opal sunn: laika

Opal Sunn's return to Nick Höppner's Touch From A Distance is sort of a recap of 2019 -- a year that proved pretty incredible for the duo of Alex Kassian and Oba Hiroaki. Their live show took them quite literally all over the world including Tokyo, Valencia, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Fusion Festival, England's beloved Field Maneuvers and last but not least: Panorama Bar in Berlin, where they performed twice in 2019 as part of the Touch From A Distance label nights. Their Laika EP has been largely inspired by their first Panaroma Bar performance in January of last year, one in which they - unassumingly, yet assertively - took the venue by storm. Eight months later their show in the Laika tent at the UK's best kept festival secret, Field Maneuvers, marked a second highlight in Opal Sunn's calendar. As a tribute, Opal Sunn have called the opening track to this record "Laika". Their second EP for Touch From A Distance is picking things up where their debut left off, meaning Opal Sunn's sound design is as pristine as a mountain spring and their arrangements are as tight and effective as ever. Having played numerous gigs in the meantime, there seems to be a new focus, though. All four tracks feel more centered and balanced, aiming quite effortlessly at a heaving dancefloor. "Laika," the EP's lead track, sees Opal Sunn at their most effective and peak time. A long build-up and a rolling 303 bassline make for a total sure shot of a track. On "Minority State," the duo lets their electro inclinations run free, fusing razor-sharp beats with icy melodies and abstract sound effects. On the B-side, "Holy Mountain" is essential Opal Sunn: glistening arpeggios, gliding melodies, and floating beats create a psychedelic atmosphere in which one predestined to lose oneself. The EP ends with "Tangerine Blues," an equally atmospheric and trance-y track embedded in a rather broken beat, going for a more cinematic vibe.