From Earth to Pluto
Ascension is the second half of Plutonic Love Songs, a new record by Sofia-based dreamy kraut duo OOHS! It sees them shifting gears and heading into uncharted sonic and cosmic territories. Plutonic Love Songs questions concepts like deep listening, our relative perception of time and whether the latter is actually linked to the circadian rhythm of Earth. OOHS! are looking for that breaking point at which melody crumbles into sequenced noise. They are trying to show us what would pop music, beamed from the edges of the solar system, might sound like.
Plutonic Love Songs started as an after-hours studio experiment, where two fairly up-tempo recorded performances were broken down into individual tracks and their playback speed manipulated before being put back together. The reference point for the speed manipulation was the difference in planetary RPM between Earth and Pluto, hence all tracks were slowed down by 670%. The pop structure of the original performances was preserved, with liberties only taken in the mixing and panning of the tracks. The experiment yielded two long-form pieces that were epic in sheer size, dense in texture, yet intimate in sound.
The Plutonic Wall Of Sound was born and for its public unveiling OOHS! collaborated with artist Silvana Ilieva, who created two one-shot films that suggest the vastness of space or the intricacies of a molecular landscape, to accompany the musical pieces. Ascension is one of them. The Plutonic Love Songs A/V installation ran at Æther Art Space, Sofia, between June 29 and July 5, 2018.
To mark the anniversary of that cosmic event, Amek are bringing you a limited edition cassette and digital release that will allow you to experience the Plutonic rush in the comfort of your own living space or headspace. Get your physical copy here on July 19 or grab one during Amek Bummer Nights happening in Sofia July 19-20.
Photography by Dimitar Karanikolov.
