O Yuki Conjugate

O Yuki Conjugate (OYC) is an experimental, ambient, synth project currently consisting of Roger Horberry and Andrew Hulme. It was formed in Nottingham, UK back in 1982. Coming from the post-punk background, the project fuses imaginary fourth-world landscapes with the sharper synth sounds of UK industrial/post-punk. The early output of OYC was mostly raw synth jams reminiscent of the more electrified end of Factory Records or the funkier moments of Clock DVA (just check the stunning Disco Song, a definite hit for underground dancefloors). However, the band gradually drifted towards more abstract sonic realms. This turn first became explicitly manifest on their debut album Scene In Mirage, which will soon be reissued on Emotional Rescue. While side A of the record represents the band’s early attempts at post-punk/industrial fusion, the other half establishes their sound of cloudy tropical ambient, constantly balancing between blissful lushness and deep melancholia. This direction was further pursued in subsequent albums, where we also hear a vast spectrum of sounds ranging from hypnotic tribal drumming to crystal layers of organic ambiance or echoing vocals wandering through overwhelming harmonic pulsations. This makes every album a unique experience, an exploration of new landscapes and inner worlds.

STM 280 is titled Hallucinations Mix and provides the listener with a trippy and pleasantly disorienting experience. The selection is influenced by the visual work of Melanie Smith exploring South and Central American jungles. These 25 tracks act like wayfarers guiding you across varied terrains, where murky field recordings make way for clear-skied ethereal heights. The overall mood of the mix is bright and transparent, and the pieces come from various musical traditions and approaches. Thus we find the Ethiopian funk jams of Bahta Gebre Hiwot, the alien microdrones of Pendant, gamelan-influenced circular loops of Cybe or the cinematic warmth of Susumu Yokota’s film music. As the spring is not far, this deeply elevating and touching sonic narrative will surely infuse your daily walks with some more translucent moments.

In the records

O Yuki Conjugate on the mix

In doing this – our first ever mix – we decided we needed to work to a theme. Recently we went to see an exhibition by the artist Melanie Smith and were impressed by her films of the South and Central American jungles. They were immersive and hypnotic experiences of teeming sultry jungles and ruined utopias that engaged with real sounds but not music. There was no score as such. We thought Melanie’s films were perfect to have in the back of our mind as we set about collecting material for this mix. The hallucinatory cerebral journey through jungle and city, merging organic sounds with electronic (as per the recent reissue of our first album that used the same idea) was the idea we were going to explore. Hopefully we achieved that. This collection represents a mixture of both of our tastes and includes some music from artists we admire, some of whom we will be working with in the future. Apologies to artists if you feel we’ve taken liberties with your music. Feel free to do the same with ours.