SyRan are brothers Josh and James Ransome from Peterborough, bringing old-school jungle ideas into the heavier drum and bass they make together. Before the shared name, James released as SynthForce and Josh as DJ Ransome. A few sessions together over Christmas convinced them that their different strengths worked better in the same project.
The RAM Records connection came through the label’s call for music for Andy C’s Nightlife project. They submitted Paradigm, heard nothing for a while, and carried on writing. When RAM’s label manager eventually replied, he wanted to hear more; those exchanges led to their 2019 debut EP.
Finding a name took almost as much discussion. They wanted to keep something of both solo aliases, but lose the lengthy billing. At the Clashmouth vinyl market in 2018, they tried SyRan out on Ray Keith. He repeated it aloud and gave it his approval, joking that they now owed him an EP for Dread Recordings.
The pair’s RAM catalogue includes Guitar Dub, For You, and Rip Your Face Off / Beyond The Heavens. In their Beatportal interview, they described their shared beginnings as heavy bass and jungle with an old-school feel, updated through modern production. That explains the shift from their earlier liquid work without pretending the music before SyRan never existed.
