Rifts (Oneohtrix Point Never album)

Rifts
Compilation album by Oneohtrix Point Never
Released October 20, 2009
Recorded 2003–2009
Genre Electronic, ambient, synth, drone, hypnagogic
Length 2:25:08 (2009 release)
3:08:05 (2012 reissue)
Label No Fun, Software
Oneohtrix Point Never chronology
Russian Mind
(2009)Russian Mind2009		 Rifts
(2009)		 Returnal
(2010)Returnal2010
Reissue cover

2012 Software release cover

Rifts is a compilation album by Oneohtrix Point Never, the solo alias of Brooklyn electronic musician Daniel Lopatin. The album collects Lopatin's first three limited-run albums and several additional cassette releases of synthesizer-based music under the alias. It was originally released on No Fun Productions in 2009 as a 2 disc set.

The initial issue of Rifts sold beyond expectations and brought Lopatin early critical praise; UK magazine The Wire named it the No. 2 album of 2009.[1] In 2012, the album was reissued as an expanded 3-CD set on Lopatin's own Software label.

Recording and composition

Rifts collects Oneohtrix Point Never's electronic recordings dating back to 2003, primarily drawing from Lopatin's trilogy of limited-run LPs Betrayed in the Octagon (2007), Zones Without People (2009), and Russian Mind (2009). He began exploring sounds inspired by '70s cosmic music and '80s new age during his time as part of Brooklyn's noise music scene in the early 2000s.[2] Following the recording of Russian Mind in 2009 he noticed a "clear arc" between his three studio albums,[3] which suggested the records could come together as "basically a Stanislaw Lem-style trilogy of stories about vague metaphysical sci-fi."[4]

The Roland Juno-60 analog synthesizer, which Lopatin inherited from his father, served as his primary instrument.[5] He noted that "a ton of [the material on Rifts] is improvised. With the exception of sequencer based stuff, I record straight synth jams and then use that as source material which gets fleshed out and assembled on the computer."[6] The compilation showcases Lopatin's distinctive approach to synthesizers, employing "ornate electronic arpeggios, often run through echo pedals, which spiral off into infinity with breathtaking effect."[7] Tracks like "Format & Journey North" utilize samples taken from YouTube.[8]

Describing the musical template of Rifts, Tiny Mix Tapes stated that "some will hear 80s soundtrack music, cosmic ambiance, or minimalist repetition, while others might pick up on the mishmash of noise and plastic, mystical new age music."[9] Critic Simon Reynolds described these releases as involving "rippling arpeggiations, sweet melodies offset by sour dissonance, grid-like structures struggling with cloudy amorphousness."[10] AllMusic wrote that "many of the song titles here feel like they could be the names of forgotten classics of '70s and '80s sci-fi films and literature."[11] The track "Emil Cioran" is named after Romanian philosopher and pessimist Emil Cioran, who Lopatin described as "one of my top dogs."[6]

Release

The 2009 edition of Rifts sold out its initial 2,000-unit pressing, selling far beyond expectations and "propell[ing] Lopatin to underground-star status."[12] In 2012, it was reissued in an expanded 3-CD/5-LP edition on Mexican Summer and Lopatin's own Software label, including additional tracks and alternate sequencing.

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[13]
The Line of Best Fit8/10[14]
Pitchfork Media8/10 (original release)[15]
8.7/10 (reissue)[16]
PopMatters9/10[17]
Prefix Mag9/10[18]
The Quietus(Very favourable)[19]
Rolling Stone[20]
Sputnikmusic4.7/5[21]
Tiny Mix Tapes[22]

Desipite its underground release, Rifts received widespread critical praise from a variety of publications. The Quietus located the album in a tradition of "chromed modernity and pulp futurism" rooted in the cultural milieu of the 1980s, describing the music as "acting like a cracked mirror refracting the sounds of the past."[23] The Line of Best Fit described Lopatin's aesthetic as retro-futurist.[24] Tiny Mix Tapes stated that "the sounds on Rifts look to past versions of unrealized futures for inspiration," adding that "hearing the record in one sitting is like being in two times and places at once, like watching someone from another decade daydreaming."[25] PopMatters located a feeling of "dyschronia" in the music, noting an affinity with the contemporaneous "hypnagogic" music scene. The publication described the music as "strangely familiar and familiarly strange" and suggested that "much of Rifts indeed feels like communication technologies carrying on without the influence of anything but themselves and their own mechanical history, surrogate from human involvement."[26] Following its 2012 reissue, Pitchfork called the album "an important touchstone" and stated that "the way Lopatin discovered fresh ideas inside of a worn-out genre is an inspiring story for the present age."[27]

Track listing

2009 edition

All tracks written by Daniel Lopatin.

Disc One
No.TitleLength
1."Behind the Bank"2:22
2."Eyeballs"3:00
3."Betrayed in the Octagon"3:33
4."Woe Is the Transgression I"8:45
5."Parallel Minds"3:22
6."Laser to Laser"3:20
7."Woe Is the Transgression II"10:56
8."Computer Vision"2:24
9."Format & Journey North"9:46
10."Zones Without People"4:02
11."Learning to Control Myself"5:36
12."Disconnecting Entirely"1:33
13."Emil Cioran"3:35
14."Hyperdawn"4:33
Disc Two
No.TitleLength
1."Months"3:08
2."Physical Memory"10:53
3."Grief and Repetition"2:40
4."Russian Mind"5:03
5."Actual Air"3:11
6."Immanence"7:18
7."Lovegirls Precinct"1:37
8."Ships Without Meaning"9:39
9."Terminator Lake"5:42
10."Transmat Memories"5:35
11."A Pact Between Strangers"4:18
12."When I Get Back from New York"16:47
13."I Know It's Taking Pictures from Another Plane (Inside Your Sun)"2:30
Total length:2:25:08

2012 reissue

Tracks with an * are tracks not included in the original edition

All tracks written by Daniel Lopatin.

Disc One
No.TitleLength
1."Woe Is the Transgression I"8:45
2."Behind The Bank"2:22
3."Eyeballs"2:59
4."Betrayed in the Octagon"3:32
5."Woe Is the Transgression II"10:54
6."Parallel Minds"3:21
7."Laser to Laser"3:20
8."Ships Without Meaning"9:37
9."Terminator Lake"5:41
10."Transmat Memories"5:33
11."A Pact Between Strangers"4:18
12."When I Get Back From New York"16:46
Disc Two
No.TitleLength
1."Computer Vision"2:23
2."Format & Journey North"9:46
3."Zones Without People"4:00
4."Learning to Control Myself"5:36
5."Disconnecting Entirely"1:33
6."Emil Cioran"3:34
7."Hyperdawn"4:33
8."Lovergirls Precint"1:36
9."I Know It's Taking Pictures From Another Plane (Inside Your Sun)"2:31
10."Blue Drive*"9:56
11."The Trouble With Being Born*"4:31
12."Sand Partina*"7:02
Disc Three
No.TitleLength
1."Months"3:05
2."Physical Memory"10:53
3."Grief and Repetition"2:39
4."Russian Mind"5:03
5."Time Decanted"3:10
6."Immanence"7:18
7."Melancholy Descriptions Of Simple 3D Environments*"10:53
8."Memory Vague*"4:47
9."KGB Nights*"6:08
Total length:3:08:05

References

  1. ↑ The Village Voice
  2. ↑ The Village Voice
  3. ↑ Kawaii, Keith (November 24, 2009). "Oneohtrix Point Never". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  4. ↑ Beta, Andy. "Oneohtrix Point Never Has Some Cool Theories About Soundtracking Movies". Pitchfork. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  5. ↑ Powell, Mike. "Machine Love: Oneohtrix Point Never". residentadvisor.net. Resident Advisor. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  6. 1 2 Krinsley, Jeremy. "Bothering DANIEL LOPATIN of ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER". Impose Magazine. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  7. ↑ The Quietus
  8. ↑ Powell, Mike. "Machine Love: Oneohtrix Point Never". residentadvisor.net. Resident Advisor. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  9. ↑ Tiny Mix Tapes
  10. ↑ The Village Voice
  11. ↑ AllMusic
  12. ↑ The Village Voice
  13. ↑ AllMusic
  14. ↑ The Line of Best Fit
  15. ↑ Colly, Joe (February 2, 2010). "Oneothrix Point Never: Rifts". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  16. ↑ Pitchfork
  17. ↑ PopMatters
  18. ↑ Prefix
  19. ↑ The Quietus
  20. ↑ Rolling Stone
  21. ↑ hyperion (July 19, 2015). "Review: Oneohtrix Point Never – Rifts". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  22. ↑ Tiny Mix Tapes
  23. ↑ The Quietus
  24. ↑ The Line of Best Fit
  25. ↑ Tiny Mix Tapes
  26. ↑ PopMatters
  27. ↑ Pitchfork
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.