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Music

Doprah – Doprah EP

Dope and Oprah. No, it’s not how I plan to spend my weekdays now that the university semester is over, and it’s not the reason America’s midday television emperor called it quits – it’s the de-portmanteaued name of New Zealand producers Doprah. They’ve just dropped their debut, which as well as being self titled, is completely self produced and self released.

doprah

Cyborg vocals + foundsound percussion + absolute groove = Doprah. Grab this one now and put it on the comedown playlist.

We fell in love with the trippy bounciness of their track San Pedro back when we were doing our NZ focussed zines and despite sharing a name with my all time favourite Mogwai track, it’s really living up to my expectations. Seeing as one is from a Scottish post-rock band and the other is from a kiwi trip hop project, I think I can share my love among the two San Pedroes.

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The new material is just as hypnotic – beats created from looped found jingle jangles, more akin to the clinking of beer bottles in the fridge, the dropping of keys down a drain and classy finger snaps. EP opener Stranger People couldn’t borrow more from post-acid-house pioneers Portishead – eerie strings, magically effected vocal hooks and amazing ambient percussion. If the Goosebumps television series had used these guys for their soundtrack, it might have lived up to legendary literary spooker R.L. Stine’s legacy, rather than being another forgotten oddity of the 1990’s.

Make sure you have the bass turned up for Whatever You Want, the eeriness of Doprah’s last two tracks is replaced with a creamy, smooth grooviness, driven by a sub bass line that shakes you right to the core. Worming it’s way into your spinal fluid, there is something about this arrangement that forces your head to do that cheesy bass player head thing.

While I think it’s the electric string tickling that’s giving me shivers on this track, it’s the vocal effects that take out MVP on this track. Contextualising this release in an IDM climate where pitchy vocals are not only expected but almost necessary, Indira’s beautiful breathiness is given a digital body – tastefully crafted cyborg lungs.

Doprah’s EP is definitely late night listening at it’s finest – pre-sunrise comedowns, floorboard shaking after-parties and sexy times of all shapes and sizes. Unfortunately, Doprah have stated that their June 3rd show at the CSPA would be their last show in a while, but you can get your live Doprah fix by appreciating this amazing vid:

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