Ryota OPP releases beautiful new album
The Tokyo based DJ and producer comes up with a far-reaching and experimental collection of delights.
Article by Rocco Universal.
The net result of months of diligent composition and production, ‘Esoterica’ is a beautifully balanced and contemplative voyage which serves to reveal Ryota’s vast and varied musical influences. While his excellent debut on Meda Fury was made for dancing, these carefully considered soundscapes are timeless and more meditative in nature. Shades of world music, Balearica, Detroit house, and Ryota’s very own soul are forged into something original, cultured, and highly accomplished.
The album opens gently with the blissed-out waves of ‘Esoteric’, before gliding through highlights at variable speed. There’s the sparse Rhodes driven groove of ‘White Birch’, down to the haunting atmospherics of ‘Eathen’, floating via the percussive trance of ‘Charm’, eventually meandering into the filmic flavours of ‘Astringency’.
I’ve chosen my three favourite cuts to play you here, and they’re all fantastic. We’ll start with the driving rhythms of ‘Sanctuary’. Ethereal eastern textures travel relentlessly to form a deeply hypnotic sensation. Subtle, rolling percussion accents the mysterious hook, transfixing our focus through an enchanting haze.
Next up, the strangely playful melody of ‘Scope’ brings us into new territory. A sparse drum track pulses around the infectious top-line before deliberate chord stabs jive in over the strolling bass.
My final pick is the adamant piano and bass gyration of ‘Deucer’. Warm, almost jazzy chords bounce over a dogged bass hook as spaced out percussion enlivens the rhythm. The piano melody canters and evolves as the bass rolls forward, rolls forward. Mesmerizing. This is where I’m hearing Ryota’s Detroit inspiration, and I think this could be my favourite of the collection. It’s a tough choice, though, because the entire album is genuinely inspired.
Top, top work from the OPP. Highest compliments brother.
The album will be released on Tastee T Production on cassette and R&S digitally, due out on 1st November. You can buy it here. You can also check the mix Ryota made for us, and read more about him here.