Onra - Chinoiseries Pt. 2

“Same Same But Different”, the familiar phrase heard throughout South East Asia, is a perfect description to characterize Onra’s latest project, a follow up to his 2007 LP ‘Chinoiseries’.  So almost five years later, here we go back on the trail of another Asian beat journey with 32 hip hop instrumentals inspired by Chinese and Vietnamese music. A lot has happened since then, not least the widespread acclaim for 2010’s boogie-tinged album ‘Long Distance’, while along the way he’s revisited South East Asia on a few occasions, adding to his Asian record stack each time. The exotic, mysterious pop and folk Chinese records of the ‘60s and ‘70s may not seem the easiest source material, with their epic operatic and orchestral feel, untouched by the Western counter culture rumblings of the time, and alive with vintage vinyl hiss and crackle, but after hermetically sealing himself in his Paris beat cave, Onra has emerged with a more than worthy return for all the time and money spent in the vinyl basements and backrooms of the Far East. There's ample variation but a coherent whole, from the more electronic feel of ‘A New Dynasty’ and ‘All Night’, to the soundtrack vibe of ‘Mai's Theme’ and ‘Fight Or Die’ and the straight beat sound of ‘No Matter What’ and ‘Remember The Name’, and he's even found some breaks! Inspired by the idea of the LP as a sequence of film scenes, this intense burst of beats and distinct vibes form an accomplished, rounded work.

TRACKLIST:

01. The Arrival   02. A New Dynasty   03. It's All Memories   04. Remember The Name   05. Open The Door   06. Gotta Go   07. Mai's Theme   08. Words Of Encouragement   09. Trapped   10. One For The Wu   11. No Matter What   12. Meet The Queen   13. Stay With Me   14. Opium Delirium   15. Cold Blooded   16. Where I'm From   17. Still Broke   18. Snakes & Smoke   19. Mai's Theme   20. Raw Shit   21. Ms. Ho   22. All Night   23. In My Mind   24. Hide And Seek   25. Play The Game   26. Warriors Pride   27. Like Father, Like Son   28. Fight Or Die  29. Through The Flesh   30. Tears Of Joy   31. They Got Breaks Two  32. The End

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