OdNu – ‘Lejano’

‘Lejano’ will be the latest album to be released on Girasol Music, coming August 2017; written and produced by Michel Mazza, the New York-based ambient and experimental musician under the name of OdNu. The album is filled with short, expansive pieces that are the outcome of experimentations with MIDI guitar to trigger a variety of field sounds and instrumental recordings; extending the typical abilities of the instrument into exploratory and augmented places and creating something truly unique. It’s interesting to hear the shapes and movements of a guitarist’s playing adopted by mechanically different instruments, such as bright chimes and drawn-out out synth pads. At times, the intricate patchwork of processed guitar sounds reaches points of chaos, similar to the likes of Fennesz, heard in the albums fourth track, ‘Singao’. ‘Lejano’ also contains calmer moments; the track ‘Quienes’ presents a less busy listening experience.The alum’s closing track, ‘Disconnected’, begins with sounds and progressions similar to those of Andy Othling (Lowercase Noises), with looped and soaring melodies submerged deep within reverb and delay effects. Towards the ending, the sounds of Mazza’s guitar playing fades to make way for wholesome synth tones and arpeggiated movements; the contrasting transition unexpected, summing up the varied approaches on ‘Lejano’ that cover vast musical ground.