Cassette Review: OKTAF O "selamat datang dunia di dalam pikiran" (prettyallright)

[$5 // Edition of 40 // https://prettyallright.bandcamp.com/album/selamat-datang-dunia-di-dalam-pikiran]

Seeing a name like OKTAF O makes me think that it stands for something but then all too often I think that artists create a string of letters and either don't have it stand for anything so you can try and come up with something clever on your own or they simply do have a meaning behind it but won't tell you what it is to them.   I can understand the "OK" as simply being "okay" and back when Prince was having an identity crisis wrestlers used the "TAFKA" tag to mean "The Artist Formerly Known As" so I want to think of it as being that though when you put those two ideas together it makes little sense.   oip09 <---- One of my cats just ran across the laptop and typed that so I'm leaving it there.

Slight beeps and drums begin this cassette.   There is heavy percussion and it almost sounds as if it is distorted.   Wind tunnel screeches come out and the drumming remains.   Beep progressions bring about heavier banging now but this is still a percussion dream come true.    The sound of heavy rock comes through and I'm almost starting to think this might be on the verge of metal.   The guitar begins rocking when I'm trying to pin down whether or not it's metal exactly and then I just hear elements of Jane's Addiction, which is cool.   Prog type electro rock comes out and it might even be just best described as electronic infused rock but I'm not too familiar with many other artists who have this sound though I feel as if they do exist.

Side B begins sounding like funk with beats and it has this almost hip-hop sound to it but it's an old school vibe, something like Kid & Play or "Parents Just Don't Understand".   Video game blips and whirls come through as the drums keep going with at least soem cymbal crashes ever present.   It's a little bit frantic and might even have hints of glo-fi in it.   Synth waves begin to crash like an ocean liner as the pace slows down a bit and then a static sludge comes through with click beep-ish tones.   Lasers blast but they are drawn out and the drums persist.   Audio clips come through with steady drums and electro whirrs.    The electronics begin to sound of distorted wires and I can almost hear this as being from the television series "Alias".    Electronic keys that kind of sound like a ringtone bring about the sounds of The Who in their guitar craftmanship.

As this cassette has taken me through a journey of electronics, metal, hip-hop and just about everything else you can only imagine that some portion of it will appeal to you.   But when you take that piece out and enjoy it, you will then hear this cassette as a whole and you can realize that this small fragment which you enjoy is actually part of a much greater and wonderful puzzle.    While I'm not sure what this artist name stands for or if there is an answer to that question, the simple fact is that it does not matter because this music speaks for itself.