February 10, 2023 - Solar Body
I’ve been sitting on London-based producer/DJ Ashley Thomas aka Otik for too long. We all know how slow perfectly on-time these reviews make their way to the surface. But suffice it to say, every time I sat down to put pen to paper, Thomas had released yet another stellar project that I needed to wrap my ears around. At this point, I can wait no longer.
Summer Ghost opens with ‘Summer Ghost.’ Rich digital chimes cry out in that 90s 3D-modeling-software kind of way. Thomas lays the fantastical ambiance on thick. Forest noise sprawls out from every crack and crevice, filling the sound space with a lush carpet of auditory moss. The piece falls right into what I call the lethologica lagoon: a dreamy digitized tropical paradise that I have never been to or seen, but I know it exists in the back corners of the dawn of the digital age. Thomas knows this space well, wrapping his melodies around tight percussion and a faint bubbling stream of Memphis horrorcore.
‘Angel Farm’ continues the journey through the forest. The mood shifts slightly towards the moodier, with a more consistent, trance-inducing percussive line. Blue and green bioluminescent lights flicker amongst the trees. A cool wind snakes its way through the undergrowth, sending chills up the spine that don’t release until the vocal buildup in the following track, ‘Hyperborea.’ The release comes like an ocean wave crashing against the rocks: fresh and strong and salty and immediate. Thomas invokes early 90s software sensibilities again, with vocal risers that feel just as at home in a cathedral as they do as the background to an operating system startup sequence. It’s beautiful.
Thomas pairs up with artist friend Tom VR for the finale. ‘Enchant’ does just that, recapping the short but deep journey made thus far in a dreamy, bright, dance-forward groover. Melodic thoughts spin around like cotton candy, stretching and layering and dissolving into one another. Light digital distortion frays the edges of the sounds here, bringing a sense of ethereal temporality to the mix. It’s a joyous and mindful experience, just like the project as a whole. I’m glad to finally put these words down. I’m glad for the projects that have come before this. I’m glad there’s more music on the way.🍍