Patrick Rasmussens musical worldview goes beyond the adjectives that are continuously used to describe his music - eclectic, accomplished, experimental. He is a restless journeyman who, as Raz Ohara, has sojourned in collaborations with electronica luminaries such as Apparat and Luomo, and has penned solo work of electronic downtempo, acoustic, folktronica, and various points between. Most recently, under the guise of The Odd Orchestra, he changed course again and crafted two albums, Raz Ohara & The Odd Orchestra and II, both explorations of hazy, pastoral, avant-garde pop, grounded by Rasmussens soulful and heartfelt vocals.
With “Colefire", which featured as the closing track for Get Physical’s Full Body Workout Vol 04 compilation of 2008, Rasmussen gave us the first glimpse of his affinity for leftfield electronica as Omurah is the alter ego of Raz Ohara. The long-ranging ambient drones and minimalistic sound design of “Colefire” were a precursor to the otherworldly body music that Rasmussen has created for the first official Omurah release, Paranormal Symphonies. Weightless deep-space sounds introduce “Die Hochzeit", which translates to ‘The Wedding’ in English. Looped, finger-plucked strings, and an ever-increasing tide of deep, formless pulses and harmonica trails are pursued by galloping rhythm, created from the marriage of bass and acoustic guitars. A deep and hypnotic fusion of slow-house tempo and analog transformation, combined with heady vocal harmonies that lend an ethnic edge, it calls to mind modern post-rock acts like Pivot, The Field and Battles. The original version of “Paranormal Symphony” will undoubtedly draw comparison to the great master of experimental micro house, Ricardo Villalobos. Ramussen’s flair for arranging unexpected melodic tangents over a core of club music is breathtaking, and “Paranormal Symphony” will likely become Omurah’s signature opus. Hemmed by a subtle yet driving house beat.