Articles by Robin Ono

Mister Puciato belongs to that pesky breed of insolent artists whose medium relies not so much on set procedure as it does on the element of surprise, artists whose line of work thrives on the subversion of expectations.

With its extensive collection of photos, in-depth interviews and featured reviews, Wolves Evolve: The Ulver Story is a gorgeous volume, dense with information and trivia for avid fans to sink their teeth into.

Robin Ono caught up with vocalist and heavy metal wizard Trevor Strnad to learn more about the morbid passions that transpire into his work.

Built on a solid understanding of what made the band’s sound so distinct and effective, Verminous is a thrill-ride and daring new chapter written by The Black Dahlia Murder’s unwavering and highly contagious love for all things that lurk in heavy metal’s catacombic depths.

Like the previous year, this 2019 edition of the Pitchfork Music Festival proved to be as exciting as it was unpredictable, a fertile ground where unmet expectations on one end are inevitably traded off with amazing discoveries found not far elsewhere.

Devotees to the sounds of hipness, rejoice! The time has come for your sacred, yearly mass, for Pitchfork Festival will shortly return, bigger and bolder than ever, for its ninth consecutive year at the Grande Halle de La Villette in Paris.

Therein lies the magic of Miss Holter; hers is the voice of dreams, who effortlessly show the way through the majestic gardens of Alice’s Wonderland . . . as though we’ve always belonged in these strange new places.

The second evening of our grim summer of love at La Villette Sonique switched things up with some cutting edge talent from the alternative hip-hop scene. Most exciting of all was the long-awaited return of the psychotic rhyme-clown known as Danny Brown, promoting the acid-laced fever dream that is Atrocity Exhibition. . .

My first rendezvous was the lovely Cabaret Sauvage, set right along the Ourq canal running through the park, for an evening dedicated to ambient and experimental sounds. . .

Bound in unholy matrimony and devoted to spreading the dark gospel of God’s great Adversary, the duo known as Twin Temple may not sound the way your local church describes the ever-so-dreaded “Devil’s music”.

For those who gear their musical affinities towards exploration and discovery, S.K. Records’ release makes the brilliant case for the exciting possibilities that lie in the Split format by bridging gaps one can hardly imagine.

From his Historic debut efforts at Abbey Road alongside the Fab Four all the way up to his latest creative venture in his own recording studio in Santa-Barbara, Alan Parsons has made his mark in music history, as a technician behind some of rock musics’ most iconic albums as well as with his boundary-pushing work with the Alan Parsons Project.

With Earth’s first album in over five years due for release in May, Robin Ono talked to Dylan Carlson about the new record’s back-to-basics, raw approach, and working as a duo with drummer Adrienne Davies to re-imagine Earth’s core sound.

To me, listening to this album is like looking at snapshots of this whole journey through grief into myself, investigating who I am and processing these feelings. The title No More Running is a statement that I’m not running from myself anymore. It’s also a play on words, referring to a Brian Eno song called ‘I’ll come Running’.

Robin Ono caught up with Sunn O))) founding guitarist Greg Anderson to learn a little more about their latest studio session with Steve Albini as well as their approach to sound and live shows.

Minds were riveted by the kaleidoscopic display of colours and heavy sounds, provided by the booming PA systems, live-visuals and live dancers trading off dance moves combining traditional First People dances and modern Hip-Hop moves.

I entered London’s Scala with pricked up ears and senses tuned to pick up on any Sugoi activity going on, whether good or bad. If one expects to be spooked when entering a spooky castle, it sounds only fair to expect enjoyable “Sugoi” music to come out of this second day of Enjoy Sugoi Festival.

Self-evident though it may sound, Pitchfork Music Festival felt fantastically festive, as though our smug cynicism had been lifted from all of our minds for the duration of our stay at hip-young-music-snob-heaven, a time during which many Parisians briefly reunite with long-lost acquaintances such as the concept of bright, flashy colours and non-ironic optimism.

Pitchfork Music Festival has expanded to take over the Bastille area for two evenings chock full of performances by promising new acts from the indie music scene. Here I stood, sole person in line at the Badaboum at 7:30 pm sharp, with excitement tingling in my brain and French opinionatedness running through my veins. I was ready.

As both the vocalist of one of East-Asias’ most successful metal bands and a central figure in Taiwan’s political arena, Chthonic vocalist Freddy Lim has recently found himself leading a double life unlike any other after founding his own political party and being elected into Parliament. However, Freddy’s devotion to political affairs as a congressman has done little to undermine the man’s musical passion. Robin Ono finds out more.