Album Review: AiOOiA by Brother Oak

 

AiOOiA

By

Brother Oak

 

The latest release from one of the UK’s hot new labels, Good Darts, is AiOOiA by Brother Oak. Now this one is going to be a little different than my normal stuff but, it’s always good to stretch yourself and dip into something new.

The album was described to me as a mix of Hip Hop, rap, post punk and shamanic music, which immediately had me intrigued. I like a wide range of music, including music to meditate to and I have been known to do the odd shamanic journeying too, so I liked the sound of this and when I read the notes about Brother Oak, I was sold.

I’d like to quote the notes from his Bandcamp page “Take a grime MC from Thanet to the ancient woodlands and infuse with the Shamans brew for a decade or two... Cook up by the sacred fire and share around the circle... Nomadic rapper... been on road walking pilgrimage for last 3years and made this album... These are the songs from pilgrimage.”

The album is available as a digital download of nine tracks or a very limited run of cassettes which feature a mystery mix on the flip side, I’m going to review the full cassette version for and give you my thoughts on the album and the mix.

So, without further ado, I suggest you leave your expectations at the door and open your mind as we join Brother Oak for AiOOiA and the fruits of his pilgrimage…

 

The album opens with the sounds of people laughing and talking before the music begins with an organic mix of drums, flutes, finger cymbals and vocal sounds which give us this melodic tribal sound of Wind Blows The Ganja. There is just one verse here but, it gives us a good insight into what this is all about as Brother Oak speaks on a different way of life where we commune with the earth and all life on it. A simpler way of life where you understand how to use plants to induce a trance in order access different levels of consciousness, something native shamans have been doing for thousands of years. Guitar, drums, and a sprinkling of percussion vibes produces more of a classic Hip Hop sound on Odins Fire. This is a very deep track, and the guitar helps bring a spiritual edge to the sound as Brother Oak opens his heart. There is this strong feeling that the Odins Fire he speaks of the fire inside, the internal desire to see change in the world, a world that is such a dark place where money, power, war, pain, and suffering go on in an endless cycle that never seems to change. The youth see only that money, alcohol and synthetic drugs are the way to power and respect. But the Odins Fire burns inside in the hope of one day seeing love replaces all the pain and suffering in the world and where love and respect for others comes from simply being the greatest expression of who you are, A world where light replaces the darkness. Tree People opens with a melodic sound as Brother Oak gives us some poetic spoken words for the first minute, speaking on the Highest state of man, a state of mind or being where you quieten your mind, deal with your inner issues, and become at peace and open to all possibilities. When the beat drops it is a proper banger of drums, bass, guitar, vocal samples, and sax and will get ya head nodding. This one is speaking on our connection and living in harmony with nature. It brings to mind the cycle of life around trees, which provide shelter and food to the animals living below and they, in return provide nutrients and breath out carbon dioxide for the trees, which turn that into oxygen we breath. It is the way things are in the natural world, something that humans have forgotten in favour of fake idols and putting value on that which has none…

Call My Brother Sun is a short instrumental piece that strikes me as a Hip Hop meditative piece. Cuts, drums, cymbals, and samples vocals create laid-back vibe that draws your attention to the sky and the sun that shines down providing light and heat in just the right amounts to support life. Play this one next time you are chilling on a summer’s day staring up into the bright blue sky. Sax notes ease us into The Poem, before making way for a reggae guitar vibe and then a heavy beat drop, all merge, drop in and out as Brother Oak speaks. His message here is there is a lot of hate in the world, a lot of ways we have been taught things are negative when they are a person’s choice, there are so many questions as we move through life and who really has the answers? To be honest, are there truly answers or no real questions but, simply a chose and a way of being who you chose to be? Echoing drums, guitar, and a vocal sample guide us into Woodz Gang. It all merges and makes us feel like we are gathered round a campfire as stories are told of a simpler way of living in contrast to how most live, caught up in the commercial, capitalist world…

Horns provide a brief into for Clouds Remix, When the beat drops it has a real upbeat feel of drums and guitars with a head nod vibe. This one really has the feel of being a celebration of where you’re at, you see all the things that are going your way, you’re in a positive frame of mind and way of being and that’s the place you wanna stay. It’s like, finding that true expression of who you really are and living it, that’s what this track says to me, and its feel-good factor is spot on, you can feel that good vibes oozing outta this one. Drums, bass, and deep sax vibes create a chilled vibe for the Rooted Freestyle, as you can guess this one is on that freestyle vibe and see’s Brother Oak dropping some bars off the top of his head but, still keeping that spiritual, mystic kinda vibe of the album. The Album ends with Nibi Wabo a short instrumental piece that has this real deep vibe to it. It kinda feels like a hypnogogic state, the state that the brain is in between being awake and asleep, an interesting place to leave us…

Before I sum things up I’m going to flip to the B-Side and give you my impressions of the Mystery mix.

I’m not gonna say too much about this mystery mix as you need to get the cassette to properly absorb this but, what you have here is nineteen plus minute track that showcases some previously unreleased music. Because this is unreleased stuff the quality varies a little but, it gives a really good insight into the range of influences Brother Oak has in creating his own music. From grime and Hip Hop to the far east and some more soulful style music. Much of what is in this mix is instrumental after kicking off with a vocal grime style track but, there is a depth of music here that reflects a love of music in general and not just one genre, style, or origin. This mix is only available on the cassette so, I recommend you grab one and give it a listen and as there are only 15 available, I’d get in there quick.

 

Going into this album with an open mind, I found it is the kind of vibe that would really be at home here in the Glastonbury area. The whole vibe of moving away from the capitalist city areas and connecting more with nature fits in so well here but, more than that, this album strikes me as the work of someone who has had their eyes, mind, body, and spirit opened to the simpler way of life and connecting with the earth and the energies beyond that.

I found the mixing and merging of styles to really work well here and you can feel the energy and the love that has been put into bringing this out for all to here. There is an element of this being as much a very personal project as it is music for people to enjoy. The musical influences shine through on many levels and you get that underground music style alongside more tribal and native influences and creates this really deep vibe that you can either just enjoy as a musical experience or you can really feel it vibe throughout you mind, body and soul.

Brother Oak brings a wealth of vocal and musical experience to bear on AiOOiA. His production perfectly merges the differing musical influences and with is wordplay and poetry skills he really does a great job of creating a style all of his own. This kind of spiritually awaked style of music comes close to some of the more recent work of Remark who is incorporating more of this style of writing in his own work so, Brother Oak is in good company there.

Overall, I found this to be an innovative release, which at times feels deeply personal but, with a desire to reach out to people on a whole new level and inviting them to connect and be open minded to a new future. I know this is not gonna be to everyone’s taste because you will get those who will only see hippy vibes etc but, I would say simply, give it a try and if your still not happy that’s fine but, I’m sure there will many who do give this one a go and truly enjoy it, like me.

Before I go, I would like to mention everyone who was a part of this release alongside Brother Oak. Because there is a lot of live musicians on this one and that, for me, also adds depth to the whole project:

Production/Lyrics/Vocals - Brother Oak

Additional Production - Greenhill Will, Remi Rorschach

Guest Lyrics/Vocals - Mark From The Zoo, Algonquin Nation, JuJu

Saxophone - Phil Holmes, Ollie Genn-Bash

Bass Guitar - Nick Grimshaw

Saz - Matt Watkins

Turntables - Slippa Chervascus

Artwork - JuJu

AiOOiA bt Brother Oak is out now on the Good Darts label.

Massive thanks to Slippa Chervascus for taking the chance and sending me this.

On That note,

Time for me to be out,

See Ya.

Steve

LINKS

Get AiOOiA from Bandcamp Here:

https://brother-oak.bandcamp.com/album/aiooia

Get the Limited Cassette from Good Darts Here:

https://www.gooddarts.co.uk/product/brother-oak-aiooia-cassette-album/