If Jeune Oji‘s Clausura reminds listeners of early Somni, it’s no coincidence; each artist debuted on the Friends of Friends imprint, whose artists share a sonic aesthetic. The music is smooth yet intricate, decorated with spare vocal samples. While listening, one feels a warm glow, a byproduct of the organic contributions ~ in this case acoustic guitar and ukulele. While the EP arrives in midwinter, Clausura hums like the heart of summer, a promise of warmer days.
The French artist’s first EP, Aperture, was a love letter to South American football, the artist going so far as to pose with ball and gear. Clausura has a much more unusual cover, open to interpretation. As the titles mean “opening” and “closure,” the EPs become a matched pair.
The first single, “normandy.”, was released late last year. At 2:54, it’s the longest piece of the set, making an immediate impression with sticky piano loops and a warm guitar melody. The center rises on pillowy, wordless vocals, building to a restrained, two-second breakdown before resuming its propulsive pace. “cold rainy nights.” is languid, swaying rather than racing, its yearning tone a match for its subject. “getting used to.” begins with the ukulele, which can’t help but remind us of Hawai’i; the wordless vocals replicate sighs of acclimation while the drums offer a boost of energy before cooling at the end. “the lullaby.” slows things down even more, sitting at the soft center of the EP, suffused with a soft, bubbling undercurrent.
We’ve already entered the second half; the set is only 17 minutes long, the length of a sunshower. “oracle.” makes an impression midway, when everything drops out but the syllabic vocal. Guitar melodies grace “the lighthouse.”, each as brief as a breaking wave. “it all starts somewhere;” is the only title to end in a semicolon rather than a period, suggesting that the aforementioned closure is only the beginning of the a new chapter. We hope that these chapters will eventually form a book, EPs turning into an album, but there’s no rushing talent; we’re glad to have these entries early and we’re already looking forward to what comes next. (Richard Allen)
a closer listen 