Better later than (Oneohtrix Point) Never...

Ive avoided the incessant hype that has built like a malevolent and impenetrable fugue around Daniel Lopatin. Oh sorry - Oneohtrix Point Never. Or as I have said on a number of times (and im sure it was drunkenly and unimaginatively too...) Oneohtrix Point Whatever...

But this is it. I have avoided the hype, because I havent listened to him. Nup. Not one second of his work has entered my ears. So its easy to write someone off when you live under a rock. And I was quite happy with that.

But half an hour ago I heard 'Returnal' from his latest LP of same name, as reworked by Lapotin and Antony Hegarty. Now Antony (usually with his Johnsons) has never grabbed me either, although I have never been naive enough to ignore this man's innate vocal delivery, let alone to admit it is anything other than transcendental. That said - his music just doesn't appeal to me. For whatever reason, I put him in the same box as Jeff Buckley - great voice, liked (woulda liked) him as a kid, but now its beyond the realm of my senses... But here, a massive reinterpretation on the original, 'Returnal' takes on a dark, plaintive tone due to the sparseness of composition - only Lapotin's piano strokes and Hegarty's silken voice. The result? Magic. It truly is an electrifying ballad, something I didn't expect to hear, let alone like, let alone love. So it isnt standard Oneohtrix Point Never - the electronic glitches are kept to a minimum, mainly to denote crackles of an old track playing on a slightly dusty piece of black vinyl - but it is transfixing in its majesty. Im serious - this is an amazing track. Its been a good day...

Oneohtrix Point Never (feat Antony Hegarty) - Returnal