If I had a nickel for every time a soft drink was invented for the intended purpose of being medicine, I would have two. That's not much, but it's weird it happened twice. There's likely more examples out there, but for now this release covers minimalistic compositions done with two different soda flavours of Coris Fue Whistle Candy intended to showcase two separate refreshing habits within Cone Lad's universe. The tools used in the production of this EP no longer exist, of course. I ate them.

The "Cola Ring" half calls to mind Amber era Autechre, when they were largely about pretty melodies rather than the sort of complex and challenging compositions that become remix fodder for my own purposes. These tracks serve as the soundtrack to a cola themed environment found on the Cone Lad's travels, complete with its own avian wildlife. "Cola Ring 1" presents a morning in this environment, where the surroundings are beginning to wake up, while "Cola Ring 2" is set within the evening hours where certain creatures are settling down but other nocturnal creatures are starting to float around.

There's about two major worldwide corporations producing cola as a drink, amongst some other smaller companies, making it clear that cola's a popular drink in most places. The cola candy I purchased had a nifty jumping crab as a bonus, per Japanese candy toy tradition. If I end up getting royalties from any of these tracks in a cola advert, that's likely my pension right there.

The "Ramune Ring" tracks, on the other hand, emerged more in the tradition of SND's minimalist Cuts & Clicks material, with a bit of lofi juneunit style Ambient Techno influence thrown in there as well. This time, I take the listeners to a sparse, cold realm similar to Antarctica which the Lad visited as well, but the main difference is that the surface is made out of pure frozen Ramune. The first track which emerged from this recording session, simply titled "Ramune Ring 1" leans heavily into the philosophies which defined early SND material, depicting this landscape on a clear day, while the second track, "Rumune Ring 2" brings in further melodies, a frosty pad and a livelier rhythm, giving listeners a glimpse into this environment's snowstorms.

Ramune's a soft drink which is very traditional in Japan, coming in multiple flavours, but the original variety is an approximation of lemonade which was invented by an Englishman (!). This pack of candy happened to come with a mini spinning top, which isn't quite as cool unless you're willing to emulate Inception with it.

If you're ever in the mood for a cold drink, consider these two tracks for the inevitable soda drinking playlist and you will not be disappointed.