PRICE:
$16.50$14.03
IN STOCK
ARTIST
TITLE
Oito
FORMAT
CD

LABEL
CATALOG #
SENSELESS 004CD SENSELESS 004CD
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
10/29/2013

From the opening bars of "Bright Lights," it's clear that Lisbon brothers Bruno and Leo aka Octa Push have redrawn the parameters of their sound. They've developed the elements that defined their breakthrough releases and expanded them to develop a broad, exciting palette of new sonic textures and colors. Their early releases on Soul Jazz, Fabric, Enchufada, and others expertly balanced UK bass and African influences to catch the attention of high-profile fans such as Thom Yorke, SBTRKT, and Gilles Peterson. An undeniable ear for melody and a percussive sensibility drawing on the polyrhythms of African music set them apart from the crowd and on Oito, their debut LP, they've taken those two elements and worked them into 12 compelling tracks that marry the organic and the electronic as well as underground music from Europe and the African continent. The album takes the sub-bass and syncopated rhythms of UK genres like garage as its starting point but once again filters that through a kaleidoscope of influences, mainly stemming from Portugal's unique cultural ties to Africa. Unlike previous work, they've worked to infuse the album with musical references to music like Nigerian Afrobeat or funana from Cape Verde without overtly sounding like the music itself. Re-contextualizing instruments like kalimbas or xylophones and playing with complex rhythms gives their music a richness without them ever sounding like copyists. The album also marks an expansion of their work with vocalists, starting with Alex Klimovitsky from the Portuguese/U.S. group, Youthless. He's now a mainstay of the Octa Push live show, lending his skills as a vocalist, programmer and multi-instrumentalist. Elsewhere, we find Sasha from Berlin's pioneering Jahcoozi, London-based Catarina Moreno, and Braima Galissa -- one of the best kora players in Guine Bissau. The complex melody of that traditional instrument is woven into "Ali Dom," along with Galissa's powerful vocals, conjuring up perhaps the most vivid non-European image on the album.