otta announces debut EP
"Like Nilüfer Yanya or Biig Piig, otta couches stark lines ("in these small hours I found out we might still love each other." in beguilngly aloof indie-R&B arrangements." - The Guardian
"a wonderful predecessor of what’s to come and a perfect case study of a one to watch in 2020." - The Line Of Best Fit, Song Of The Day
"a perfect slice of melancholy pop." - The FADER
"outstanding." - CLASH
Last week, South-London artist otta released her debut single ‘small hours’ to significant support from the likes of The Line Of Best Fit as their Song Of The Day, The Guardian, CLASH, Dummy and more.
Today The FADER have premiered the patchwork, skewed video to "small hours" saying that it "captures a sense of serenity and space perfectly. The interior scenes, shot in a London flat, meanwhile, offer a more manic and claustrophobic take on the song's dueling themes."
WATCH VIDEO TO 'SMALL HOURS' HERE
HEAR/SHARE ‘SMALL HOURS’ VIA
SOUNDCLOUD / DSPs
The British-Finnish artist will release her debut 'after it all blew over' EP on 24th January via [PIAS] and Warp Records producer (worked with Loyle Carner, Mica Levi, Damon Albarn, Solange Knowles, Tirzah) kwes’ label BOKKLE. Whilst all songs on the EP have been written, recorded, produced, engineered and performed by otta, kwes also lent additional production and mixing to the EP.
Speaking about the EP otta says, “I think the songs on this project were very much inspired by classic songwriting, I was listening to a lot of old pop music at the time as well as experimenting with electronic ambient music. This project was a product of finding a way to write structure into this in a way which feels natural whilst also sounding very much like a work in progress. I have always been very inspired by the production of Herbert, Dean Blunt and JPEGMAFIA, which sounds kind of chaotic in the best way whilst also feeling really natural.”
On ‘after it all blew over’, otta’s beguilingly honest practice forms into something that slips through the net of any known genre. The new material moves organically through dynamics that touch on elements of electronic music, UK jazz, future-pop, RnB and neo-soul, all delivered with a unique combination of worldliness and abandon.
There’s a playful approach to the way in which these flowing arrangements have been formed, otta explains, “I had always been writing songs on guitar but at this point I was spending a lot of time experimenting making more random music with my friends, we had no real intention of having a structured song within these ideas, it felt great…
This was the first time I made a song on Logic and was like “wait, maybe I can just do it myself or even just start to trust the sounds I’m using. I also often find it hard to finish songs and always go off on a tangent, which I guess you can hear in the choruses of some other tracks on the project.”
Whilst new techniques have been applied and learnt it’s clear that otta’s sense for melody and songwriting is far from novice. They have earned early plaudits from the likes of i-D, Ja Ja Ja and more, whilst also playing early live dates at Visions Festival and By:Larm, and to London’s underground live scene.
‘small hours’ is a desirous taste of what’s yet to come from otta and a statement of intent ahead of 2020. More details about ‘after it all blew over’ and new live dates TBA soon.