Oneohtrix Point Never, AKA Daniel Lopatin, has announced his new album Again, set for release via Warp. In Lopatin’s words the album is in part “a speculative autobiography,” a transmission, a spellbound backwash of digital languages and sonic paranoias, what’s remembered and what’s forgotten, all presented in OPN’s trademark melodic touch. Much like 2015’s Garden of Delete, Again germinated as a collaboration between Lopatin’s current and younger selves— this time, a meditation on his musical identity during young adulthood from the perspective of middle age. From there, Lopatin decoupled from the concept, and allowed the album to grow into a ‘illogical period piece’ where memory and fantasy converge to form something entirely new. The album imagines what might have been, as the musician made his music through space and time. Which decisions foreclosed some realities? What might those other worlds have sounded like?
The album’s artwork features an original sculpture by Matias Falkbakken, conceptualized in concert with Lopatin and photographed by Vegard Kleven. Design and packaging was developed by Memory, a newly formed collaboration between Lopatin and Online Ceramics (Elijah Funk & Alix Ross).
Again follows in the wake of OPN’s numerous critically acclaimed albums, including his most recent, 2020’s eponymous Magic Oneohtrix Point Never, on which he turned the dial towards his own inner frequencies, drawing from the origins of OPN as a means to discover a new found sense of levity and spirit during tumultuous times. Since that release, Lopatin has been in demand in every area of musical culture, serving as musical director for The Weeknd’s 2021 Super Bowl Half-Time performance, composing and performing the music for Chanel’s 2021 Métiers d'art show, and serving as executive producer on The Weeknd’s worldwide #1 charted album, Dawn FM (he also performed on a majority of the songs on the album). He’s worked with James Blake, Ishmael Butler, Charli XCX, Kelsey Lu, Iggy Pop and Rosalia, and his production credits also include Anohni, FKA Twigs, David Byrne, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Moses Sumney, and Nine Inch Nails among others.
For 2023 international touring, Oneohtrix Point Never presented a new solo live show titled Rebuilds which repurposed seminal tracks from his catalogue in sonic discourse with newer releases. He was accompanied by live visuals performed by long-time collaborator Nate Boyce who developed a new real-time animation system that updates the graphical themes dating back to their earliest collaborations from over a decade ago. Lopatin is set to debut a brand-new live show in early 2024, in collaboration with the video artist Freeka Tet, and with performances planned globally.
