Releasing the closest moment he’s come to a conventional song as a first single, Oneohtrix Point Never (aka Daniel Lopatin) nevertheless takes the road less travelled with this offering.  Pairing a piano+vocal recording with a radical reimagining and leaving the whole affair at that, the man turns over yet another stone on his search to define what, exactly, his music means.

“You’ve never left; you’ve been here the whole time.”

The above quote seems to sum up the artist’s entire raison d’être.  In fact, the elucidated lyrics, as gorgeously sung by Antony Hegarty, directly put to words many of the feelings evoked by the man’s signature aural space.  Accompanied by spare, treated piano and the faintest wisp of echo, the operatic vocalist takes direct aim and amplifies the gut-level impact of Lopatin’s composition while laying bare the melodic underpinning of his enigmatic recording.

As brilliant as it sounds standing alone, the track is swiftly one-upped by Fennesz on the second side.  Alchemizing the original, Antony‘s version, and elemental touchstones from throughout the titular album itself, the Austrian glitch deity twists up an overwhelming cocktail distilling everything which makes Oneohtrix Point Never intriguing in under five minutes.  Simultaneously near-infectious yet more esoteric than the original, the track casts the newly focused vocals into a realm somewhere between the original’s stellar echoes and Antony’s intimate transmission, while providing the synths with both a rhythmic backbone and an environment utterly devoid of gravity.  As in, yes, this version soars more than the artist himself.

As in, I’m beyond elated merely considering the possibility of these two collaborating in the future.  As in…  just listen to the track and know, as I do, what it’s like to have one’s mind blown in this particular way.  It’s a fun ride.  Regardless of how you may feel about the changes, a new and wider and deeper understanding of Oneohtrix Point Never emerges.

Tracklist:

A. Returnal [voice: Antony, piano: Daniel Lopatin]

B. Returnal [remixed by Fennesz]

[grab this 7″ from forced exposure because it’s worth it.]