The gold and platinum record producer
not-usually-known known as Ajax Ray O'Vaque has released his latest
alt-rock album, “Dreaming in Subtitles.” The LP comprises 12
original tracks for an approximate total listening time of 45
minutes. It has been published as an independent release outside the
scope of the corporate music industry. Eclectic, grooving, catchy,
accessible, radio-friendly and featuring some of the most naturally
flowing songwriting ever recorded, “Dreaming in Subtitles” is a
startling reminder that – this – is how much excellence can be
crammed into a single album.
Ajax Ray O'Vaque is not Ajax Ray
O'Vaque's real name. Operating in a clutch of Los-Angeles-based,
professional recording studios, music producer and performer O'Vaque
is actually the holder of 12 gold and platinum music awards. He has
rubbed elbows with the likes of Prince and Elton John, and worked on
no fewer than 30 songs with Duran Duran over five years.
Asked to cite some artistic influences
for his “Dreaming in Subtitles” record, Ajax Ray O'Vaque lists
Beck, Brian Wilson, the Beatles, Flaming Lips, Babylon Zoo, and Tame
Impala. Audiophiles with an ear for all (or really any) of the above
are sure to appreciate this upbeat, colorful, and refreshingly
original album.
That it is so unique in terms of mode
and tone comes largely from the artist's refusal to claim a favorite
music style.
“I used to be into electronica,” he
writes, “but I really like recording real instruments. I like
mixing the most-real sounds with one or two completely unreal sounds,
then making them sound like they belong together.”
Appropriately, hearing “Dreaming in
Subtitles” is often surreal as a result, with
instrumentation blending in such a way as to make discerning the
individual pieces unlikely and delightfully unnecessary. The music
justifies itself. Taking it apart for analysis seems trite.
And what of the theme of his new album?
Lyrically speaking, there's an awful lot of poetry going on, but it
isn't a lofty LP. O'Vaque says of it, simply, “the Universe is a
strange place and we are riding on a blue-green marble someone named
'Earth.'”
O'Vaque also piled thanks on his
co-producer/writer Greg Ansin (whose equally remarkable band, La
Machine De Rêve, just released their new “Steam Train” video and
single) and mix engineer Karyadi Sutedja for what he called huge
contributions, saying, “Without them it could have never reached
the place it ended up.”
Tom Haugen of New Noise Magazine
describes “Dreaming in Subtitles” as “Certainly experimental,
but never to the point of alienating the listener … both breezy
and rigid, cosmic and organic, and no two songs really sound that
similar. From soaring rock with psyche undertones to calmer,
atmospheric layers, there is something for everyone in this precise
and accomplished album.”
The album has elsewhere been called “a
concoction of new-wave, ’60s rock, ’90s indie and experimental
pop that includes both synthetic and organic sounds. Sometimes busy
and dark, other times light and airy, this one pertains to
electro-pop, indie-rock and even prog-rock, and weaves in sonic
beauty and mesmerizing atmospheres.”
Thrice-Grammy-Award-winning engineer
John Frye calls it “An incredible album that is both familiar and
brand new.”
All in all, it's worth everyone's time
on this blue-green marble someone named “Earth” to give this
pretty little platter a spin.
“Dreaming in Subtitles” by Ajax Ray
O'Vaque is available online worldwide beginning 22 June 2015. Ladies
and gentlemen, get in early. Very early.
-S. McCauley
Lead Press Release Writer
www.MondoTunes.com
Website –
No comments:
Post a Comment