Oneohtrix Point Never took us by surprise the other day. I stuck it on thinking it sounded pretty intriguing from the label's description (often a dangerous thing to trust as I'm sure you all know) and it blew us all right away, sugars. Opening up with a long, droney hum that sounds as if it might be emanating from some far-flung radioactive beacon, the sole ray of light in the devastated wasteland of a post-nuclear winter world, it eventually opens up into a retro synth orgy that never borders on cheese and keeps its stark Cold War feel even when utilising the warmest of sounds. That's not to say that this is an inhuman-sounding record, in fact it's really far from it.. This wax slab comes jam-packed with genuine emotion and humanity, striking a balance similar to that of the krautsynth pioneers of the 70s but with nary a hint of 'new age' to be found. Plus it makes you feel like you're a scientist in a Soviet bunker twiddling knobs on a bank of computers the size of a house which can never be a bad thing. Certainly up there with the best LPs I've heard so far this year (although the original cassette release was back in 2007), Betrayed in the Octagon isn't a typical No Fun release but it comes in their trademark minimalist cardboard packaging that somehow seems to come off ultra cheap and deluxe at the same time. How do they manage that?
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What their label says...
Oneohtrix Point Never is Daniel Lopatin's project of polysynth epic electronic sound. Cascading melodies, holistic drones, and folding tones combine to create a dichotomy of sound that reflects on the organic discovery of our nature and the infinity possibilities within our enclosed human systems. Betrayed in the Octagon is a frozen fantasy, a liminal record that brings to mind caves and other hidden places where life started billions of years ago. OPN is a lost soul from the poysynth epoch giving a nod to the old masters while moving trough the systems of 21st century life and reflecting them in the pure beauty of total electronic moving sound. Originally released as a cassette on Deception Island in 2007, Octagon was the first OPN release. NFP is proud to bring it back re-sequenced and re-mastered for vinyl as the first OPN LP, limited to 300 copies.
