Departures by Nohidea

Next up this summer on Alpha Pup Records is the latest body of work from the masked mind known as Nohidea. A 13-track full-Length LP, Departures is a step away from past works and a doorway into the majestic and vivid worlds of sound. Launching digitally August 18th, the artist's opus sounds like the manifesto of a crazed sound designer and innovative producer. Beginning with what should be an outro, the title track morphs into hyperspace, surrounded by the glossy string-work of collaborative producer Lilac. This is done before we are bombarded by the intricate percussive work and psychedelic rhythms of Nohidea's foundations.

A small step away from the introduction, we are posed with a question - 'What Do We Have?', a prose poem featuring prolific lyricist Looms. This is followed by an exploration of spiritual ascension that takes form in "Entheogen", a left-field collaboration with Portland-based producer Yung Bae. Halfway through the LP, from the disorienting cadences and timbral affect of "Obsidian", the listening experience is thrusted into what can only be described as the title implies - "Into The Deep". A collage of dimensional tonality and spectral beauty, this track serves as a homage to the connectivity of life and the depths of the cosmos. Into abstraction, the lines begin to blur on what the definition of listenable music is. To call this project merely experimental would downplay the scope of the music within.

The entire track list plays out like an otherworldly and dystopic emotional map, leading the listener back home; back to a comfortability. This is reflective with the soft intermission of "Reflection of Loss" and the prelude to the familiar chords on "Promissory Note". The rest of the album sounds and feels like a nod to Nohidea's earlier works, yet again imbuing some of that familiarity, while taking steps away from the sounds his audience has come to recognize. This sentiment shines particularly true with tracks like "Lunar", "Kept Beneath", "Purity", and the quiet reminiscence of the outro's nostalgic state, "Drift".