Oneohtrix Point Never, a.k.a. Dan Lopatin, has been making a bit of a splash recently. Here, he has covered the Harry Warren & Al Dubin track from 1934 “I Only Have Eyes For You.” This is an ethereal take on the track, with spliced vocals and delicate soundwaves being the focus of this cover. It's a sleepy take on the track, and does a great job of mashing the past with the present. Oneohtrix Point Never is on a roll, and this cover will do nothing to disuade that.
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On their latest album, Black Dice produces one of the most intelligible bodies of work to sit in the Brooklyn Group's discography. But even though it's surprisingly accessible for music this experimental, it stops a bit short of being interesting to me.
As the act of sampling music becomes more widely accepted, the artform is doing bigger and better things. From the straightforward and visceral mashups of Girl Talk to the mind-bending sound collages Oneohtrix Point Never laced into his latest album Replica.
However, this new Airhead track shoots straight for the heart. I wouldn't say it's the first time for a track of this style to do so, though. Mashup artist Kids & Explosions had some tender spots on his debut album, but this "Wait" track is the closest sampled based music has come to a legitimate ballad.
The vocal sample is rendered mostly to vowels and moans, staining the language out of the original song without losing the emotion. The beat is slow and heaving, leaving plenty of room for the acoustic guitar, piano, and post-rock guitar swells placed in the background.
It's true warmth displayed through collage.
Look for a full-length debut from Airhead on R&S later this year.
On Oneohtrix Point Never's latest album, producer Daniel Lopatin casually saunters into the field of sample-based music, and kicks total ass.