Okraa 1994

Colombian-born, Juan Carlos Torres Alonso aka Okraa debuts on A Strangely Isolated Place with a set of four extended, beguiling tracks that harness the power of a slowly developing, cathartic process of experimentation, textures and noise.

With Garage and Electro releases amongst labels such as Lobster Theremin and Shadow Puppet, Juan’s Okraa alias has laid ambition to cover many unrestricted styles moving forward, and none could be as fluid in description as ‘1994’.

What began as an experiment in minimalism, 1994’s approach was dictated by the methods used within the creation of its very first track, ‘Ola De Luz’. After developing 15 modules and patterns that were originally meant to be performed live, Juan continued to use this bank of sounds as an expression of his many emotions over the years. Each track on 1994 is inspired by different personal life events, but built upon and evolved from this similar palette of sounds, patches and field recordings.

The result is a record that feels extremely focused, yet alive and growing with each listen, reflecting the many years of changing emotions. The sounds of underwater field recordings cascade into waterfalls of noise, and uniform waves of light, both stimulating and transformative, birth new levels of movement and energy as each track progresses. It’s a combination of majestic force and respect for the detailed listening experience, minimalism birthing maximalism, in many ways.