Marco Campitelli’s Oslo Tapes project returns with a ritualistic, psychedelic video and single from upcoming release Staring At The Sun Before Goin’ Blind to break the shackles of nature and consciousness. Give it a watch below!
Italy’s Oslo Tapes formed after Campitelli vacationed in Oslo in the early ‘10s, inspired by the mystical nature of Norway. Oslo Tapes now has three albums of krautrock informed psychedelia, each with a growing list of collaborators and experimentation, chief among them co-producer and songwriter Amaury Cambuzat (Faust, Ulan Bator) who has been a part of the Oslo Tapes collective since its inception. They played Roadburn Festival in 2022 and have gathered a well-deserved following of fans anticipating their next release. We are excited to bring you the first taste.
“Deja Neu”, in true krautrock fashion, builds glimmering, buzzing, and swirling synths around a steadfast rhythm with a groovy bassline to lull the listener into a trance-like state of acceptance and anticipation for each unfurling crescendo and sonic detour. In the video by visual artists Nicola Antonelli and Marco Di Battista, this happens as we see the struggle of a man in the woods working to create a haunting and mysterious ritual of self-liberation. The track fully embraces dynamic and seemingly disparate synth flourishes and fuzzed-out guitar to embellish the trance alongside rhythmic repetitive sung/spoken vocals contemplating space and action. As the climax builds, each layer fills your headspace with its playful dance in the universe “Deja Neu” has created.
Here, the psychedelic nature of the videography takes hold, like the shrooms ramping up into a kaleidoscope of sensory information, syncretic Nordic ritual, modern technology, and the ether of the woods. ‘Don’t go back, go on/to the universe‘ Campitelli beckons. By the end of the track and the video, you can’t go back; the ritual has been complete, and we are transformed and released into the liminal space between ourselves and the cosmos. Unless, of course, you want to experience it all again with a rewatch with headphones (there is crazy detail in the production rewarding multiple listens). “Deja Neu” invites you to tune in and drop out more than anything I’ve heard this year.
Staring At The Sun Before Goin’ Blind is scheduled for release on December 1, 2023 on Grazil Records (digital, CD, Cassette) with Echodelick Records heading up the US vinyl release and Sound Effect Records handling Greece/Europe. Check out Oslo Tapes via these links as well:
Bandcamp | Instagram | Facebook | Website | Spotify | SoundCloud | YouTube
