By Jimmy
Ness
Deep In
The Night
crystallizes the cheesy but affable Romanticism of the pre-Internet world.
Onra’s new EP replicates the vibe of 80s and early 90s R&B, well before it
stagnated into a series of David Guetta remixes. This five-track project
conjures images of Jheri Curls, New Jack Swing and synchronized dance moves —
the post-disco sound complete with snappy drum beats and retro synths. There’s
even an expertly played keyboard solo.
For an
artist deeply inspired by nostalgia, the French Vietnamese beat-maker always
experiments with new sounds and states his sole mission is progression. Yet
vintage vocal samples stop the album from sounding too lonely. Rarely wading
into the mainstream pop landscape, he lambently glides over funk, electro, rap,
Chinese pop and even Bollywood.
Onra has
vastly evolved beyond his 2006 debut, a soul-inspired hip-hop album that led to
forced J Dilla comparisons. But he quickly shrugged that off when he distilled
30 vintage Chinese and Vietnamese vinyl records into the two-part Chinoiseries.
People also lump him in the same category as Daft Punk because they are both
French and like Funk, but Onra claims that he’s barely listened to them.
The new
EP doesn’t quite match the retro revelry of the future funk of Onra's
previous album Long Distance, probably because of its brief runtime and
my appreciation for Earth, Wind and Fire over “Cooleyhighharmony.” But there
are still some jams on here. After Hours sounds like a soundtrack to
playing under sprinkling fire hydrants and the synth-heavy title song is the
perfect companion to Mobbdeen’s gay clubbing adventures. R&B
hasn’t completely lost its charm.