Oli XL Shares Jungle Manipulations Full of Muted Agitation

Stockholm-based multidisciplinary artist Oli XL has shared the first of three pairs of tracks that will make up the collection Tracer Wanz, forthcoming on his own W - I imprint. "Rogue Idiot" and "Stress Ganz" find the producer crafting austere jungle manipulations, characterized by careful handling of negative space and laser-eyed focus. A sense of muted agitation seems to undergird their fidgeting gestures, also coming through strongly in the webs of hissing textures sewn throughout their arrangements.

The producer told THUMP how the tracks arrived from a process of self-discovery. "I've made a lot of music during the last year, but not as myself," he said. "It has been under fake names, fake faces consisting of retouched images of myself into other, non-existent people, fake backstories... Suddenly, one of these fake characters started to get attention from basically all of my biggest idols. It's a long story—it all kinda got out of hand."

"The music I'm releasing now as myself is music I made when all of this was happening to keep myself together," he added. "While juggling different personalities daily, it kind of acted as an anchor to who I really am. It's basically music that sounds like me..."

The full Tracer Wanz collection is forthcoming on W - I, with the exact release date TBD.

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