NOKO share opalescent debut EP, 'Dawn' [Stream]

“Desert Bloom” and “Chop Chop” offered NOKO listeners a glimpse of the sonic euphoria that the production duo would expand on in their debut EP, Dawn. Now, with the project’s official release, NOKO’s painting of the full sonic picture of their sound is apparent in temperate tones and shimmering chord progressions that strike texture against tinny synth work, and melodies that wash over its consumer, enveloping them in the EP’s immersive sound.

Three brand new inclusions, “Real Thing,” “Wavs,” and “Untitled019,” follow “Desert Bloom” and “Chop Chop,” to fill out the length of the offering. NOKO recruit smooth vocalist, Stella Smyth, for their first original vocal song, “Real Thing.” Instrumentally leaning, the opalescent offering satiates with twinkling notes and rolling, future bass-inspired breakdowns. “Wavs” harkens back to NOKO’s penchant for instrumental layers; looped vocal chops and climactic crescendos make for a full-circle execution. NOKO find Dawn’s finale in “Untitled019,” which glides the EP towards a languorous close.

NOKO augment Dawn’s musical affect with their concurrent debut of the production’s artwork. The final piece in the audio-visual experiential puzzle that NOKO gradually pieced together in the time leading up to the EP’s arrival, the artwork for Dawn visually captures the offering’s lucidity.