xoa: program change
Francisco Espregueira
Following high-karat releases on Soundway Records and Five Easy Pieces, South London based producer XOA (a.k.a. Nick Tyson) is earning a well deserved reputation with his use of rich analogue sonics, steeped in the electronic sounds of London’s musical underbelly, blending vibrant textures and cosmic melodies, melding afrobeat and jazz sensibilities with house and techno. The XOA project now re-emerges as a four person outfit, which sees Tyson (Bass & Electronics) providing more depth to his creations with Johnny Tomlinson (Synths / Fender Rhodes), Josh Arcoleo (Tenor Saxophone) and Joost Hendrickx (Drums) joining in. Together they present a new 4 track EP entitled Program Change and a new direction: hard hitting jazz with big analogue electronic sounds.
In Program Change, the sounds appear naturally with a new energy and focus on channeling deep interstellar visions throughout XOA’s music, incorporating celestial arpeggios, haunting motifs, acid infused bass lines and driving electronics. There’s little to no programming on the tracks, but a lot of care on the individual sounds, drawing on Tyson’s experience as an electronic music producer. Available on vinyl, Program Change is the first release to come out via Tyson’s own imprint Outervisions - a label which embraces creatively driven artists blending sounds of Jazz and electronic music from London and beyond.
“We just wanted and needed to get together to write, play, share time and create together, and I wanted each member to reach out at different points and express themselves’. The record is a result of that.”