ugne & marija - ZOTASPHERE - Hands In The Dark
Three years after their very first release, Brussels based duo ugné&maria return with their first LP, out on Hands in the Dark. In the meantime since their debut tape “HEALING” on Futura Resistenza label, it seems they’ve found their signature sound even more. You can find commonalities between both releases in terms of slow tempo, a mix of multi-instrumental and electronic hardware, as well as strong bass accents. Especially this aspect has increased and is now found on all tunes of ZOTASPHERE.
All over the sound of the Brussel based turned towards a pretty dubby direction, and here’s where the new release goes in a different direction; while “HEALING” takes you on a wide journey through diverse vibes and sounds, ZOTASPHERE is very cohesive but still keeps captivating throughout. Besides the already mentioned focus on the 120bpm territory (that might even feel like 60bpm), their work on this album is constantly shaped by dreamy and playful interaction of delayed synthesizer and samples, all composed very patient and prudent.
Despite the common thread on the full album, all tracks maintain their own distinct character: la tete vide, a kind of mysterious jam of percussive elements, synthesizers, guitar and staccato bass play, feels like peeking through a curtain. Xmas rec reveals parts of the previous mystery but keeps a certain level of it by a wonderful dubby halftime jam, contemplated by a pitch-gliding bass line and well-crafted call & response between these elements, delayed chords and pieces of melodies. I contain multitudes uses pitched, echoed vocal snippets, machine drums and a well curated play with embraced dissonance, which keeps the murky mood alive in the track, too. You can clearly hear similarities to Maria Rasa Kudabaite’s solo project emer (TIP!) wonderfully complemented by Ugné Vyliaudaite’s (violin) work.
The album could provide the perfect soundtrack for a series or movie about a very cool, kind of rebellious but spacey detective (maybe this is the impetus for a contemporary Miss Marple remake).
