Release Date: November 8, 2011
Oneohtrix Point Never: the name of this project by Daniel Lopatin is just as disorienting and intriguing as it sounds. The newest release, Replica, is a journey from start to finish. The album is a mix of glitched-out music samples and loops that go beyond what you think a song is. They are mind-altering; brain waves seem to change, align to a new frequency, and suddenly, you’re in another universe.
Some songs, such as “Power of Persuasion,” are built off a garbled loop, like a skipping CD similar to something one might hear from The Field. Layered in and over are trickles of pianos. It sounds like a whole melody was chopped up note by note, then rearranged into a stuttered and fluttering sequence. This sequence is brought back out in many forms and at times throughout the track when the contrast between the other samples causes it to sound gripping. There are horn samples that are almost angelic in their tone throughout the track, as well.
This song and this album is church music for certain people. At parts the album even sounds like it is a new-age album for guided meditation or yoga. There are keys and droning synth pads that are present on an entire song such as on “Remember,” where cut-up clips of people talking are faded in a loop, reminiscent of cLOUDDEAD, only more structured and minimalistic. Replica defines “less is more” not by having less, but by holding back the bullshit and only putting the best foot forward.
Replica could be labeled as noise, it could be labeled as ambient, or it could be labeled as cinematic. “Sleep Dealer” uses a sample from a video game, like Mario getting a coin, but it’s all cut off and you can’t tell what you’re hearing or from where. It also uses a sample from a TV show theme that was mixed to sound like it had withered and decayed.
If the three things you remembered in the flash before your eyes right before death were video games, daytime TV, and your favorite piano melodies, Replica would be the music to accompany it all. In essence, it is a noise record built on subtleties instead of abrasive “pull the ear-buds out” sort of samples.
Oneohtrix Point Never – Replica tracklist:
- “Andro”
- “Power of Persuasion”
- “Sleep Dealer”
- “Remember”
- “Replica”
- “Nassau”
- “Submersible”
- “Up”
- “Child Solider”
- “Explain”
