imagine naked!
NNA, 2022
8/10
The recording moniker of the Brooklyn-based, Asian American musician and composer Robert Ouyang Rusli, as Ohyung he wrote and recorded this very atypical record in a 72 hour period, and incorporates plenty of atmosphere and emotional depth into the iconoclastic songwriting.
“my torn cuticles!” opens the listen with a hazy warmth, where minimalism and repetition are blurred for 15 minutes, and “my hands hold flora!” follows with a bit of a darker tone that emits a light buzzing amid the sounds of tinkering.
Further along, “tucked in my stomach!” recruits an almost sci-fi quality to the adventurous sound manipulation, while the title track is exceptionally serene, almost meditative in a cinematic sort of way.
Deeper still, “philodendrons trail!” embraces a nearly spiritual appeal that can get a bit more forceful amid some firm drumming sounds, and “releases like gloves” exits the listen with 37+ minutes of rich and mesmerizing reflection and ambience that, even at its lengthy duration, doesn’t out welcome its stay.
Certainly artistic and substantial in scope, Ohyung says plenty without words, as all the songs are titles from the poem vegetalscape by the wonderful t. tran le. Musically, this is a shift from the hip-hop and noise ideas of their earlier work, but no less captivating in its fascinating gestures.
Travels well with: Sally Decker- In The Tender Dream; Robbie Lee & Lea Bertucci- Winds Bells Falls