Bleep

Press Release

A beautifully composed and masterfully produced album spanning deep alternative electronica, modern classical and concrète ambiance. An essential debut release from the collaborative duo featuring contemporary instrumentation and a guest vocal performance from Orlando Weeks. Packaged in unique artwork by Diana Gradinaru. Sami El-Enany & Dampé - Opix Sami and Joe (Dampé (Rinse FM) have been friends since college and collaborated on music and sound projects growing up. For the past few years they have drifted in and out of touch in London, catching glimpses of the other's work from afar. It took worldwide lockdown for the idea of the Opix LP to form. The sharing of a nostalgic photograph led to the idea of a new multiplayer online RPG campaign to pass the time and distract from cycles of bleak headlines, Instagram and jobs boards. That quickly transformed into remote music making and collaboration, bouncing material and reactions back and forth across the internet. Early lockdown for them will be defined by these songs. Celebratory and escapist, a way of protecting themselves from the panic of the moment. Sami’s focus has always been composition, working closely with directors, writers and artists to create bespoke scores and sound for film, TV, games radio, theatre and installations. Joe works in dance music, running venues, presenting a monthly show on Rinse FM and has released a series of club-focused Dampé records on Berlin’s Dirt Crew and London’s WotNot Recordings. You can hear the two contexts collide across the record to make a dreamy electronica with influences from the concert hall to the club via gaming and film. The music was made in two home studios with skyped-in recording sessions with incredible instrumentalists including jazz drummer Luca Caruso, Double Bassist Nina Harries, trumpeter Wilfred Petherbridge and songwriter and vocalist Orlando Weeks. — Sami El-Enany is a British Egyptian composer and producer whose work negotiates the fringes of modern classical, electronica and field recording. Alongside his own productions, he works closely with directors, writers and artists to create bespoke scores and sound for film, TV, games, radio, theatre and installations. Recent works include Tongue Tied, produced for BBC Radio 4, Deadly Structures, a sound-only first-person exploration game produced by the ICA and the BBC and to be released on Mac and PC this year, and the film score for Walking With Shadows, the first LGBTQ+ Nollywood feature film ever made, also to have a worldwide release this year. Dampé is a studio project from South East London. On moving to the city he has been intimately involved in its club culture from running warehouse spaces and booking venues to hosting a monthly show on Rinse FM plus DJing and performing in groups across the city and Europe. Currently based out the Rhythm Section Studio and a home (boat) studio he’s working on a series of records following 2019’s debuts drops on Berlin’s Dirt Crew and London’s WotNot recordings.