Raphael Ripperton is a Swiss producer recording for Joris Voorn and Edwin Oosterwal’s Green label – and by the evidence of this, he certainly knows his way around a studio. ‘Niwa’ is that relatively rare beast – an interesting deep house album that keeps it simple but does the right things all the way through. He does this by using cool keyboard sounds, to especially good effect on the mellow ‘Ecotone’ or the subtly crafted song ‘At Peace’. What he does really well is to introduce the odd influence from other genres, so there’s a slight bit of folk, ambience or deep jazz that gets worked into what is a pretty classy house blueprint. In some ways this reminded me of Matthew Herbert’s early deep house work, with its emphasis on sonics and simple but effective four to the floor beats. Stick it on late at night for maximum enjoyment.
4 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Ben Hogwood
