Opal Sunn (Alex Kassian and Hiroaki OBA) believe in unicorns, leprechauns and mermaids. This is their first offering for the ESP Institute. The A side leads with 'The Problem With George', a percussive monster at a half-time tempo that goes deep with a dual mission; to successively build round after round while keeping the listeners mind and body in an ecstatic state of surrender. Imagine the dancefloor pumping, and at a dynamic peak the DJ halves the timing and wipes the floor with your spinal fluid. On the flip, 'The Mystery Of Mr Lee' takes a similar approach in terms of arc and arrangement, although replacing the analogue percussion with 16th-note arpeggios of synthetic steel, glass and tubes. Beneath this glistening veneer lies another scale-wandering melody constructed of machine toms that eventually opens up, morphing into a more decisive hook, wrapping more tightly around the drum pattern before retreating back beneath layers. If dropped at the opportune time, let’s say the sensitive blue morning before dawn cracks, we expect a dancefloors to reach the highest level of psychedelic escape, after which hugs are essential. These two songs will tuck you in and kiss you goodnight. More

Opal Sunn are Hiroaki Oba and Al Kassian, two expats from Japan. Al arrived in Berlin 2013 after studying in London. He also makes music as a solo artist and has released on Love On The Rocks and Utopia Records. Hiroaki is a 2010 RBMA alumni and divides his time between the German captial and Tokio. After releasing two eps on their own Planet Sundae label, they're offering their follow up on Nick Ho¨ppner's new label. Here they continue to refine their style which displays and exquisite sense of space , melody, movement and groove. Opal Sunn's music straddles the line of body music and stimulation of the mind always bringing this contrast to fruition with their tracks. At the heart of the energetic opener „Parallax“ lies an arpeggiated synth sequence that constantly shifts shapes and bounces off the syncopated percussion and beat marrying the technical with the organic. „Aura“ rides an equally undeniable groove, but turns its misty-eyed gaze inwards, focussing on creating that oceanic feeling powered by emotive strings and textures. Over on the flip side „Mirage“ folds into the haze of a sweaty dancefloor hitting the sweet spot of minimalism, melodic content and physical propulsion. „Phantom“, the final track, drops the 4/4 in favour of an Electro beat occasionally kissed by the legendary „Think“ break. The vibe is decidedly deep and mellow rounding off an EP which oozes understated confidence and longevity. More

Following releases on Love On The Rocks and Pinchy & Friends (the massive 'Leave Your Life' and 'Strings of Eden' which now goes for big bucks on Discogs) Alex Kassian arrives with the first release on the new label from the Test Pressing team.

Lead track 'Voices' arrives in three mixes that run from an expansive journey, to a pure club version, followed by the ambient excursion 'Lifestream' - an electronic piece focussing on what Alex does best, quality production with amazing sounds and melody. This is the first in a three part series of Alex Kassian releases building to an album next year. More