Oh No : Dr. No’s Oxperiment
“Experimental” is an adjective used a lot, usually synonymous with the word, “weird,” especially when referring to weird music. Dr. No’s Oxperiment is experimental in a more traditional sense, specifically in that all of the music here is Oh No playing around with some old Mediterranean vinyl, to produce somewhat more occidental results, thus, Dr. No’s Oxperiment. The music stockpiled onto this album are samples constructed to follow paradigmatic hip-hop melodies with very little introduction or closure, and of course, intermittent spoken word samples placed here and there throughout the album, often referring to Dr. No and his Oxperiment.
It is important to emphasize the playful aspect to this album, in the sense that Oh No is mostly having his own fun on this album. There isn’t really any build or cadence to the “songs” on this album, but are more just like coinciding sounds repeating for the listener. Rhythm changes throughout the tracks are few and far between, mostly only happening in-between the tracks.
The implementation of the Anatolian sounds on the album sometimes show a synthesis of preexisting sounds from far away echoing in LA recording studios, and other times are just funky beats cutup to match a certain pattern. Regardless, the album has a heavily percussive feel to it that sits stolid in every slam of a drum, powerful and unmoving, unchanging beats standing their ground. The preeminence of some of the guitar/lute/oud sounds on the album tends to eclipse some of the rest of the little beats hiding underneath them, obscuring the complexity that could lie underneath it all.
As said before, this is truly an experimental album, not to be taken lightly. Oh No just seems to be tooling around with some strange new stuff, seeing what works and what doesn’t. Don’t expect a drawing piece of hip-hop.
Similar Albums:
J Dilla – Donuts
Various Artists – Bombay the Hard Way
Oh No – Exodus Into Unheard Rhythms