Of Tree is said to be the spontaneous theme of nature that brought four producers together to write music. The four musicians here are Melorman, Mokhov, Data Rebel and SineRider—all four have differing styles and they’ve contributed three tracks each to this album along with a remix each. Then there’s retro-futurism of Reprojected—the modern sounding Northcape remixes alongside the grainy analogue Obfusc remixes. The result is an impeccably crafted soundscape that ripples and surges in the purity of Northcape’s sound and unresolved tension of Obfusc. With several tracks lasting under four minutes, SineRider’s Lonely Ocean tends to cut things short rather than outstay his welcome. As a result the tracks become less hypnotic and more about capturing the senses early into playback.
Melorman / Mokhov / Data Rebel / SineRider :: Of Tree (Sun Sea Sky)
Four producers in different parts of the world, working in different styles, deciding to do a compilation album around one theme together is a challenge. Many labels pump out compilations from their catalog, like a product bundle, to show tributes, or platform their greatest hits. In this way it’s not unusual to see four independent musicians release together on one record—one could say that its a decent marketing ploy for more exposure, (the most popular producer carries the rest on its shoulders), or a new creative way of working together, but in any case, Of Tree is said to be the spontaneous theme of nature that brought four producers together to write music. The four musicians here are Melorman, Mokhov, Data Rebel and SineRider. All four have differing styles and they’ve contributed three tracks each to this album along with a remix each.
The compilation is musician focused during playback, so we get three tracks by Melorman, then three by Mokohov, then Data Rebel and finally SineRider. Bonus remixes are placed at the end. There’s no weaving of the musician’s tracks—they exist independently. With the lines clearly drawn between each musician, we hear how they stylistically differ and relate to one another.
Often compilations are weaved together with different musicians played back to back, like a DJ shuffling through his vinyl for tracks suited to changing moods throughout the evening. But in Of Tree, the contributions are more focused in tone, with the mood slowly changing over time. It makes for a listening experience that is surprisingly sensible and toned down.
Melorman has a Kavinsky, electro-wave flavor, Mokhov is comfortably inspired by Bonobo, Data Rebel reminisces in Boards of Canada and SineRider finishes the record with powerful ambience. All of this works together fittingly, the pace of the album fluid, with nothing jarring out of place. It speeds up, slows down but never too much and never too quickly. A little energetic here and restful there. All four artists have created a reasonable showing of electronica that feels soothing and light as opposed to weighty and serious.
Yet in parts, the album is not urgent enough and feels stuck shifting gears. It’s also not clear how the theme of nature unifies the four musicians. The press release states that nature should be considered a loose concept bringing the four together, so then why is it, exactly, that these four are together? Of Tree is a relaxing and downtempo experience, so you could associate purity with that, and throw nature in there to make that apparent—but then nature is also highly volatile and unpredictable. It’s all very vague.
And that’s a shame because it’s the concept which gives real meaning to their reason of coming together and valid artistic aim to their sound. You might say beauty is in the eye of the beholder but surely there’s an objective goal we can judge this on. Boards of Canada wanted to look back in their music, that’s why they were attracted to analogue, hazily sounding synths. Not only because it sounded cool. These four just sound cool and I’m struggling with the cohesion on Of Tree.
However, only focusing on them sounding great and you’ve got something pretty good here. Mokhov, whose style is rooted in natural elements, like jazz (recent Bonobo), breathes life into Of Tree with skittish rhythms, bass guitar lines and synth melodies. Melorman has a cool electro-wave, Kavisnky streak in his sound. Data Rebel is highly close by Boards of Canada, spiritually in the Music Has the Right to Children era. SineRider’s ambience feels huge, his sound panned wide across the stereo field and swells in layers, giving a sense of power and awe to close the album.
It’s all highly produced material, thoroughly made and worthy of fan attention. Yet the lasting feeling is that Of Tree is not bold enough and too timid. It doesn’t get at the heart of anything strong enough. Solid content with little to push it forward, but then, perhaps this was the intention.
Northcape + Obfusc :: Reprojected (Sun Sea Sky)
Get out and about in nature and you’ll tend to feel better. You might even feel so good you’ll stick on a TV show to relax when you get inside. If you watch something like House of Cards you’ve just made the sonic journey tying both these artists together. Northcape is inspired by nature and aims to translate moments outdoors to sound. While Obfusc has credits for TV shows like House of Cards and CSI: Miami. Their music standing alone is polarized in mood, the easy going ambience of Northcape and the grainy stylish Obfusc. On Reprojected they’ve both put their heads together. This is the first collaboration of the two.
For many this will be an ongoing game of two halves. Northcape’s gentle synth melodies, chilly drum loops and downtempo ambience, in contrast to Obfusc’s grainy guitar loops, punchy drums and synthetic layers. There’s a delayed gratification about how Northcape and Obfusc have put their EP together. Northcape gradually brings you into his uplifting world of ambience, laid back and never in a hurry. Then Obfusc breaks through with an emotional punch, wrapped in layers of guitars and fuzzy synthetics. It’s a dazzling collaborative experience.
Opener “Infinite is Yr Heart,” takes it easy in a post-rock style, the guitars building slowly with pleasant synth melodies and drum loops. “Glasshouse” follows with an urgent and punchy dance track—its rat-a-tat rhythm wears into your skull giving moments of adrenaline. “Amateur Cartography” takes us back to the clouds with synth melodies de-tuning, similar to the auditory illusions of the Shepard’s tone, as if we’re constantly in flight or high as a kite. “Detach” has similar designs to Boards of Canada and Kraftwerk, as grainy guitars and percussive loops swallow us into a deep and powerful moment in the middle of the EP. “Sounds from Shattered Seashells” breathes easy with minimal electronica, similar to Brian Eno. Ending the EP “Meltwater” is simple, grainy and punchy. There’s a retro-futurism about Reprojected—the modern sounding Northcape remixes alongside the grainy analogue Obfusc remixes. The result is an impeccably crafted soundscape that ripples and surges in the purity of Northcape’s sound and unresolved tension of Obfusc. These two may have made the strongest Sun Sea Sky release to date.
SineRider :: Lonely Ocean (Sun Sea Sky)
The degree of restfulness when hearing the technical accomplishment of Lonely Ocean, makes one think of the golden-era in label City Centre Offices. Then you had Arovane, Casino Versus Japan and Porn Sword Tobacco running through the veins of the old British-German label. Producer Devin Powers, aka SineRider, would likely have been a fixture on that catalog with his soothing tones and technical rigor.
Throughout the six tracks are connections to the aforementioned artists yet SineRider holds his own trademark sound. He’s somewhere in between, taking the grainy analogue world of Porn Sword Tobacco and merging it with the percussive beats of Casino Versus Japan, to the bright melodies of Arovane.
Despite opener “Alouette’s” short length, it never feels hurried with pulsing synths and a brisk percussive underbelly. “Carry On” locks you into a short daydream, while “Memory Module” plunges deeper into dreaminess with pleasant circuit board beeps. “Post Life” is a downtempo stream, while “Lost In Fog” dives into a hazy world of ambience. The title track is a mixture of drones and chimes, the dream never ending.
With several tracks lasting under four minutes, SineRider tends to cut things short rather than outstay his welcome. As a result the tracks become less hypnotic and more about capturing the senses early into playback. Lonely Ocean wouldn’t be a bad spot to swim in.
