Review: Sonotto - "FORGET ALL THAT YOU LOVE" EP
Truly enigmatic through each and every step they take as an artist, an upbringing fuelled by an illustrious exploration of creativity, an example of blatant uniqueness, Sonotto, is an artist who holds this unforgiving, unrelenting and unmatched energy.
They are a true performer and a warhorse of a producer, whose every release is a cliff-hanger - imagining what could this multitalented individual possibly bring out next. And this week, they pick back up where they left off with the two-track EP, FORGET ALL THAT YOU LOVE.
If you have met this artist before you would know that this EP is paired perfect to Sonotto’s divinely possessed dancing. They metaphorically plant a flag on every stage they takeover, on every release they’ve put out. So when the question was asked to preview this EP and share my thoughts, I was honestly delighted to get the early insight.
So let us begin.
‘FORGET ALL THAT YOU LOVE’, a personal outcry from Otto, a tale of claustrophobia and detachment. A fragment of their life, where isolation leads to self abandonment. The track itself holds a frenzy of electric guitar riffs, beating at our eardrums. Welded into these riffs are teetering cymbals and a breakdown followed by an iconic spiralling wail from the singer;
“forget allllllllllllllllllllllllllll… that you love.”
Second breakdown, the grit of electric guitar, percussion and the vocals rises until a riff change, glitched-out vocals and a quad of bleeps takes the listener to the climax. With every component firing off, the singer’s vocals echo ‘love’ over and over until this 2 minute saga end.
Perhaps that repetition of ‘love’ is an internalised reminder that letting go would be costly to Otto, these are things they love after all. This personal conflict is amplified over a battleground of rock and electro influences. The riff is Muse-like, the combination of instrumentals-vocals is giving Jack White energy, yet the song’s meaning and full composition unapologetically sums up Sonotto. It’s an explosion of energy, it is a colour bomb on the soundscape, it has rhythm, grit and a moshpit incentive.
If you can’t tell, this has got me really excited.
However this excitement doesn’t solely come from this first track. Sonotto is on a mission this year, this EP marks one of many singles on their schedule. And these releases follow on from the ‘euphoric and cinematic’ We Are Labels album in 2024.
‘Prolific’ is the word right? .
What is interesting is how this genre-bending, electro-innovating, creative mastermind maintains their streak of breaking the mould. These tracks are unlike anything you’ve heard before. If you watch Sonotto live, your eyes will be glued to their every movement.
Is this because it is so heartfelt?
The artist explains;
“I make music that frees me from thought. Every song is a portrayal of the egoic patterns I was once trapped in, and by expressing them through music, I am able to free myself from them and become more aware”
This is explored again in ‘RETRACT’.
“love I thought, but really it’s war”
This loop of reoccurring chimes and bleeps come close to the whirring of mechanics, are we inside a simulation of the artist’s experiences? Vocals have a King Krule rhythm but with a much softer tone, matching this melancholic yet ethereal background of instrumentals. The eeriness isn’t unnerving, it is comforting. I’m on the edge of this sheer drop but it feels like I’ve got the best spot on a sofa.
Past the halfway mark, we are welcomed into Sonotto’s transcendent toolkit of production. The drum break gives this sense of movement, moving on. As the vocalist professes his vulnerabilities, the track ascends, the light brightens, the pain fades. It feels like acceptance but by no means an amelioration. The contentment resides in finding this feeling, as it was supressed but now it is recognised, made real.
That is what strikes me about this EP and their work. It is this bizarre, often perplexing, arrangement of experimental rock, glitchy electronic, incredible vocal range, rhythmic switches and… existentialism.
All these become irregular, overlapping jigsaw pieces that Sonotto brings together to form a full-scale 4K insight into to their creative, gifted and unique mind.
Catch Sonotto live next at Cafe Kino on 5th July or The Louisiana on 20th July
You can also find Sonotto on any of the links below
Written by Brandon Purmessur
Brandon is a music journalist in Bristol who enjoys writing as well as hosting radio shows and video interviews. Beyond music, he enjoys working with the community and learning about other cultures.
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