I agree in that it's not at all a record about the sound of the 90s, but an exploration of the idea that even in supposedly 'bad taste' sounds/music you might find an inherent element of soul that a human being has poured into it. It's an idea that lies at the core of the vaporwave movement too, and it's a good decision from Lopatin to return to it after his original explorations in 2009-11. It's my favorite OPN album in a decade.
Yeah dude right on. I think something is genuinely missed by the kind of know-it-all techy attitude of like "its naive to romanticize the creator and the struggle, everything can be simulated." If this means i believe in a human soul, so be it. The heat comes from the friction of a being in time working the material. Minimize the significance of this at your own peril.
It seems right when lopatin says this has been the opn project all along. Wasnt replica mostly samples from commercial sound design as well? Gonna check the record today.
Lopatin's point about finding soulfulness in those bland comercial sample CDs is really striking. The idea that even the most utilitarian sound production still carries fragments of the creator's humanity feels like a necesary counter to the current AI moment. When you talk about the creepy hollowness in AI art, that absence of a creator, it really resonates with what makes Tranquilizer work.
Coincidentally hit my mailbox as I was giving Tranquilizer my first listen. I went in fresh, without having read the accompanying interviews and write-ups. I'm actually really enjoying it, and this quote, "hearing them as fluid moving through time", really captures the fluid structures building throughout the album. More than '90s nostalgia, though, it reminds me of the 'post-internet' aesthetic from around 8 years ago, but I guess there's a throughline :-)
I didn't expect to enjoy it as I've struggled a bit in the past with OPN's work, but I'll definitely be giving this more spins over the cold months.
Nice piece. I’ve been thinking a lot about how certain moments in my career have had their time, and how I’ve always trusted myself to move on when something feels complete. Autonomic was like that, some things work best when they’re allowed to stay where they happened, so the people who were there can remember them as they were.
What I liked about this piece is the idea that you can still look back without trying to recreate anything. You can explore the “what if we’d gone this way instead” feeling without getting stuck in nostalgia.
Even in the most disposable sounds of sample CDs (I also downloaded the same CDs a while back), there’s still a trace of the person who made them. There’s a human touch in the choices to commit those often unused hi hats to the CD. It makes the past feel less like a museum and more like a place you can wander through and discover new things.
For me, it’s not about going backwards. It’s about finding new ways to move forward, even if that means glancing over your shoulder every now and then to see what you missed the first time.
Thanks bruv. If not your your insta post about this article I might never have listened to this record. Life altered. Curious about what this new timeline I am in will bring. Merci.
Ha! I had the same thing with the announcement and interviews actually made me less excited about it, but well yes in the end luckily we can have a personal fingerprint regardless of the source material or the techniques used.
I agree in that it's not at all a record about the sound of the 90s, but an exploration of the idea that even in supposedly 'bad taste' sounds/music you might find an inherent element of soul that a human being has poured into it. It's an idea that lies at the core of the vaporwave movement too, and it's a good decision from Lopatin to return to it after his original explorations in 2009-11. It's my favorite OPN album in a decade.
Yeah dude right on. I think something is genuinely missed by the kind of know-it-all techy attitude of like "its naive to romanticize the creator and the struggle, everything can be simulated." If this means i believe in a human soul, so be it. The heat comes from the friction of a being in time working the material. Minimize the significance of this at your own peril.
It seems right when lopatin says this has been the opn project all along. Wasnt replica mostly samples from commercial sound design as well? Gonna check the record today.
fully agree!!
>Hope also suggests action, in contrast to mindless positivity, which is more of a passive state.<
This is a bar, Martyn.
Lopatin's point about finding soulfulness in those bland comercial sample CDs is really striking. The idea that even the most utilitarian sound production still carries fragments of the creator's humanity feels like a necesary counter to the current AI moment. When you talk about the creepy hollowness in AI art, that absence of a creator, it really resonates with what makes Tranquilizer work.
Coincidentally hit my mailbox as I was giving Tranquilizer my first listen. I went in fresh, without having read the accompanying interviews and write-ups. I'm actually really enjoying it, and this quote, "hearing them as fluid moving through time", really captures the fluid structures building throughout the album. More than '90s nostalgia, though, it reminds me of the 'post-internet' aesthetic from around 8 years ago, but I guess there's a throughline :-)
I didn't expect to enjoy it as I've struggled a bit in the past with OPN's work, but I'll definitely be giving this more spins over the cold months.
This made me put the record on!
thank you so much!!
Nice piece. I’ve been thinking a lot about how certain moments in my career have had their time, and how I’ve always trusted myself to move on when something feels complete. Autonomic was like that, some things work best when they’re allowed to stay where they happened, so the people who were there can remember them as they were.
What I liked about this piece is the idea that you can still look back without trying to recreate anything. You can explore the “what if we’d gone this way instead” feeling without getting stuck in nostalgia.
Even in the most disposable sounds of sample CDs (I also downloaded the same CDs a while back), there’s still a trace of the person who made them. There’s a human touch in the choices to commit those often unused hi hats to the CD. It makes the past feel less like a museum and more like a place you can wander through and discover new things.
For me, it’s not about going backwards. It’s about finding new ways to move forward, even if that means glancing over your shoulder every now and then to see what you missed the first time.
not rehashing but elevating what's come before you. much love D !
beautiful writeup, really made me think a lot deeper about the record
Thanks so much! my mission is accomplished :)
Thanks bruv. If not your your insta post about this article I might never have listened to this record. Life altered. Curious about what this new timeline I am in will bring. Merci.
Ha! I had the same thing with the announcement and interviews actually made me less excited about it, but well yes in the end luckily we can have a personal fingerprint regardless of the source material or the techniques used.