Following an ecstatic response to the first night of their monthly residency at Electrowerkz, Otzeki debut their new single ‘Sun Is Rising’ online today available to listen. Premiered on Huw Stephens show last night and the title track of the duo’s latest EP, ‘Sun Is Rising’ is shot through with the kind of elegance and emotion writ large across Otzeki’s handful of releases to date. Since their inception the partnership of Mike Sharp (vocals, guitar) and Joel Roberts (keys, Ableton) have built a loyal fan base, enjoying tastemaker support at press and plays from Annie Mac, Huw Stephens, Phil Taggart and MistaJam at Radio 1 in addition to widespread support at 6music and Radio X. They’ve accomplished all this via their own label Discophorus, a move that has allowed them to dictate their own pace and steadily hone their distinctive sound.
Laying out the blueprint with debut EP ‘Falling Out’, Otzeki’s emotive electronica, stirring vocals and glitchy guitars contrive to form perfectly sculptured ambient pop. Otzeki’s live shows have gained them widespread recognition across Europe and Spotify plays in excess of a million to date. Describing their songs as “aural patchworks” inspired by such diverse topics as the brutality of Marlon Brando’s sex scenes in Last Tango In Paris to the more universal themes of religion and universality, Otzeki aren’t afraid to challenge be it sonically or lyrically. Commenting on ‘Sun is Rising’ Sharp says - “There are myriad events to consume our minds and we are bombarded with information, be it on a global basis or from our immediate environment. We risk isolating ourselves both emotionally and physically if we don’t recognise a responsibility to connect with our environment. By simply engaging with our primary senses and the act of dancing it allows us to engage with a purer sense of reality.”
