A dreamlike mental state experienced while awake, oneirism, presents us with the chance to consciously interact with these sensorial experiences as daring voyagers, ready to venture into the most fascinating of places as oneironauts. Already versed in this artform, sonic planeswalkers Longstocking (Denni Longstocking Kindred) and TKO (Tyler Kromm) conjure a glistening gateway for listeners to dive deep inside a menagerie of wonders on their latest outing for Feral One Records with the drop of their 4-track collaboration, ‘Oneironaut’.
We suit up, and a broken tribal frame welcomes us in EP opener ‘Oneironaut’ as we venture into the unknown; a unique frontier that divides reality from fiction. Here, shy effects blossom, entangling themselves in the warm frame and lush vocal chops reflect from the iridescent atmosphere created by Longstocking & TKO, before gritty synth swells arise, embellishing the piece with dense textures that contrast in arresting fashion against the celestial backdrop.
As the plot thickens, ‘Bed Of Roses’ tells of sunbathed chords that unfurl, propelled by short percussive patterns before a classic house bassline takes hold, helping us navigate through white noise flashes, eerie vocal apparitions, and sweet, melodic fly-bys. At its core, ‘Bed Of Roses’ houses an intense breakdown that cleverly rearranges our surroundings, swapping grooves through revolving doors, only to drop us off back in the haze of its third act in powerful fashion.
In ‘Ding Dong Weet Woot’, submerged kicks tread over hats and claps, making their way down to an echoing whistle that lures listeners into a world of wonky sounds that contort and twist, defying the imagination in the most delightful manner. Stimulating each other in a perfect symbiosis, this broad sonic palette tantalizes the senses, awakening our inner child and thrusting it inside the most spectacular of carrousels.
Longstocking & TKO wrap up the introspections with the aptly-titled ‘Dream’, where spaced–out sparks linger on, illuminating the way down to undulating synthetic swells that ebb and flow, mesmerizing passers-by with their chameleonic colors as they uncover a myriad of stabs that clash and break against the waves. Controlled chaos, ‘Dream’ encapsulates oneirism at its finest, resembling a suspended state of animation where things happen and don’t at the same time. A most entrancing glitch in the matrix.
Longstocking & TKO’s ‘Oneironaut’ EP is out now via Feral One Records. Purchase your copy here.
