Commissions I

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Commissions I
Multiple small black lines falling from the top with a red line on the bottom
EP compilation by
Oneohtrix Point Never
ReleasedApril 19, 2014
Recorded2012–13
GenreElectronic
Length20:24[1]
LabelWarp
ProducerOneohtrix Point Never
Oneohtrix Point Never chronology
R Plus Seven
(2013) 		Commissions I
(2014) 		Commissions II
(2015)
Singles from Wave 1
  1. "Music for Steamed Rocks"
    Released: March 5, 2014

Commissions I is a

music journalists
, landing at number nine on a list of the best EPs of 2014 by Pretty Much Amazing.

Commission listing

"Music for Steamed Rocks"

"Music for Steamed Rocks" is an interpretation of a piece by Polish composer Witold Lutosławski.

"Music for Steamed Rocks" (7:29)

drones a la Returnal (2010).[6][4][7] Critic Ott Ilves writes that "Music for Steamed Rocks" consists of two movements, the first one consisting of voices that "playfully experiment with the harmony" and the second including strings and drone synthesizers.[7]

"Meet Your Creator"

Lopatin composed "Meet Your Creator" (5:35)

Rifts (2009).[6] However, Kalev found it the most similar to "Chrome Country" and "Problem Areas," two cuts from R Plus Seven, because it involves "Lopatin zooming in on minute textural detail and solitary figures so that they’re rendered in pin-sharp detail."[4]

Described by Ilves as an "uplifting hymn,"[7] "Meet Your Creator" opens with spiraling 16-bit-game-esque synths before it "gives way to positively subterranean bass," wrote Goggins.[5] Goggins analyzed the first half of a track to not have a time signature, while the second half follows the same build-up structure of "Music for Steamed Rocks."[5] Kalev writes the track consists of "melodic lines" circling around the song, drone synthesizer sounds, and choirs that "overlap and twist, building or subsiding quite unexpectedly."[4] He wrote that "The palette Lopatin is working with is so limited, each element cushioned by so much space, that the precise points at which synth line, choir and pearly countermelody intersect are just as compelling as the timbres themselves."[4] As Ilves analyzed, "the nervy and alien-sounding arpeggios, dark drone sounds, ecstatic synths and symphonic organs lead towards the culmination -- the hopeful, harmonious and playful arpeggios, which seem to close the loop bringing the track back to the start -- all in sync with the visual play before your eyes."[7]

"I Only Have Eyes For You"

I Only Have Eyes For You
"

The final track on Commissions I is what Kean described as an ominous and disordered

sustain throughout.[5][4] As he analyzes, "it feels as if it should be soothing, but there’s an implied foreboding to the instrumentation and something unshakeably disconcerting about the irregular, layered vocal that seems intended to throw you off."[5] Kalev also called the song similar to R Plus Seven as well as having the "widescreen feel" of Rifts and Returnal.[4] In fact, he highlighted the voices used on the track to be the part of the EP most similar to R Plus Seven.[4]

EP history

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The 4058.5/10[7]
Fact3.5/5[4]
The Line of Best Fit7/10[5]
The List[6]

All of Lopatin's commissions that are featured on Commissions I were mixed and engineered for the EP by Paul Corley, who also worked with Lopatin on R Plus Seven, and mastered by Icelandic producer Valgeir Sigurðsson.[3][2] Robert Beatty was responsible for the EP's cover art,[2] which was featured on a column titled Record Sleeves of the Month by magazine Creative Review.[8] With "Music for Steamed Rocks" released as a preview on March 5, 2014,[9] Commissions I was released on Record Store Day on April 19, 2014 by the English independent label Warp for a limited 12" vinyl edition of 1,000 copies.[2]

Upon release, Commissions I garnered very favorable reviews from

professional music critics. Keane wrote in his review for magazine The List, "It’s art, it’s collage, it’s retro-futurist music for replicants and it sounds very nice."[6] As Kalev summarized his opinion of the EP, "Commissions I is not just compelling in its own right; it also provides an invaluable insight into the interplay between the commissioned work and the conventionally released music of one of the past few years’ most pivotal electronic artists."[4] Goggins, reviewing for The Line of Best Fit, highlighted the commissioned tracks for their "distinctiveness," writing that they "work together in impressively cohesive fashion."[5] Ilves, who wrote for The 405, called the EP a "thoughtful and conceptual collection of works worthy of praise."[7] Commissions I was number one on Exclaim!'s list of "Top Releases to Hunt for This Record Store Day"[10] and ranked number nine on a year-end list of the 14 best extended plays of 2014 by Pretty Much Amazing.[11]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Music for Steamed Rocks"7:29
2."Meet Your Creator"5:35
3."I Only Have Eyes for You"7:20

References

  1. ^
    Bleep.com
    . Click on the track names to view the track lengths. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Special Release: Oneohtrix Point Never – Commissions I." Record Store Day Official Website. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d Commissions I (2014). Oneohtrix Point Never. Warp. WAP365.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Kalev, Maya (May 6, 2014). "Commissions I". Fact. The Vinyl Factory. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Goggins, Joe (April 14, 2014). "Oneohtrix Point Never – Commissions I". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  6. ^ a b c d e Keane, Mark (April 23, 2014). "Oneohtrix Point Never – Commissions I". The List. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Ilves, Ott (April 3, 2014). "Oneohtrix Point Never – Commissions I [EP]". The 405. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  8. ^ Steven, Rachael (May 7, 2015). "Record sleeves of the month". Creative Review. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  9. SpinMedia
    . Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  10. ^ Hudson, Alex (April 17, 2014). "Exclaim!'s Top Releases to Hunt for This Record Store Day". Exclaim!. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  11. ^ "14 Best EPs of 2014". Pretty Much Amazing. December 1, 2014. Retrieved May 9, 2017.

External links

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