A New EP from DJ OddFellow Has Arrived
DJ OddFellow returns with a new EP that certainly has a way of delivering spacious yet colorful approaches and soundscapes that blend textures and still manage to give off elements of classic house, dance, and more.
This record is not only incredibly danceable but strangely addictive. The sounds and tones the record produces wrap themselves around you and take you on these little musical journeys.
The House of Zonk EP consists of three tracks, and each one speaks for itself, but the EP as a whole is more of an experience when you listen to it from start to finish.
The record starts with "Haze_88", which is a track that brings these amazing jazz elements into the mix, still with that classic house feel, but more subtle and soft.
This track is one of the singles off the record that delivers a vaster underbelly, and with that, you are invited to float along with the sounds of everything.
Throughout this track, you can hear people in the background, almost like you're standing outside on the balcony of a party. I really enjoyed this because it added this sort of city life effect to the track, and before long, vocals start coming in.
The vocals on this track have a certain kind of amp simulator style effect on them, so they blend into the track really well and don't take over, which is important because the mood of the song doesn't want to be evaporated here.
This was a sort of swirling track, and I loved those classic jazz soft keys that are performed along with the sound effects of people in the background and the vocals that come in, start creating an atmosphere.
These are just some of the attributes that the record holds, and the experimental tonalities are something that DJ OddFellow is somewhat known for.
The track that follows is called "Lunar", and this one does indeed give off a more spacious feel in terms of the synth, but it also has that sort of subtle but driving beat, so it gives the essence of something colorful but slightly edgy at the same time.
Some of the edginess is really coming from the glitchy cuts of the vocals on this one, and I liked that because it helped give this almost live DJ set performance feel.
All of it feeds into that aesthetic and lets the song thrive. Again, this is also subtle and sort of mellow, so in a way, although it has a lot of color to it, it is almost calming in a sense.
I quite enjoyed that because this is one of the aspects of the release that you get engulfed by.
Those expansive tones and how the songs have an almost bottomless depth to them.
There's also that nostalgic factor. He's definitely tapping into this '90s underground electronic music aesthetic, and this is something that he tends to do from time to time, but this track hits it perfectly.
So, because he's tapping into that feel and vibe, it gives me little bouts of nostalgia when I listen to this track in particular.
It just goes to show the kind of stuff that he's influenced by in general.
The third track is called "Indigo No.5", and this one is one of my favorites simply because it again sort of feeds from this old-school vibe that sounds like it's pulling keys from an old 808 machine.
If you're not familiar with what that is, then you should definitely look up the 303 and the 808 machines because they were a go-to back in the day when it came to creating electronic and techno music in general.
House, drum and bass, trance, a lot of it pulled from the 303 in the 808 machines, even if it was only used for minor effects, it was almost always involved.
This song gives me those kinds of vibes; that classic 808 vibe which again, gives me that nostalgic feel.
I love how DJ OddFellow he's able to grab hold of those aesthetics and make them come alive again. I feel like this release helps bring things back to where his roots would have been, and it makes things warm and welcoming.
This was an outstanding record that is short but sweet. For me, it felt like a part of my youth. These songs felt like they could have been part of a chapter of my life in my teenage years because of what I was into then, and I absolutely adore that.
This is a triumph in electronic, house, and dance music, and you should definitely check it out if you're into any of that stuff.
See what this does for you because believe me, it's going to do something for you, especially if you grew up with this kind of music.
