You’re sitting in a quaint, comfortable coffee shop as it the rain starts to pour outside.
Maybe you’re alone, maybe your friend had left you at the table for a minute, but as you glance outside as the thunder and lightning make themselves known, and people rush through the streets to get shelter, your mind begins to wonder…that feeling is exactly the feeling that took over while I was listening to OTON’s Seasons.
The Belgian trip-hop duo, comprised of Baptiste Langois and Sasha Vovk, manages to capture that feeling of nostalgia, melancholy, and a strange sense of calm in their quirky EP, Seasons, which was released on May 17.
OTON Rises from Chance Encounter
The duo, who first collided paths at a concert Vovk was performing at three years ago, began to experiment with musical collaborations. Eventually OTON was born, having Sasha’s hauntingly beautiful, smooth voice, similar to the likes of Låpsley or Norah Jones, overlay Baptiste’s productions.
The two-song EP gives the type of introduction to their work that left me anticipating more. What OTON did right was cleverly combining elements from different genres until they found the perfect formula.
Both “Slow,” which is a single and deals with the feeling of not fully being yourself when dealing with substances, and “Comfort” are fairly similar in terms of musical elements, but this doesn’t mean that they aren’t spectacularly done.
It is fairly easy to get lost in Vovk’s calming, jazzy voice and Langois’ flawless electronic beats, leaving your imagination wandering.
Just like most mainstream hits, there is a universal quality to their “trip-hop” sound that easily lends itself to potential remixes of all kinds. In my opinion, if an acclaimed DJ or producer were to work with the duo, it is without a doubt that the Belgian group would climb the charts worldwide.
For now, OTON remains a gem within the indie scene.
