ØKSE by ØKSE

Setting hip hop free of the constraints imposed by traditional looping beat structures, improvised, live-recorded instrumentals elevate jazz rap to new heights on the new album ØKSE by ØKSE. Hardcore hip hop vocals soar on the wings of hyperactive jazz solos, backed by a rhythm section that smoothly drives the band through hip hop and free jazz terrain. At other moments, the band runs wild with expansive solos and thrilling, rapid rhythms, setting the hip hop influence aside save for the occasional vocal ad lib. Integrating the two genres so thoroughly gives ØKSE an extreme sense of texture and space, placing us in the room not just with the vocalist or the soloist but with the entire ensemble, each member of which occupies a specific, recognizable point in the stereo and frequency range. Combining this tactile space with a sensation of flowing movement between various styles and cadences converts this album into an immersive sensory experience, taking us on an unforgettable tour through deeply detailed, emotional, human locations that we long to return to the second the music stops.