Label: Odda Recordings – ODA 03M
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Limited Edition
Country: UK
Released: 2024
Genre: Electronic
Style: Ambient, Experimental
Pointillistic percussive ballistics from Thea HD’s now blossoming Odda label.
We love labels that act as an extension of the owner’s taste. One’s that track their own taste and are unafraid to shift gear. Odda’s first two releases dealt in their own shade of bucolic folk and subtly introduced electronics. Now on their third release, composer Church Andrews (also Odda alumni Kirk Barley) and percussions Matt Davies shift into something more conceptual, taking influence from the rhythmic ratios of the Fibonacci sequence on Yucca. It’s a raw textural clash between the organic and synthetic, morphing on and off grid with its angular percussion that continually contorts into new shapes. We’re equally reminded of the staggering dexterity of free-jazz drummer Milford Graves as we are of the UK dance de-constructions of Yorkshire-based demigods Sensate Focus / SND. Very exciting to hear new experimental music embracing its influences and exploring fresh pastures - can’t get enough. (Mint / New)
Church Andrews and Matt Davies weave intricate patterns from Fibonacci sequences on new mini-album, Yucca.
Producer and composer Church Andrews (aka Kirk Barley) and drummer Matt Davies return to explore the outer limits of rhythm on a six-track suite that is at once angular and fluid, natural and systematic. Drawn to the restrictions of working solely with one synth and live drums, the pair found creativity in limitation, developing a compositional dialogue between the sonic timbres of Kirk’s productions and Matt’s percussive practice.
Evoking the primitive yet complex form of the plant from which it takes its name, Yucca features tracks that are built around rhythmic ratios of the Fibonacci sequence. Mirroring spiral patterns exhibited in nature, each track evolves like a cellular structure of its own, from the livewire syntax of ‘Chirp’ and the deconstructed ebb and flow of ‘Ferns’, to the mini-album’s title track, where crisp grooves flit between modulated electronics like fireflies.
“I’ve always been inspired by music that is complex without sounding complex,” Matt explains. He maintains a sense of bounce amid the intricate phrasing and cites drummers Roy Haynes and his grandson Marcus Gilmore as inspirations, alongside sabar drummers from Senegal and Mridangam drumming of South India.
With a shared background in hip-hop and the swung beats of J Dilla and Flying Lotus, Kirk Barley and Matt Davies were also inspired by the minimalism of Terry Riley and the sparse palette of dub techno.
Written and recorded in Lewisham in the spring and summer of 2023, Yucca follows the release of Axis in 2022, with the duo having also performed at festivals such as Rewire and Waking Life, and recorded live sessions for FACT magazine and Worldwide FM.
The third release on Yorkshire-based Odda Recordings, following Kirk Barley’s Marionette and Flaer’s Preludes, Yucca confirms the label’s reputation for championing music on the unstable ground between the organic and the synthetic.
Tracklist
A1 Nectar 3:50
A2 Courtyard 3:13
A3 Seafarer 4:24
A4 Marionette 5:11
B1 Lake Of Gold 4:42
B2 The Night 3:31
B3 Kites 5:35
B4 Gate 5:01
