Opal Onyx – Interview and review
Brooklyn-based experimental electronica creators, Opal Onyx, chat to us ahead of releasing their debut LP, Delta Sands. Here they are in their own words:
We are three friends who come from varying musical backgrounds. Our inspirations lead us into territories spanning anything from folk to abrasive industrial and everything in between. It is always exciting to enter a new song for the first time knowing that each of us will always surprise and excite one another with something completely unanticipated.
We sound like that time in the evening when it’s just about to get dark.
When we make music, the best thing to assist with the process is popcorn, beer and a room full of synthesizers.
The best thing about Brooklyn is the never-ending source of people-watching. If you look up from the sidewalk every once in a while, you’ll discover an entire world of unidentified species.
For the remainder of 2014 we will be working on the next record and maybe doing a few Euro dates, other than that we’ll be hanging out if you want to join.
And here’s somethingyousaid.com’s review of Black and Crimson, the lead-single off the album, Delta Sands (for which you can see the excellent artwork on the left there):
The track is gritty and haunting, a seemingly fitting soundtrack to classic noir or horror films. The chopped old record sample that underlines the track throbs like a heartbeat, over which the ambient electronica and vocals are layered over. Distorted guitar and cello melodies lace this mysterious and curious track, adding to the dark, psychedelic tone. Imagine if Alfred Hitchcock did Alice in Wonderland. This song perfectly encapsulates that (And what a movie that’d be, too. right?).
The music video for the single is reminiscent of old, classic horror movies of the 60s and 70s. Shot in muted, dark tones, of course, it’s mysterious, haunting, and actually quite confusing. It also reminds me of some of Ingmar Bergman’s work: doubled shots of mysterious individuals, shadowy depictions of inanimate objects coupled with a heavy dash of despair. The video appears to exist in a state of perpetual unknowingness, which is perhaps appropriate given Opal Onyx’s musical style and idiosyncratic phonic creation.
Its hard to really put a label on their kind of music. “Art rock noise, dark folk and psychedelic electronics,” all seem like generically ambiguous ways of saying “its noisy and darkish, but I actually don’t have much clue”. But it is one thing if nothing else: intriguing. I’m curious to hear what the rest of Delta Sands has to offer. Have a look/listen to Black & Crimson, below:
Delta Sands will be released through Tin Angel Records on August 25th. Keep up with Opal Onyx on Facebook.
Interview by Carol Bowditch. Delta Sands review by Desmond Chan.
