#onyricon

This is the first in what will be a multi-weekly series of posts highlighting some records I have been digging on recently. Sometimes it will be a random assortment of titles and other times I will focus on particular artists, record labels, or scenes. It is more or less a way for me to catalog what I’ve been listening to and to serve as a personal reference. But maybe a few similar souls out there will discover some cool new tunes :)

Los Porcos - Jesus Luvs U Baby (Über, 2014) Los Porcos original is a pleasant enough slab of beachy pop, with nice vocal harmonies and guitar interplay. The loungey guitar riffs that back the track are tailor made for the Mudd treatment, and indeed he helps focus the balearic soul of the original. His “Tribute to Aly” mix is spacey, with the guitar given plenty of room. Things are ever so slightly dubbed out, and the entire progression of the vocals and how they are layered is altered to tremendous effect, now held back until a chilled climax, all silky smooth and sultry. The B-side sees Coyote tripping out the track even further with their “Lazy Hammock Dub”, and the whole review is right there in the name. The drums are now huge, driven by hand percussion and tambourines, with the swing of the acoustic brought out even further. The vocals and remaining guitars are echoed and effected in that hazy Coyote way, the whole thing looped into a glorious toes in the sand, cocktail in hand banger.

Onyricon - Sweet Dream (Aficionado Recordings, 2014) A personal favorite of both Aficionado and Leo & Fabrice’s wonderful collaborations. The A-side starts with their “On Air” mix, all drifting angelic vocals and beauteous pads, with a supremely horizontal feel. Their “Balearic Militant” mix adds a nice dubby bassline and a slo-mo four-to-the floor with echoing percussion and effects, forming a nice backbone for the sunset vocals and synths. On the B-side, Andras Fox toughens things up slightly with a heavier beat (killer congas!) and a grooving early 90s bassline, all while dancing around the vocal loops with jazzy keys and cosmic synths. Finally, the “Sun Mix” dubs things out further, with the pads working like shimmering waves breaking on the shore, overlaying echoing bongos and bass pulses.

Tiago - The Source (Leng, 2011) Tiago is responsible for so much amazing music and is one of my favorite remixers. The A-side here starts with the original cut “The Source”. This has a nice stoned ravey feel to it, with a super squelchy acid line and addictive bassline driving underneath trancey synths and some huge organs. The thunderstorm samples are a nice touch. Speaking of great remixers, we have Mudd’s “Slow Rave Mix” on the B-side doubling down on the drama and psychedelic vibes. The bassline and acid squelches get even more tripped out and the track subtly morphs and evolves, putting most of the focus on delayed synth and percussive effects.

Giovanni Sollima

Onyricon

Giovanni Sollima - Onyricon

Onyricon - Sweet Dream (Andras Fox Remix) [buy Piccadilly Records]

Marzo 2014: anteprima L’ultimo sogno di Valentina Fontana – Mondadori

A marzo arriva in libreria L’ultimo sogno di Valentina Fontana, pubblicato nella famosa collana Chrysalide di Mondadori. Con questo romanzo impareremo a conoscere Onyricon un luogo più vero della realtà, dove tutto è realizzabile, qualsiasi sogno, qualsiasi desiderio. Ma non è tutto rose e fiori e quando Miri, la migliore amica di Zoe, rimane intrappolata in un social network pirata, le cose si…