OPM: Flashback Edition

This week’s entry rescues some pre-blog writeups from social media. Enjoy the flashback!

EncryptedWhispers – “Multipeanut” 

This track opens on swirling, surging rhythms made of glitch and noise, spiked with warped bass and decorated with hypnotic splashes of chords. After a little ambient bridge an insistent and unusual synth sequence and some weird sound design takes us deeper and the beat coagulates into something like a breakbeat (a wonky, unbalanced one) at last. Fascinating and unusual electronic music that isn’t easily pigeonholed.

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Sockpuppet – Novembeat 2023: Pawmune and Friends EP

Opening on what I can only call videogame reggae and closing on a surprisingly authentic* folk stomper, this album is quite a ride. In between those oddball bookends, we get a nice micro piano ballad, a glossy synth groove meets violin (viola?) track and a track called “drumrush” which is more or less self explanatory. These were apparently intended as videogame soundtracks and would serve, but they sound just fine on their own!

*to my not-folk-attuned ears

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elijax – “Loops”

Masterful manipulation of energy, timbre and rhythm come together into a mind-bending triumph of snappy breaks, powerful sound design and dramatic moments on “Loops.” Sounding like a lost vein of classic IDM and yet completely contemporary, this track is an absolute revelation for fans of smart, intricate electronic music. So good I will definitely be digging deeper into this artist’s catalog!

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Manja Ristić and Robertina Šebjanič – “Hidden Adriatic”

Incredibly deep conceptual sound art about mankind’s impact on the natural world, particularly its waterways and specifically, the Adriatic Sea of the title. A continuous 20-minute piece constructed of layers of field recordings, subtle synth tones and other mysterious timbres, this is a visceral, impactful listening experience, somewhere between musique concrete and drone.

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Blue Nagoon – “Highway 101”

Emotive synth pop with a heartfelt vocal and punchy synthwave-touched production. Big emotions, big drums, big tune. Would sound right at home as the synth-driven power ballad in an anime or as a big set piece in an as-yet-unmade Final Fantasy musical.