5+5: O’o’s favorite records – Benzine Magazine

We are told that the O’o would be the name of an extinct Hawaiian bird: totally useless information since O’o is now – and hopefully for a very long time – the name of the duo formed by Victoria Suter and Mathieu Daubigné, who come to release a remarkable first album. And talk to us, from Barcelona, ​​about the records they love and those who influenced them…

5 discs of the moment:

Rosalia – Motomami

We’re doing it locally for this really great album by Rosalia, an album that breaks the codes while being a tube factory. It’s a big challenge to be both at the same time. And then when her voice comes forward, something really magical happens, like on Sakura Where Genis. In short, we only like ambient or weird stuff at O’o.

Bendik Giske – Cracks

It’s fascinating to see musicians mastering their instrument so much, here the saxophone would be like an extension of their body, it’s really very, very beautiful. A little in the same vein as Colin Stetson, which we also love. And then beyond the physical performance, there is also the musicality. Instead of hiding them, it highlights the imperfections and inner workings of the instrument. It’s hypnotic, it’s powerful, and full of nuance. Big crush for the ghostly opening track Flutterand obviously Cruisinga 10-minute track reminiscent of the hypnotic loops of Philip Glass.

Caroline Shaw & So Percussions – Let the soil play its simple form

Composer, violinist, ensemble member or singer, Caroline Shaw won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Music for Partita for 8 Voices. That raises the point a bit… On this album with the percussion ensemble So Percussion, she gathers a little all her powers. The album is filled with different sounds like vocal loops, marimba sound, steel drum, and electronics…and there are poems, Bible passages, and even a cover ofAbba. It’s really a great album, and the rest of his work is also very, very interesting.

Art Feynman – Half price at 3:30

We like very much Art Feynmanwhich is also Luke Temple of “Here We Go Magic“. This album is an album of unexpected pop songs that oscillate between something current or even quite innovative while making obvious nods to other less contemporary artists like Arthur Russell Where Paul Simon among others. It’s really a super fun album, we feel that he wants to have fun, to mix genres. China Be Betterbig highlight.

Marina Herlop – Pripyat

Discovery live at the Mutek festival, Marina Herlop is a classically trained Catalan pianist, who precisely merges this classicism with something much more avant-garde. She even invents her own language in her songs. Her universe is a world apart, her melodies are elusive, it looks like she comes out of a dark fairy tale, or even a video game. I read an article that talked about a mix between Arca and Kate Bushwith a touch of Bjork. It’s a bit simplistic, like this kind of analogies in general, but still, it was well found.

5 discs forever:

Brian Eno – Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks

It’s hard to choose just one album from Brian Eno, and honestly it might as well have been another one, we love them all. Originally, Apollo was composed for the documentary For All Mankind, which deals with the Apollo 11 lunar mission in 1969. So it’s really a cosmic album, which gives the impression of being lost in space and in paradise at the same time. We really reach the astral climax with the songs The Ascent and Deep Blue Day.

Emahoy Tsegue-Mariam Guebrou – Ethiopians

There is something simple and complex at the same time in this album, in these classic structures with African accents. It’s somewhere between Chopin and the Blues, impossible to get tired of. And what’s more, the story of this pianist nun is truly incredible, far from being light and carefree like her music.

Kate Bush – Hounds of Love

Mix between the mainstream and the experimental. It’s an album so crazy and at the same time terribly anchored in its time, everything sounds 80’s in this disc, and yet if certain songs were released today they would still be very modern. A real gem of musical sorcery, with big classics like Cloudbusting Where Running up that hillbut also completely crazy and creepy songs like waking the witch.

Nicolas Jaar – Cenizas

We are both very sensitive to the great sense of groove of Nicholas Jaar, even when it touches on more experimental things. There is something extremely sexy in his music, like in the track mud for example, and obviously a search for sound that inspired us a lot to O’o. The universe is still quite deep and dreamlike, but more introspective here than in his other albums. His songs sound like mantras, or some kind of modern religious music, especially Vanish (the entry of the voices really takes the guts) and HelloChain which almost invite to prayer!

Suzanne Ciani – Buchla Concerts 1975

Suzanne Ciani, an early disciple of Buchla and undisputed master of the machine… She transforms what may look like an impenetrable tangle of wires and cables to some into a magnificent instrument. It looks like music made by or for aliens, the sounds are quite unusual, almost alive. The sound of Buchla, and in particular of Buchla tamed by Suzanne Cianiaccompanied us a lot when we were making our album, and will surely accompany us for the following ones…

TouchesO’o’s debut album was released on June 17, 2022.