TOTW: Moses Sumney- Colouour

 I’ve really been enjoying the album “Græ“ over the past week. Lush, dense music underpins Moses Sumney’s amazing vocals on this gargantuan double album, which mixes many genres together with bold ambition.

 It was no surprise to realise that, on further research, Daniel Lopitan (aka. Oneohtrix Point Never), a regular in my TOTW lists, was a co producer on this album.

Looking deeper into the album’s liner notes, you will notice a who’s who of some of the people at very cutting edge of music over the past 5 years.

Its impressive to see this much collaboration from so many strong identities. They have all come together to create something that manages to stay sounding “popular” throughout all of its experimentation, without compromising on any of its artistry.

 Colouour features Keys for both Danial Lopitan and FKG, who also provides saxophone along with Shabaka Hutchings (the saxophone player on my album of the year recommended The Comet is Coming).

It opens with washes of layered saxophones and electric piano. These build to the halfway mark, before fading away to a more sparse arrangement. Moses smooth vocal delivery over an e-piano and deep 808style bass/kick is reminiscent of many a traditional neo-soul track, but it is then peppered with experimental electronic SFX that slightly warp the track into new territory.

Colouour is one of many interesting and enjoyable tracks on an album that is well worth a listen. It could easily be re-appearing in many lists at the end of the year, including mine.

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Oneohtrix Point Never Magnetic Rose At Edinburgh Fringe

OPN Magnetic Rose Live Last weekend I was fortunate enough to see a live performance by Daniel Lopatin aka Oneohtrix Point Never at the Edinburgh Fringe.

I first heard OPN through his album replica and since then I have gone back and listened to most of his work. The main reason I’m so intrigued by his music is I find it very hard to work out where he gets his influences. It seems to come out of experiences and interests that are so foreign to me I struggle to comprehend how they are created.

Watching him perform Magnetic Rose and Bullet Hell Abstraction IV gave me a bit more of an understanding of his thought process. Over 90 minutes I was treated to some beautiful lush soundscapes that encapsulated the accompanying video in thought provoking and haunting ways. This was especially the case for Magnetic Rose where Daniel Lopatin creates an alternate soundtrack to the anime of the same name by director Koji Morimoto.

This Soundtrack mixed with some of the films own audio managed to portray a vision that was somewhere between a dream and a nightmare. Moments of Beauty and Horror were blended together in a way that both shocked and comforted the system. It was a staggering barrage on the senses and has left my mind with even more questions to process about his work than I had before this weekend.

The Music of OPN may be a puzzle I will never solve but I will enjoy attempting to for as long as he makes it.