OLU, by Saroos

OLU

by Saroos

supported by

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

€9 EUR or more
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Includes unlimited streaming of OLU via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 3 days

€18.99 EUR or more

1.	Quarantaine 02:59	buy track
2.	Humdrum Rolloff 02:39	buy track
3.	Looney Suite Serenade 03:43	buy track
4.	End House Mario 01:43	buy track
5.	Cord Burn Pt. 1 02:00	buy track
6.	Cord Burn Pt. 2 01:47	buy track
7.	Cord Burn Pt. 3 02:11 video	buy track
8.	Gros Malin 01:41	buy track
9.	Tatsu Jam 03:46	buy track
10.	Scratch Pets 01:43	buy track
11.	24hr Love Gumbo 01:46	buy track
12.	Toy Diver 01:52	buy track
13.	Wax Pod feat. Wild Card 02:09	buy track
14.	Plateau 02:29	buy track
15.	Tomorrows Kudos 02:27	buy track
16.	Whirligig 01:34	buy track

about

Deliberately breaking all the rules Mr. Hornby once famously outlined regarding the creation of homemade (tape) compilations, Saroos’ members indeed had the term “mixtape” on their minds while working on their latest full-length – albeit in the hip-hop sense: a sonic snack box, interconnected shots from the hip, something that just came together and immediately felt right. “OLU” drops March 6, 2020 via Alien Transistor.

Whereas hip-hop folks nowadays often use the vacuous term “project” in order to steer clear of the ontological debate caused by the almost synonymous use of album/mixtape, Florian Zimmer, Christoph Brandner, and Max Punktezahl, otherwise busy with The Notwist, Driftmachine & Lali Puna, stick to the classics: their new 16-track project “OLU” (Off Label Use) is, officially, still an album. But it’s wild and vibrant like a mixtape, interwoven like its cover: a seamless burst of ideas, impulsively combined to form a split-screen snapshot of recent moments and momentums.

Re-appropriating the term “Off Label Use” – which actually means: using prescription drugs in ways that aren’t mentioned on the instruction leaflet – in their own “off-label” way, Saroos never sounded more loose-limbed and elastic. Whereas the trio’s earlier releases were rather conceptual and homogenous, “OLU” indeed has a more loose, spur-of-the-moment feel, a spontaneous force at its core. Checking the weighty sci-fi inspirations at the door, they use that Bomb Shelter-type of freedom to reinvent themselves at every turn, chasing sounds that happened to emerge in the group’s triangular energy field.

Kicking it off “with a killer, to grab attention” (Hornby/Cusack, after all), the massive reverb-stumblin’ adjustment between beats and bass of opening track “Quarantaine” cross-fades smoothly into “Humdrum Rolloff,” an early hint at the group’s off-label practices: the underwater creepers floating around here were really voices (mostly). From majestically built oriental sound-pieces (“Looney Suite Serenade”), synth-based “End House Mario” and a triptych of speaker-boxxxing gas lamp experimentations entitled “Cord Burn 1-3,” Saroos have rarely sounded this playful and unrestricted: there’s a new energy at work that welds all the different sonic playing fields together to create one continuous 40 minute mix.

For the B-side descent, “Tatsu Jam,” at less than 4 minutes still the longest cut, billows over the kind of sizzling hi-hats you’d expect to hear on real trap tapes from Hotlanta. A prelude to a bunch of quicker-paced instrumentals (“Scratch Pets”, “24h Love Gumbo”) and ambient sun showers, until the next “Plateau” (Mo’Wax vibes!) brings the beats to the fore once again (“Tomorrow’s Kudos”), and the ultimate “Whirligig” sounds like a mix of Oktoberfest 2020 and Johnston’s “Casper The Friendly Ghost” coming apart at the seams.
Whatever you wanna call it – album, LP, mixtape, project, who cares? –, it’s definitely a double A-side tour-de-force.

credits

released March 6, 2020

license

about

Saroos Hamburg, Germany

Florian Zimmer (Driftmachine) Christoph Brandner (Lali Puna,) and Max Punktezahl (the Notwist) are as much scientists as they are composers and instrumentalists -- they’re obsessed with sound as particles in motion, and devoted to creating stylistic collisions that pop as much as they probe. ... more

contact / help

Contact Saroos

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Saroos, you may also like:

From Nowhere to North
by Nosdam + Rayon

supported by 7 fans who also own “OLU”

sehr toll, mit einem schuss notwist, aber ein wenig kratziger Volker Heisters
go to album
Vertigo Days
by The Notwist

supported by 7 fans who also own “OLU”

Ich habe "Vertigo Days" kurz nach Erscheinen ein mal gehört, gemocht und erst einmal leider vergessen. Heute beim Überfliegen meiner Notizen bin ich wieder daraufgestoßen und habe bemerkt, WIE gut das eigentlich ist. Am schönsten finde ich das "Into Love"-Pattern zu Anfang und Ende. mr_modern_music
go to album
Vertigo Dubs Vol. 1: Odd Nosdam
by The Notwist

supported by 6 fans who also own “OLU”
go to album
The Globeflower Masters Vol.2
by Glenn Fallows & Mark Treffel

Brighton, UK duo craft soulful soundscapes influenced by the sweeping, romantic film soundtracks of the ’60s and ’70s. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 26, 2022
go to album
Full Moon Wizard
by Massive Suits Quartet

featured on Bandcamp Radio Jul 7, 2015
go to album
Bye Bye Berta
by Palberta

Palberta's otherworldly "Bye Bye Berta" is distinct and varied in its challenging songwriting, but remarkably cohesive. Bandcamp Album of the Day Feb 14, 2017
go to album
All Those Streets I Must Find Cities For
by The Plastik Beatniks

supported by 5 fans who also own “OLU”

Breathtaking. Love especially “Would You Wear My Eyes”. Thank you! stephanwagner
go to album