What do you call a parody when its entire sense of humor or irony has been stripped away or obscured? I’ve been thinking a lot about satire lately, with the end of some of the most well known satire on television, as well as in the context of discussions surrounding PC Music and pop art. Is satire always accompanied by a subtle malicious intent, or is there a way to truly love something while making fun of it?
It’s hard to tell with an album like Gora Sou‘s Ramifications. It’s an undeniably gorgeous and complex album, MIDI glitches writhing around choral samples and droning synths. It feels ancient and holy, like the kind of music that would play in the ruins of a church in an alternate reality. But it takes only a few minutes of listening to realize Ramifications—title and all—is suspiciously similar to Oneohtrix Point Never‘s R Plus Seven. It’s some of the most uncannily similar music I’ve ever heard produced by two unrelated artists.
Gora Sou (real name Marc Übel) is clearly a Daniel Lopatin fan. The sped-then-slowed loops at the end of “Xplor” are taken right out of the Eccojams playbook, and on some of the more blatantly OPN-esque tracks here like “Kaimai,” it’s almost as if you can hear explicit samples from Lopatin’s work being used. Übel utilizes repetition and kitsch in a way that doesn’t just sound familiar, but conjures up the same images of a world where organic and synthetic merge in complex ways.
Beyond the R Plus Seven similarities, Ramifications is a stunning piece of music. The cold drone and soft pan flute melody of “Fregata” lends itself well to the sharper angles and jumbled electronics of the surrounding material. “Punta Alem” is reminiscent of the Akira soundtrack, frantic polyrhythmic bells plinking out peculiar memories until a cheesy synthesized saxophone cuts the song in half. Similarly “Battle With a Moray Eel” feels watery and foreboding in the best way, its sloshing water samples underpinning a deep, booming synth line.
Ramifications, while lacking a conceptual narrative to really drive its heady music, is a shockingly brilliant album. Few musicians have the chops (or gear, if we’re being totally honest) to pull an album like this off. In all of its similarities to previously released music, Übel’s music is still wholly unique in a broader musical sense. “Monolo” is the highlight here, MIDI samples falling like bouncy balls down a flight of stairs, tripping over themselves in seemingly random order. It’s a mind-meltingly dense song that opens itself up when played on loop. Irregardless of if its a parody, a heartfelt tribute, or inexplicably similar, Ramifications is music to lose yourself in.
Ramifications is out now via Orange Milk Records.