*Timeline
1980
1984
1989—1990
1992
1993
In November, Euphoria is signed to EMI Publishing. Ramm begins writing for the project with Byron Wong and Michael Stanutz, and later with Geddy Lee of Rush.
1996
1997
1999
“Delirium”, the opening track on Euphoria, becomes a hit after scoring high-rotation play on such influential American Triple-A radio stations as Los Angeles' KCRW, Denver's KBCO and San Francisco's KFOG. In Canada, "Delirium" also scored at modern rock radio thanks to Toronto radio station CFNY. As well as charting in the U.S. AAA Top 10, a remix of the track, by Fila Brazillia, hits No. 2 on the UK club charts.
2000
‘Delirium’ is placed in a commercial for Nissan. Ramm: "Eric Grunbaum, a creative director at [major ad agency) TBWA/Chiat/Day in L.A., was looking for a piece of music to use in a car ad he was doing for the Nissan Infiniti SUV. He was listening to KCRW in LA one night, heard ‘Delirium,’ called the station to find out about the song, and went on to license it. The commercial premiered in the NBA playoff finals, with the LA Lakers playing, so it was a very high-profile ad.” This placement was cited in a Business 2.0 feature story in 2003 as a pivotal moment in the use of music in commercials, one that spurred close links between Madison Avenue and tastemaker station KCRW. "A star soundtrack for an ad was born," they wrote.
“Delirium” quickly attracts the attention of other music supervisors for film, television and commercials. It was featured as the international trailer for the 2001 Cameron Crowe / Tom Cruise movie Vanilla Sky and one of the “Delirium” remixes is used in a key episode of Malcolm In The Middle. Sci Fi show Roswell makes excellent use of “The Dreamer” and helps to showcase the diversity of licenses that Euphoria is capable of getting.
Six Degrees release a label compilation, Your Musical Passport. The radio edit of “Delirium” is selected as the opening track. Other artists featured include Willy Porter, Bob Holroyd, Banco de Gaia, and Roy Nathanson with Elvis Costello.
In October, Ken Ramm begins recording the second Euphoria album in London, Wales and at the SARM West studio. The album is produced by Garry Hughes (Bjork, Sly and Robbie, Killing Joke), who also contributes keyboards and programming, as well as co-writing “Beautiful My Child” and “Little Gem” with Ramm. The album is engineered by Donal Hodgson (Sting, Counting Crows). Prominent players on the record include programmer Sean Spuehler (Madonna, Blur, William Orbit), pedal steel guitarist B.J. Cole (Eric Clapton, Brian Eno, Bjork), and vocalists Maddie Willis and Gayle Day.
2001
The first single from Beautiful My Child, "Sweet Rain" is remixed by such notable remixers as Fila Brazilia and Faze Action. A video for it was shot in L.A. by famed SFX company Rhythm & Hues Studios (Superman Returns, X-Men) and it featured the L.A. Gospel Choir. The track was used in the acclaimed documentary film, Melungeon Voices (2007) and as the high profile trailer. Documentary Down Home (2010) followed, with both projects marking the beginning of Ken’s relationship with North Carolinian director and cinematographer Warren Gentry. Under a special arrangement with EMI Publishing, a large number of tracks from Beautiful My Child and other Euphoria music were used as the score to both Melungeon Voices and, later, Down Home.
2002
2003
Writing and recording for the third Euphoria album begins. Studios used include Metropolis in London, The Sunset Marquis in L.A.., and EMI Publishing studios in London and Toronto.
2004
Sync licenses for Ken’s material continue, this time it’s “Delirium” as the international trailer for Hidalgo starring Viggo Mortensen.
2005
2006
"Blue," the second single from Precious Time, is named Single of the Week on iTunes Europe. As with the first two albums, many of the tracks were licensed. A remixed version of "Blue" was placed in Luck, a TV series created by Michael Mann (Thief, Manhunter) with HBO that starred Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte. Ramm: "It's a high-speed remix that they used in a club scene.” Mann also licensed "Devil May Care" from Beautiful My Child for the series. A bonus cut on the iTunes version of the album, "Sleeper" (also featuring Dico), was licensed to CSI. The high production quality of Precious Time meant that many high-end audiophile publications used it to test their equipment.
2008
2011
2012
2013
In August (27th), Euphoria releases E4: The Instrumental Album and E4: The Vocal Album globally via AWAL. Ramm: “It’s a bit of an ‘odds & sods’ type of album. Tracks that were ‘in the can’ mixed with some originals. The most fun part of recording E4 was mixing at Twickenham Studios and spending time walking by the river in Richmond, London.”
2014
In October, Ramm travels to North Carolina to work with cinematographer Warren Gentry and shoot two videos, “N'Awlins [The Lumber River Chronicles]” and the highly regarded “Back Against The Wall”. The Gentry shoot travels the course of the famous Cape Fear River through Raleigh, Lumberton County and Wilmington. “This shoot was an important turning point in my life, much like my experience with Peter. The “Back Against The Wall” video is still a visual high point for me. It set a standard of high quality visual work for Euphoria.”
2015
2016
On November 4, 2016, Ramm hears an interview on Connecticut radio station WPKN. The radio show, called “Connections”, is hosted by WPKN DJ, Eric Cocks.
On that show, Ramm hears NYC musician, record producer and recording engineer Steve Addabbo in conversation with Cocks. Intrigued by the dialogue, Ramm makes a decision to track down Addabbo for further dialogue and the possibility of working together on new Euphoria material.
2017
In April, after a jam session, Ramm begins working with Grammy-winning producer and recording engineer Steve Addabbo at his New York City studio, Shelter Island Sound Studios. Addabbo helped launch the careers of Suzanne Vega and Shawn Colvin, and has produced and/or engineered for artists including Bobby McFerrin, Bob Dylan, Eric Andersen, Loudon Wainwright III, Jeff Buckley, Gary Lucas, Jane Olivor, Olivia Newton-John, The Manhattans and Dar Williams. An acclaimed mix engineer, he earned a Grammy for his work on the Bob Dylan box set Bootleg 12: The Cutting Edge.
“Spark The Universe” is reissued in October, along with a Dance and Dub remix, plus a Discomix from the label’s own Chuggy.
Leath recommends that Ramm contact dublab, an L.A.-based internet and terrestrial radio station with a global reach and a stellar reputation that included The Guardian terming it the best such station in the world. Ramm connects with dublab Program Director Alejandro Cohen, and a very productive relationship ensues.
In November 2017, Ramm guests with Alejandro Cohen on the dublab show “Elevation Through Sound”. “This was a thoroughly enjoyable two hour interview with Ale. I got to feature a number of Euphoria tracks that I always wanted to hear on the radio, remixes that were very rare and in some cases, underexposed. There are also musical moments of what is to come in the future,” Ramm says.
2018
In November 2018, Ramm is interviewed by top British radio host Steve Lamacq for a show on BBC Radio 6, called Good Day Bad Day.The theme of the program is music to play on good days and bad days, and Ramm chose, respectively, Aretha Franklin’s “Spirit In The Dark” and The Who’s “I Can See For Miles.” Lamacq is intrigued by Ramm’s list of memorable shows he has seen in Toronto, from the Beatles to The Who, MC5 and The Troggs. Ramm: “Steve was very gracious, giving me air time to promote myself and Euphoria. I know it was not the ’norm’ for that part of the show to have musicians on. I made the most of it and got some very good response from listeners and Steve himself.”
2019
Ramm is invited to dublab’s 20th anniversary party in Los Angeles on September 21, 2020. This is a ‘full on’ event for dublab, with at least ten stages at the Bedrock studio and rehearsal space going on simultaneously throughout the event. Ken performs a set of original compositions, solo, on guitar, to a well received response. Ramm: “I had always wanted to do a solo set of my material. I rehearsed for a month beforehand, picking the material to make it flow like one continuous thirty minute piece. Magically it all went well. Practise and preparation cannot be denied as an important key to any successful performance.”
2020
In July, Ramm interviews pioneering electronic musician and composer Patrick Gleeson for dublab. The two artists hit it off when collaborating musically. Gleeson is featured on the upcoming Ramm/Euphoria track, “Deep Calls Out”. “Patrick is a fascinating person to converse with, one with a huge range of experience and deep knowledge,” says Ramm.
As well as working on new Euphoria material, Ramm continues to explore his earlier material and plans reissues. “I’ll be doing what they call ‘Deep Dives’, and re-releasing my back catalogue of music,” he explains. “That includes Euphoria music that has not been released, as well as going back to the beginnings of my career with my 1980 solo debut album, “Dragon.” That critically-acclaimed record, featuring elements of jazz-rock fusion and prog rock, has never been released digitally.
BFD/SONY/The Orchard, the highly-regarded label and distributor, is in place for a world wide release of these upcoming reissues and the new Euphoria material. Ramm is also planning a revised reissue of his Ramm EP, one including a previously unreleased track, that had never been released digitally, from those sessions, “Pave My Way To Tibet.” Ramm: “Pave…” was being bootlegged at ridiculous prices. I wanted to step up and release a high quality version. For that I enlisted Steve Addabbo, who’s mastering experience at Sterling Sound in NYC, made him the perfect person to take both “Pave My Way To Tibet” and “Dragon” to 21st century sonic heights.”
Ramm notes that “these reissues will lead to my new Euphoria recordings, to come out in 2021, starting with the “Deep Calls Out” EP.”
2021
Continuing his collaboration with co producer Steve Addabbo in NYC, the two prepare the release of a six track EP for the song, “Deep Calls Out”. The release, slated for the first quarter of 2022, includes variations from Rock, Alternative Dance, Pop, Ambient, Acoustic and Dub genres. Highly regarded photographer, Christine Alicino, who has been the visual muse for all the “Euphoria” albums, is on board with her stunning visuals for the EP. “I’m very pleased how the EP has turned out,” says Ramm. “Especially exciting is the depth of variation in the song we were able to capture. I believe it sets the stage very well for a new “Euphoria” album, to be released in 2022.”
2022
“It’s Out!”. Yes, the full “Deep Calls Out Remixes” EP has been released on February 4th. The EP and its lead off single, “Deep Calls Out” (Album Mix) with its ‘flip side’ “Deep Calls Out” (Cafe Ale Mix), were given a fine reception by WPKN DJ Eric Cocks, on his show “Connections”. Played in the excellent company of The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Kinks and David Bowie, on the station that the New Yorker’s David Owen referred to as, “... the greatest radio station in the world”, Euphoria was in fine company!
Thoughts now turn to the full length album ...
2023
So … 2023 … I took a sabbatical.Why? Well … read below.
The Musical Purpose …
Why do artists go into music? Well, we love music.
We were inspired by artists we admired, no matter what era, generation or style … and we may have, perhaps naively, felt we could make a difference.
Can you? Well, in some ways … yes. An artist has an artistic obligation to be true to themselves and their colleagues. Will the artist ratify that need? Who can tell? One person’s ceiling. is another person’s floor. Every artist and situation are different.
The Corporate Sector …
If you find a label and team that are supportive, stick with them. Those kind of people are like diamonds … rare to find.
The Musicians …
Sticking together and being supportive needs to be embraced and encouraged.
Need some help understanding and dealing with it all? This is what I found on a self-imposed sabbatical that I took from the music industry in 2023. I decided I would immerse myself in two forms of therapy, on a research level, that would give me further insight into the people I was working with. I chose to explore Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Dialectic Behaviour Therapy (DBT).
I grew to believe that many people in life might possibly benefit from these two forms of therapy. The goal being enhanced communication, collaboration, and teamwork.
As I see it, this is a key to the ‘end game’ of the journey.
2024
hai·ku/ˈhīˌko͞o/noun- a Japanese poem of seventeen syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five, traditionally evoking images of the natural world.
“Five Times
A Charm
leaves
No doubt to
you and I
that
Life
continues
on”
Indeed it does …
Ramm: “It is great to be back at Shelter Island Sound, in NYC, with Steve Addabbo. Shelter is such a great studio, technically and spiritually. It always reminds me of why I got into music in the first place.”
Ken also collaborates on a new track, for FTAC, with singer/songwriter Raena Jade. Ramm: “Steve introduced me to Raena. She instantly liked the track I presented her with and added some terrific musical and lyrical ideas. I’m very pleased how the song is working out. Raena is very original in her ideas and vocal approach, something that I am always reaching for in a Euphoria collaboration.”
The track, initially recorded in Toronto with programming by Birmingham, U.K. ex pat James Mulvale, features Ramm playing both 12 string slide and electric guitars. The Signature electric guitar, used on the recording, was a specially built instrument by Canadian luthier/aerial photographer Russ Heinl. “It recorded beautifully …”, says Ramm.
A sympathetic drum part, recorded in NYC, by Steve Addabbo’s colleague Alex Alexander, added to the dynamics of the song. Ramm: “Alex really added the touch of rhythmic humanity that a good song needs. It really makes the music breathe and flow.”
Next up for Ken and Euphoria is an excellent foray into the world of ‘Neue Classical’. Euphoria’s “Come Bach To Me” brings in the European classical clarinetist, Lone Madsen. The Danish born Ms. Madsen was schooled at the prestigious, ‘The Julliard School’ in NYC and winner of the “Classical Musician of the Year” accolade at the 2023 MICANNES Awards. Lone combined her talents with that of Ken’s twelve string and the result creates a fusion of music that is quite unique.
Ramm: “On a trip to London, U.K., I was introduced to Lone through highly regarded music publisher Eddie Levy.” The introduction proved a success. “Come Bach To Me” was originally intended as a solo guitar piece. Instead, the two musicians blend their musical worlds to create a duo recording that altered Ken’s thinking of the track’s focus and direction.
“I love crossing genres ...”, says Ramm. “New sounds emerge and create colours one never imagined.”
Next stop is further collaboration with Steve Addabbo. Ramm: “We’re very excited how it all is going. The stove is hot and creativity is blooming. It’s an exciting time!”
One of the great things that can happen to an artist is to have a song re-emerge. “Sleeper” is such a song. Ramm explains, “This song, from the third Euphoria album, “Precious Time”, somehow got lost in the ‘shuffle of time’ that happens with paradigm shifts.” Originally a ‘bonus track’ on iTunes, “Sleeper”, a co-write with Danish vocalist/songwriter Tina Dico, was not included in digital platform availability. The song first appeared on the CBS TV hit series, “C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation”. Thanks to Concord Music Group, that omission has now been rectified. Ramm: “Tina really turns in a terrific vocal performance on this song, that has very heartfelt lyrics. I’m so pleased Concord stepped up.” The song is now available on all digital music platforms.
Yes ... 2024 … we ARE ‘Back In Action’. Look forward to the album release of ‘Five Times A Charm’!
STAY TUNED!
STAY TUNED!