This mixtape marks the 2nd anniversary of OTA, a Portuguese label being run by Pedro Cassiano and Miguel Fonseca.
After having recently co-produced their 30th release, it only felt right to celebrate some of the artists and releases that trailblazed the label's path before it. As far as curatorial intention goes, OTA works with mastodons from the depths of weirdness but also complete newcomers, all making for a parade of catchy, curious, otherworldly sounds, sometimes retaining a whiff of domestic bliss.
In fact, when not inviting solo producers at the helm, OTA's collaborative projects take the meaning of "kitchen-sink production" to new levels, using non-exceedingly-exotic sources to welcome effect. Given the above, I went on and took an intuitive (but also rather relentless!) approach to building this 'label showcase' of sorts, courting the angular, melodic parts as well as the more reflective bleeps, blips, hisses, gurgles - and, yes, even some vigorous bedtime snoring - because no matter what type of produckshon or process you turn to, OTA have put out some resonant/resonating stuff.
The label's output thus far has been documented and made digitally available for free or by donation on their bandcamp page, while the associated 'merch' section stands out for some colorful (mostly) individually designed cassette sleeves.
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Words & mix by Miru Mercury, mastering assistance by Gili Mocanu, and photography by Miguel Fonseca.