by Soli Guinto
Evanora: Unlimited. A collective, an ever-changing movement, created by the young artist Orion Ohana, son to two Oakland DJs, the collective and creator both a sensation as well as a commentary on the post-punk, new electronic scene. Their most recent album, “Perfect Answer,” engages with the industrial electronic sound by using grimy bass lines, fuzzy audio, sporadic electronic blips, screechy vocals, random injections of French, Japanese, synths, dog barks, alarms, Russian audio clips, and even a cowbell, all while maintaining a post-punk sound. Their vocals are almost “chant-like”, repeating phrases such as “no country for old men who die alone”(No Country) or “your face burning in my mind”(Symptoms of Amnesia). Personally, I have really enjoyed both the lyrical album and the instrumental half of the album as well. My favorite song off of the album is either Sequoia Tide or Salt Water.
If someone asked me to describe this project, I would say that Evanora’s label is true, the sound feels unlimited. Ohana has said before that he does not consider his music to have intentional meaning, nor does he take a direction when creating, rather just following his own feeling. “Perfect Answer” feels exactly like that, perfectly improvised, constantly keeping the listener on their toes. All in all, this album has definitely made me an Evanora: Unlimited fan, and I cannot wait to see the collective’s direction in future projects.
