Oneohtrix Point Never made a stop in Chicago at the Metro on Tuesday evening as part of his “Again” tour. It was the artist’s first time performing in Chicago since 2019. Opening for OPN was Arushi Jain.
Arushi Jain is an artist whose sound incorporates influences of Hindustani classical music and ancient raga into ambient electronic soundscapes. Originally from India and now based in Brooklyn, Jain composes primarily using modular synthesizer, piano and vocals although her latest album “Delight” features instruments such as flute, saxophone and cello. Tuesday’s show saw Arushi Jain performing said album in full. Vibrant blue lights conjured an oceanic sensation as Jain’s music enveloped us in blissful, bountiful vibrations. It was her first time performing in Chicago and she gave warm thanks to the attentive crowd upon concluding her wonderful set.
Oneohtrix Point Never AKA Daniel Lopatin hails from Massachusetts. An experimental electronic artist, OPN’s music comprises Midi and sample-based production techniques to create abstracted compositions influenced by sounds and pop culture elements of previous eras. Lopatin grew up playing synthesizer from a young age and studied archival science while at Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute for grad school. His studies became a major influence on his creative approach with retro sonic and thematic aesthetics. The name “Oneohtrix Point Never” is a play on a Boston radio station’s frequency.
Lopatin’s first releases became compiled into what is considered his first critical breakthrough, 2009’s “Rifts.” His major label debut “Returnal” came out on Mego in 2010 followed by “Replica” on Mexican Summer in 2011. OPN signed to Warp Records in 2013 and released “R Plus Seven” that year. “Garden of Delete” followed in 2015, then “Age Of” in 2018, and then “Magic Oneohtrix Point Never” in 2020. OPN’s latest album “Again” came out in September 2023.
OPN scored the films “The Bling Ring”, “Partisan”, “Good Time” and “Uncut Gems” plus TV show “The Curse.” He additionally has collaborated with artists such as Joel Ford (as the duo Games), FKA Twigs, ANOHNI, The Weeknd, David Byrne and Iggy Pop.
Tuesday’s set brought a mesmerizing spectacle. OPN performed most of the songs off “Again” while peppering in older cuts like “Inside World” and “Boring Angel” from “R Plus Seven” as well as “Zones Without People” and “Time Decanted” from “Rifts.” His encore featured a mashup of songs “Sleep Dealer” and “The Body Trail” and then closer “Animals” (“Garden of Delete”). Joining Daniel Lopatin was Freeka Tet, who took the reins on visuals. In one of the most unique programming setups I’ve ever seen, OPN had an imposing machine on stage, which housed a small puppet supposed to represent Lopatin that Tet slowly walked on either side of throughout the set while holding a camera device, which then projected the puppet onto the backdrop while dotted by distorted, surreal effects as smoke machines emanated. Fragments of cartoonish imagery, fuzzy landscapes and pop culture references created collage-like scenarios that mirrored the potpourri of sound and capricious rhythms of OPN so impressively. Lopatin recently said in an interview with VICE that he seeks to find intelligibility in our modern hyper-consumerist gobbledygook by way of “compressionism”, which helps explain his affinity for intertwining bygone tropes into fleeting sequences.
Oneohtrix Point Never was a bucket list show to see for sure. To be quite frank, it felt like the soundtrack to a caffeine-induced odyssey into nostalgic subconscious. It was a mindfuck. I loved it.