Oisatsana – Tides LP
(Secuencias Temporales, 2021-07-26)
“The tides are in our veins,” said poet Robinson Jeffers, and it’s maybe precisely for this reason, that Oisatsana’s “tides” are difficult to approach. This has potentially something to do with the enigmatic character behind the moniker: Tasio Rey, from Madrid.
He already has a great catalogue of dubby atmospheric techno works under his other alias “How to levitate”, and now opens himself to the slightly less accessible experimental world, with the moniker “Oisatsana”. “Less accessible”, but certainly “more authentic”… Tasio Rey doesn’t communicate much information about himself online, except through music, which he shares and produces generously.
“Oisatsana” sounds like the Japanese word “Aisatsana” (“Greetings”), which either opens a connection or closes it (and anecdotally the title of a melancholic track by Aphex Twin). In between, ostensibly nothing else than the music to fill the gap.
Tasio Rey seems to hide behind the art form, like a traveller with “How to levitate” and like a mentalist with “Oisatsana”. The words are replaced by the sound, surrounded by walls. As a result, “Tides”, with its complex structure, is not made to be a passive experience. Its creative richness and experimental innovations deserve some effort from the listener, having no other choice than to escalate the walls. It’s worth it: the other side is full of promise, as “quiet people have the loudest minds”.
The opening track “Tide 0” instantly shows the colour: Oisatsana’s project is delicate, dreamy, with shades of musique concrète. “Tide 1” escapes from the listener’s control, goes deeper, further, directs to run after, while “Tides 2” releases the tension. “Tide 3” highlights Rey’s biggest talent: the design of the drones, relentless, beautiful, empowering the hyperactive percussions. There is a whole inner world behind the sound.
The album ends with doubt, an inability to choose between two versions of a track, an unconfident move or a message: “The truth of the story lies in the details.” Both tracks are much more aerial, and somehow build a bridge with Rey’s other project “How to levitate”, accustomed to such epic rides. Rey’s quest to find the exit could stand there, in a Cornelian dilemma between two paths…
In the end, the figure “Oisatsana” suits him well, maybe better, for unveiling a deeper facet of his musical personality, reachable to those who are willing to cross the walls…
It’s the third time that we review a release from Secuencias Temporales: label owner Eafhm – for us – definitely knows how to pick an inspiring family of artists, familiar with the inner world and therefore capable to produce profound works. It’s a great direction: the inner world has always been more interesting to visit.
WRITING BY: CEDRIC FINKBEINER | 26 JULY 2021
