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Purposeful Dissonance: Opin’s Media & Memory

Robin Schwartzkopf | October 9, 2020

Topics: Egghunt Records, electronic, experimental, Jon Hawkins, landis wine, media and memory, music, Opin, richmond va bands, Spacebomb studios, Tori Hovater, WarHen Records

On their latest album, Opin trades in a traditional lineup for a fresh approach, in which every member can play every instrument. 

After their 2017 debut album and an EP the following year, Opin is back with an experimental, electronic sound journey perfectly suited to a year of oddity and struggles. The band’s new album, Media & Memory, drops Oct. 23, and will be accompanied by a remix album.

A broken wrist and unfamiliar instruments — not to mention a pandemic and months of lockdown — might not sound like a recipe for success for a band recording their sophomore album. But for Opin, the Richmond-based trio made up of Jon Hawkins, Tori Hovater, and Landis Wine, the project was an experimental journey years in the making. 

PHOTO: Opin by Warren Parker

The new record, Media & Memory, comes three years after the band’s debut self-titled album, but a lot has changed since the first album’s release. After releasing their first LP with Egghunt Records, Media & Memory arrives via WarHen Records at the end of the month. The new album is the result of more experimentation in writing and production than the band’s previous projects. 

“I feel like we hit our stride with this record, because about 90 percent of it was written with three of us in a room,” Hovater said. “Jamming, picking apart ideas, and playing things over and over again, deciding what we did and didn’t like.” 

While their first album had more of a piecemeal recording process — band members and producers sent bits of material back and forth, from city to city — Media & Memory represented a chance to work together and build the album’s sound from the ground up. 

“We were unlearning what we had to do, and figuring out what we wanted to do,” Wine said. “It sounded more focused, more like a band, and like less like a group of people trying to duplicate the sound of a record.” 

“We all realized we were into the same sound and going for the same thing,” Hovater added. “Rather than ‘this person wrote this song, this person wrote this song,’ we were all able to see it playing in a room together. We gave immediate feedback on each other’s ideas and built on things.” 

With more time to work together, the band was able to try out new instruments. They also took advantage of the group dynamic to learn different techniques. Wine picked up a Bass VI guitar, and Hovater built her keyboard and digital synthesizer expertise. As they discussed how they traded instruments during the recording process, Hovater and Wine bounced answers off each other with a similar ease and excitement. 

“I think our gear and hitting our stride in a collaborative writing process are very intertwined,” Hovater said. “If you asked us two years ago who our bassist was, we would say Jon.” 

Wine added that Hawkins had never played keyboards before joining Opin. 

“Now, anybody could be bassist, anybody could be playing the hook,” Hovater said. “Between us, we all trade parts around and we’ve all written different parts. It’s really cool, because A) We don’t get bored since we don’t do the same thing all the time, and B) It keeps things interesting. It’s a fun way to use our gear to play any part at any time.” 

Although Wine injured his wrist in the middle of recording Media & Memory, the band didn’t go on hiatus. Instead, a few songs were dropped, some were rewritten, and two tracks were added to the final project. 

“That was dumb as hell,” Wine laughed. “But I was determined. I was like, ‘We’re gonna do this.’” 

A tight record at nine tracks, Media & Memory still has room for a lot of experimentation — and even more character. With so many different ideas, the songs are a cohesive listen with what Hovater calls “a purposeful dissonance.” 

“We have a lot of fun. We have major stuff going on, minor stuff going on, and lines that maybe don’t seem like they should fit… but they lock in with everything,” Hovater said. “If I listen to a part someone is writing, the last thing in the world I want to write is a complementary part that you’d expect to hear.” 

“The more we played together in a controlled environment — and just got used to doing that over and over — we developed our own way of interacting with one another,” Wine added. “Thematically, [the album] develops its own mood after a while.” 

PHOTO: Opin by Warren Parker

The band gathered at Spacebomb Studios to record the album live. It didn’t leave much room for error, but tracks with the relentless spirit of Media & Memory. 

“This record is gnarlier, dirtier, spookier, and more cinematic than what we have done before,” Hovater said. 

After two years of work and facing both personal and global struggles, Opin’s newest release is a small bright spot in a mess of a year. The trials Media & Memory faced during its journey to completion are evidenced in the raw artistry found in each song, and the sprawling creativity of the album in its entirety. 

Find Opin on Facebook and Instagram, and stream their music on Bandcamp. 

Top Photo: Opin by Monica Escamilla

RVA Track Drops New Video For Saw Black’s ‘Into the Air’

Amy David | April 30, 2018

Topics: Americana, Crystal Pistol Records, folk, music, rva music, Saw Black, WarHen Records

Americana/folk artist Saw Black has been building up the anticipation of his forthcoming release of his sophomore album, Water Tower, with several track releases and videos.

The local singer/songwriter released “Melted” back in March, a song tackling addiction, which was inspired by two of his former high school classmates who overdosed on opioids. Prior to that, the Crystal Pistol Records owner released the track “Mama Knows“, and a video for his first single off the album, “Water Tower”, back in February, which was directed, filmed, and edited by  Chris Damon of Good Day RVA.

Now, we get the pleasure of hearing a brand new track, “Into the Air”, along with some sweet visuals, courtesy of local film collective, RVA Track. It’s a sweet, heartfelt, love song and another great tune off the upcoming album, which shows off Black’s vocals and songwriting ability. The song features the talents of fellow musicians Matthew Kuester, Doug Fuller, Austin Tekamp,  and Crytal Pistol Records’ Pete Curry, who are also featured on the album. American Paradox’s Scott Lane, along with Daniel Bagbey, Sho Kellem, Gabrielle Silvers, and Austin Tekamp were also involved in making this video come to life.

You can catch Saw Black this Thursday, May 3  at Strange Matter with Caitlin Rose and Kernal and on June 1  he will take the stage at Friday Cheers on Brown’s Island with Tyler Childers before he hits the road for a short tour the rest of the month. Water Tower will drop May 15 via WarHen Records and Crystal Pistol Records, you can pre-order the vinyl here.

Photo By: Tom Daly Photography 

 

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

Saw Black Tackles Addiction in Latest Track, ’Melted’

Amy David | March 22, 2018

Topics: addiction, Americana, Crystal Pistol Records, drug overdose, folk, friday cheers, opioids, rva music, Saw Black, WarHen Records

Local songwriter Saw Black is due to drop his new album, Water Tower this spring, and recently the Americana artist gave us a taste of what we can expect with his latest single, “Melted.”

In this single, the co-owner of Richmond’s Crystal Pistol Records, whose real name is Justin, puts an upbeat spin on a dark subject. “Melted” explores addiction, specifically opioid addiction and overdose and the impacts it can have on those who use and the people around them.

It’s a personal song for Black, who said he was inspired to write the song after hearing of a few of his former Powhatan High School classmates who overdosed on prescription opioids.

“It was a few years ago, a brother and step sister overdosed together and he died, and she was in a coma and eventually came out,”  he said. “I played baseball with the guy at a young age, their story was the most gripping to me. I thought it was a super scary thing, and I just felt like it was super sad, but an important story to tell.”

But at first, Black said he was apprehensive about making a song that was loosely based on the two, and tackling addiction in his music.

“I really didn’t know how we were going to make it work, I didn’t want the arrangement…the music of the song to be as depressing as the lyrics,” he said.

Luckily, his brother Parker Black and local musician and the other half of Crystal Pistol, Pete Curry stepped in to make Justin’s vision come to life and ultimately created his favorite song on the record.

“They really helped with the arrangement, bringing it up to almost that kind of disco beat, and I felt like that really made the song,” he said. “I think songs are really cool, oftentimes, when there’s sad lyrics, but the song sounds happy. It kind of sets the stage for the lyrics.”

While happy, spirited cheerleaders grace the cover of the upcoming album, and the guitars give the song an upbeat tone, the lyrics are heavy and powerful and paint a vivid picture of an everyday reality and struggle for so many people making for an almost hauntingly beautiful song.

The most recent CDC study shows opioid deaths are at an all-time high across the country. In 2016, opioids (including prescription opioids, heroin, and fentanyl) killed more than 42,000 people, more than any year on record. And the epidemic is growing rapidly in Virginia as well, with 1,268 people dying in 2016 from an opioid overdose, and of that number, 465 of those deaths caused by prescription opioids.

He’s personally known three other people close to him to overdose on opioids so it’s an issue that hits Black close to home, another reason he wanted to make the song.

“Now with fentanyl that’s being used to cut all sorts of different drugs, we’re just seeing more and more of this stuff happening,” he said. “It’s created a lot of people {who become addicted} that are not even crazy drug users because they don’t know exactly what they’re getting.”

Black recorded “Melted” a year ago at Russell Lacy’s studio Virginia Moonwalker in Mechanicsville. Curry played bass on the track, with Black’s brother Parker on drums, along with Doug Fuller on lead guitar, and Matthew Kuester on pedal steel. The single is the second song that Black has dropped ahead of Water Tower’s release. The video for the title track “Water Tower”, which was directed, filmed, and edited by  Chris Damon of Good Day RVA premiered on For Fork’s Sake last month. The forthcoming album will be Black’s follow-up to his debut, Azalea Days.

Black’s hope with “Melted” is to help someone who may be grappling with an addiction as well as urge people to reach out to their friend or someone else around them who is battling addiction.

Be on the lookout for an article on RVA Mag on Black’s forthcoming album, Water Tower, due out on Charlottesville-based WarHen Records as well as Crystal Pistol Records May 18. Until then, you can catch Black at Friday Cheers June 1 with Tyler Childers, which will be the first Richmond show after the album comes out. Following the release, Black plans to tour in June, with a show later in the month at Hardywood. You can pre-order the vinyl of the album here.

Photo By: Tom Daly Photography 

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

 

 

 

Dance Around Your Room To New Album From Charlottesville’s Big Air; See Them Saturday At Emilio’s

Marilyn Drew Necci | February 13, 2014

Topics: Big Air, Buds, Crushed Purple, emilio's, indie, rock n' roll, The Fire Tapes, The Maplewaves, WarHen Records

If you’ve been keeping up with the VA scene over the past couple years, you’re probably aware of Charlottesville indie-psych quartet The Fire Tapes, who sadly split up last year. However, Fire Tapes bassist Rob Dobson hasn’t let the demise of his previous band slow him down any–his new duo, Big Air, have just released their debut album, Buds, on WarHen Records, and they’ll be rocking RVA this Saturday at Emilio’s!

[Read more…] about Dance Around Your Room To New Album From Charlottesville’s Big Air; See Them Saturday At Emilio’s

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