{"id":39870,"date":"2015-11-24T15:14:30","date_gmt":"2015-11-24T21:14:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/?p=39870"},"modified":"2015-12-01T12:22:26","modified_gmt":"2015-12-01T18:22:26","slug":"oneohtrix-point-never-garden-of-delete","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/2015\/11\/24\/oneohtrix-point-never-garden-of-delete\/","title":{"rendered":"Oneohtrix Point Never: Garden of Delete"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"416XqjdYwiL._SY300_\"<\/a>Oneohtrix Point Never, also known as Daniel Lopatin, has long been one of the most creative composers of experimental music. 2013 saw the release of the excellent R+7<\/em>, an album that marked a sort of musical departure for Lopatin.\u00a0 Engaging musically with the artistic vicissitudes of postmodernism (what Fredric Jameson aptly described as the cultural logic of late capitalism; or, put another way, the artistic manifestations of the material conditions of capitalism in the Information Age), R+7 \u00a0<\/em>was an album that embraced hyperreality with gusto through high definition sonic experimentations that left the listener feeling as if they were walking through the Uncanny Valley of the shadow of death (to paraphrase Coolio).<\/p>\n

That was R+7<\/em>.\u00a0 This is Garden of Delete<\/em>.\u00a0 Listeners expecting a similar experience will be quickly disabused of that notion.\u00a0 From the very first \u201cIntro\u201d track, Lopatin makes it clear that the disquieting plasticity of R+7<\/em> will be present in only trace amounts on this album. \u201cEzra\u201d is what we might consider the first real track on the album; its momentum stops and starts throughout, but halfway through a screaming rush of harsh synths hits us and sets the tone for the rest of the album.<\/p>\n

Next, Lopatin includes a nod to his past with \u201cECCOJAMC1\u201d (Eccojams Vol. 1<\/em> was released under the moniker Chuck Person), although this particular Eccojam failed to live up to the highest high of the aforementioned release (which was \u201cEccojam A3\u201d<\/a> in case you were wondering). However, this piece of trivia will be quickly forgotten when the heaviest hitter on the album comes up next\u2014\u201cSticky Drama.\u201d\u00a0 An entire review could be written about this track, which draws influence from both noise and breakcore, yet remains utterly listenable.\u00a0 In fact Lopatin\u2019s potential pop prowess is on full display here as harmony slowly emerges from the harsh dissonance that characterizes much of the song.\u00a0 This is actually a constant throughout the album; there are usually beautiful melodies worthy of a dystopic orchestra lurking just beneath the surface of most tracks.\u00a0 Lopatin doesn\u2019t spoonfeed the listener; instead, he rewards those who give the song their full attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cSticky Drama\u201d is also our first taste of what becomes a theme, a sonic chimera of technology and humanity (as an aside, I would highly recommend checking out the music video for \u201cSticky Drama\u201d<\/a> which was shot by contemporary artist Jon Rafman).\u00a0 Garden of Delete<\/em> often feels like a nightmarish journey through a David Cronenberg film in the 1980s<\/a>; if R+7<\/em> was 3D hyperreality, then Garden of Delete<\/em> is the organic mutant of technology and flesh.<\/p>\n

\"Still<\/a>
Still from “Sticky Drama” music video<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Appropriately, after an interlude of \u201cSDFK,\u201d we are plunged headfirst into the magnum opus<\/em> of the album, \u201cMutant Standard.\u201d\u00a0 I am not well-versed enough in musicology to describe everything that is happening in the track, but suffice it to say that it feels like an exhausting journey through the Atomic Age of technological development; Lopatin rewards listeners who stick through until the end, leaving us with the feeling of being the sole survivor on a spaceship adrift in the infinity of outer space.<\/p>\n

Upon first listen, \u201cEzra\u201d was my favorite track.\u00a0 However, after repeated listens\u2014and this is the sign of a good album\u2014my preference has shifted several times.\u00a0 Next it was \u201cChild of Rage\u201d before finally settling on \u201cSticky Drama.\u201d There are 12 tracks on this album and, with the exception of maybe two, every track can be the favorite of someone.\u00a0 This is in my top three albums of the year and anyone who considers themselves a musical adventurer must check out\u00a0Garden of Delete<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Recommended If You Like:\u00a0James Ferraro, Gora Sou, Beer On The Rug, Hippos In Tanks
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

Recommended Tracks: 2\u00a0(Ezra), 4\u00a0(Sticky Drama), 6\u00a0(Mutant Standard), 7\u00a0(Child of Rage)
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

Do Not Play: None
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

Written by Mike Van Esler\u00a0on 11\/21\/15<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From the very first \u201cIntro\u201d track, Lopatin makes it clear that the disquieting plasticity of R+7 will be present in only trace amounts on this album.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":260,"featured_media":39972,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[182,4,3235,3230],"tags":[4037,2156,3948],"class_list":["post-39870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hip-hopelectronic-rotation","category-music","category-music-reviews","category-new-music-rotation","tag-garden-of-delete","tag-mike-van-esler","tag-oneohtrix-point-never"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/416XqjdYwiL._SY300_.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/260"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39870\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}