Last night (2 October) the musician took part in an online Q&A with fans on r/INDIEHEADS in support of his new album Again – which was released last Friday (29 September).
Daniel Lopatin, aka Oneohtrix Point Never, discussed the new album, inspirations, collaborations and his favourite animal (which is apparently a sloth, in case you were wondering). When asked about working with Yung Lean, Lopatin replied that “he’s one of the finest poets in music rn”. In response to a question about his opinion on Mark Fisher‘s work, he called the late cultural theorist “a genius prophet”.
Speaking on his 2020 album Magic Oneohtrix Point Never, Lopatin discussed its artist contributors. He confirmed that Arca features on the track Shifting and when asked whether Ubiquity Road – from new album Again – was a dedication to the late Ryuichi Sakamoto, to which OPN replied “in a way, but it’s just his presence is felt throughout my entire life as a “composer” and I miss him very much.” To a fan asking if Again track Elseware was a “little tribute” to the late trailblazer, he said: “yea and entire record was!”
The Crack Magazine cover star also talked about working with the Safdie brothers: “We were fans of each other’s work and met up in NYC,” he said, detailing how he ended up working with the filmmakers. “We vibe out and are collaborative in the studio together and discover the score as it unfolds in front of us”. He also revealed that it was Josh Safdie’s idea to have Gigi D’Agostino’s L’Amour Toujours over the end credits of Uncut Gems.
Elsewhere, he hinted that Eccojams – his late aughts vaporwave project under the alias Chuck Person – might be making a comeback. “I’d love to know what the deal is with the sudden more prominent throwbacks to Eccojams?”, a fan asked. “The hoodie that’s just been announced, activity on sunsetcorp, your twitter bio nod? Are we being blue balled or is the “cryotank (still) set to defrost” at some point?” In response to this, Lopatin said: “not trying to tease but ECCOJAMS is def on my mind cuz I’m making them again. Maybe old ones will remain frozen for all eternity and just make new ones. Maybe both. But def sometime when I can, there will be more”.
When asked about his favourite metal bands and their influences on his work, he wrote, “rhythm!!! sculptural solos! craziest guitar rhythms, mind bending solos. Metal rocks”. He also shared that, when struggling to find immediate inspiration, “walking aimlessly” is his go to – “walking cures all” he added.
Additionally in the Q&A, Lopatin shared his experiences of getting into music and particularly being involved in the Boston experimental scene. “When I started, I was in western mass and freak folk (“new weird America” was what magazines called it) was the underground music du jour. And I was not fitting in there. So I just kept to myself until I moved to Boston where a really rich and eclectic experimental music scene was happening,” he said, “and had no issues getting involved there. Keith Fullerton Whitman was a huge source of inspiration and support in those days and still love his music to this day”.
In response to a question about how often he feels afraid Lopatin wrote: “I’m a leo we have courage. But sometimes I fear”. Read the full AMA on r/INDIEHEADS.
Read: Connecting… Oneohtrix Point Never.
@crackmagazine Hello September 🗓️ #OneohtrixPointNever is our new cover star. Issue 147 is out now. #OneohtrixPointNever #CoverLaunch #CrackMagazine ♬ original sound – E|M|C
