ワンオートリックス・ポイント・ネヴァー
2023年最新アルバムここに完成。

ワンオートリックス・ポイント・ネヴァー (以下OPN) ことダニエル・ロパティンが、最新アルバム『Again』を〈Warp〉からリリース。ダニエル本人の言葉を借りれば、このアルバムは「観念的自伝」であり、メッセージであり、デジタル言語と音響的パラノイア、記憶されたものと忘れ去られたものの呪術的な逆流であり、そのすべてがOPNのトレードマークであるメロディックなタッチで表現されている。2015年の『Garden of Delete』がそうだったように、『Again』のプロジェクトは、ダニエルによる現在の自分と若い自分とのコラボレーションとしてスタートした。そこからアルバムは、当初のコンセプトには固執することなく、記憶と空想がまったく新しいものを形成するために収束する「非論理的時代物」へと成長した。このアルバムでは、音楽家ダニエル・ロパティンが時空を超えて音楽を作り、あったかもしれない世界を想像している。どのような決断がいくつの現実を閉ざしたのだろうか?そのような別世界ではどのような音が生まれただろうか?
キャリアを通して、アート性の高いジャケットデザインに定評があるOPNだが、今作ではダニエル本人と共に考えたコンセプトをもとに制作されたマティアス・ファルドバッケンによる彫刻作品を採用し、ヴェガード・クリーヴンが撮影した写真が使われている。パッケージと全体のデザインは、ダニエル・ロパティンとアパレル・ブランドのOnline Ceramics (Elijah Funk & Alix Ross) によって新たに立ち上げられたコラボレーション・プロジェクト、Memoryが手掛けている。

発売・販売元 提供資料 （2023/08/24）

Again followed a string of projects that put Oneohtrix Point Nevers Daniel Lopatin at the forefront of pop culture. In particular, his collaboration with the Weeknd widened his audience dramatically; alongside his work on After Hours and Dawn FM, he executive produced the Weeknds Super Bowl LV halftime show, during which Abel Tesfaye dashed through a hall of mirrors. On the tenth Oneohtrix Point Never album, Lopatin does something similar: Again is the final volume in a trilogy of albums in which he carries an artistic conversation with his past selves. The series began with Garden of Deletes sullen mutations of the nu-metal, trance, and R&B that soundtracked his adolescence, then jumped to the warped reconfigurations of his childhood radio memories on Magic Oneohtrix Point Never. Here, Lopatin filters the music of his young adulthood -- shoegaze, post-rock, modern composition, and electronic music of all kinds -- through his perspective as an artist in his forties. As suggested by its title, old and new circle each other on Agains recollections and reflections. This is music that sounds like its always in the process of becoming: "Locrian Midwest" flits from prickly electronics and birdsong to flashes of pensive piano, moody vocalizations, strings, and woodwinds before finishing with a quintessentially OPN analog synth sweep. Lopatin traces the musical butterfly effect of how one creative choice ripples out to another with equal amounts of academic rigor and love. Theres pure delight in "Plastic Antique"s interplay of crisp electronics and saxophone; on "World Outside," Lopatin stills the swelling synths and strings for a moment to sing "isnt the view so amazing?" Revisiting his former self brings surprising elements into Agains spotlight. Its one of Oneohtrix Point Nevers most guitar-heavy albums, with honest-to-goodness solos tearing across the dark fragments of "Nightmare Paint" and "Memories of Music," a hybrid of soft-rock, fusion, and prog driven by Lee Ranaldos tireless fretwork. Lopatins collaborators -- who also include composer/conductor Robert Ames, Ensemble NOMAD, and Jim ORourke -- ensure that Agains introspection never feels too insular. On "Krumville," a truly moving hologram of Midwestern emo, Xiu Xiu and Lopatin join voices to honor a departed friend. This song and several others employ artificial intelligence in an artful blend of Lopatins self-described "false memories" and technologys possibilities and limitations. An AI-generated loop provides the foundation for the blissful shoegaze refractions of "On an Axis," and the cyber-chatter teased out of a speech enhancement program for "The Body Trail" feels like the latest incarnation of Garden of Deletes muttering vocaloid and Magic Oneohtrix Point Nevers surreal station ID breaks. While all of Again is remarkably on-brand for Oneohtrix Point Never, Lopatins familiar concepts are never over-familiar. As restless as the albums pieces are, theyre often more clearly defined than either of the trilogys previous volumes, as are the moods and meanings behind the sounds he revisits. Some of OPNs most emotional and beautiful music brings Again to an end, with "A Barely Lit Path" uniting most of the albums tangents in a poignant moment of closure. Personal and grand at the same time, Agains mixtape of memories continues Lopatins enduring brilliance at moving forward by looking back. ~ Heather Phares

Rovi