned that he’s working on the very first Black Tibet EP. Titled “Ado Perma” in derivation of the idea of permanent adolescence, the EP is aimed to release this month (March 2018). The tracks on “Ado Perma” will feature all vocal tracks with electronic productions, as well as World and Earthly samples. This EP, Theo explains, is a continuation of exactly what he’s been doing with the “Goddess” track - exploring the difference between Theo Sayers and Black Tibet. Theo is currently bringing all of his tracks together, performing them live at local Open Mic nights, and even organizing a release party for the EP.
Recently, Theo has been fully emerged in his studies at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, England. One of the big projects he’d worked on is the creation of a new instrument - an “Arduino Kalimba”. This instrument takes an ordinary, acoustic Kalima and connects it to electronic sensors, experimenting with electro-acoustic implementations and augmenting the possibilities of what the ordinary Kalimba could do. Theo originally created this new instrument for his Sensor Technology module at University, and now continues to work on it because he believes it’d be a good instrument to use in live performances.
Another project he created for his degree at Anglia Ruskin is working on film music. Along with his sister (an animator at Edinborough), Theo is creating the electronic music for three separate films set in laundromats. The set is expected to be released around May.
Some of our Ramapo students and faculty may know Theo from his time here as an exchange student from Anglia Ruskin in the Spring of 2017. Reflecting on his time at Ramapo College, Theo said he saw the same passion and drive for music amongst his peers and teachers at Ramapo as at Anglia Ruskin - despite the cultural differences. While at Ramapo, Theo took “Marketing and Management in the Music Industry”, as well as “Music, Tech, and Media” - classes he enjoyed, learned a lot from, and still use today. Theo also enjoyed soaking in the American culture via going out to New York City and eating at local diners.
In his free time, Theo enjoys going to the cinema theater, reading, and of course, making music.
Stay in touch with Theo and keep updated about his latest music, gigs, and projects by following him on social media!
Ramix – Mystery Name
A student submitted the name Ramix in last year's anonymous survey requesting name ideas. If it was your idea, we'd love to hear from you!