oOoOO
“Mouchette”, by oOoOO’s (Chris Dexter) reviewed in cutting practice
This is “Mouchette”, off of oOoOO’s (Chris Dexter) Without Your Love out on Nihjgt Feelings 06.24.13 (preorder here). I included oOoOO’s list of upcoming shows, below, as well. I first heard oOoOO’s work behind two of my favorite non-Beautiful Lou Western Tink tracks, on Hard To Keel Vol. 1, which you can check out here. I admired the brazen force with which he was able to envelop Tink’s work with a raspy frame. His static caught every note from Tink, texturizing his flow with a unique depth.
oOoOO manages a similar ambience on “Mouchette”. The track’s name is the title of a 1967 French film by Robert Bresson that follows the miserable life of a young girl by that name (the word also means ‘little fly’ in French). Due to the morosely hanging nature of this track, oOoOO may have been trying to recreate the little Mouchette’s story. But, since *spoiler alert* she dies after a series of tragic events, he may have been reviving her from the waters she drowns in (I think, I haven’t seen it since I was younger). I believe that oOoOO may even have been telling both of these stories, though, since he brings the track to a complete halt about 45 seconds in, using this break to reform the density and character of the track. This is her death.
With three different options, it really depends on how you read this piece. The first 45 seconds are a grainily-thumping drudge featuring a young girl’s voice singing the same sullen notes in a loop, haunted by a ticking clock. These remain after the halt, but oOoOO brings in a swelling that lightly shrieks over the track; the ghost of a girl who’s just passed. Her singing carries, resonating into the shriek, occasionally paired with a similarly-pitched piano riff; she’s watching her own funeral. oOoOO tells the story of a young girl’s crossing over to the other side, holding on to whatever she has left, overpowered by the grips of death.
Yes. 100% speculation. But there’s clearly a story being told. There are a host of passages from various sounds, exhibiting changes in the atmosphere in the track, manipulating the girl’s voice. Her story is a glum ballad, and oOoOO tells it without a single intelligible word. It’s possible that the portion following the halt is her actual drowning. But regardless of whether she has already died and passed, or is in the midst of dying doesn’t change the distinct probability that we’re hearing the story of a girl’s slow, painful passage.
US SHOWS :
May 15 – Phoenix @ Crescent Ballroom
May 16 – Austin @ Red 7
May 21 – Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter
May 22 – Washington, DC @ U Street Music Hall
May 23 – Brooklyn @ Glasslands
May 24 – Boston @ Middle East Upstairs
May 25 – Baltimore @ Metro Gallery
May 28 – Pittsburgh @ 6119
June 1 – Chicago @ Lincoln Hall
June 4 – Hollywood @ Dim Mak Studios
June 5 – Seattle @ El Corazon
June 6 – Vancouver @ Fortune Sound Club
June 7 – Portland @ Mississippi Studios
June 8 Calgary @ HiFi Club
AUSTRALIA / NEW ZEALAND :
June 21 – Perth
June 27 – Wellington
June 28 Auckland
June 29 Melbourne
June 30 Brisbane
oOoOO is a witch house/chillwave project created by Chris Dexter.