Genre/Influences: Experimental-techno, IDM.

Background/Info: Maiko Okimoto is a Japanese female artist who has already been active for a couple of years now. After having worked with other artists she started producing her own work and got in touch with the Berlin based Horo label. “Ourea 1” is the official debut work of Maiko Okimoto and got released a few months ago now.

Content: This is a pretty complex, but intelligent music format, which takes off with psychedelic sounds and noises till a beat is progressively joining in. The work progressively starts to move into an experimental techno approach featuring harder, industrial sounds. The work is accomplished with tribal elements and heavier, bombastic blasts.

+ + + : The least I can say is that Ourea definitely sounds like an innovative and visionary artist. The sound sculptures are absolutely remarkable while the global production and mixing is ultra professional. I also like the progression in the 4 cuts, finally reaching a real great apotheosis on both final cuts.

– – – : The sound Ourea deals with is not the most common one and that’s probably why she got signed on Horo. Berlin remains the absolute epicenter of innovation when it comes to techno music. It however is the question which audience Ourea will reach as the music is not the most accessible one.

Conclusion: Ourea sounds like an electronic hybrid covering different influences and that’s maybe why it sounds a bit like ‘alien techno’.

Best songs: “Adamantine Sickle”, “From Chaos Came Erebus”.

Rate: (8).

Band: www.facebook.com/maiko.okimoto.71

Label: www.facebook.com/horolabel