Haji K. - Black Against An Orange Line (2020)

Introducing Black Against An Orange Line, the debut from Haji K. (aka Nico Niquo, Nico Callaghan). Pressed on 12inch black vinyl with Artwork by Emily Bramich. Mixed and Mastered by Ryu Yoshizawa.

Black Against An Orange Line consists of four long-form pieces that hover between classical instrumentation and digital synthesis. The album showcases a new dimension of Nico's work through a hybrid language of hazy, hypnotic Dub-Techno and vivid Drone. In touching on the Ambient and Grime palette of Nico's previous albums, however, Black Against An Orange Line posits itself as a suitable follow-up to his last record on Daisart, and sets the stage for future outings from the artist and label.

From the artist: "This music is deeply influenced by my working process at home: the days I have at home, away from work or study; the ones where I can let the entire day slip away. I work at my computer all day, watching the sun's light drift from one end of the garden through the softly billowing gumtrees onto the other end, over the concrete and the faded brick everywhere in inner-urban Melbourne. I try to stay offline as much as possible. Upon reflection, it seems very hermetic and closed-in. But I like to see it in a somewhat dreamy way. This is "home"-music, background music if you will - but I wouldn't dare say it's relaxing music. This is my own take on the give-and-take between the daydream and the chaos of this process, locked away in quiet, patient ambient spaces. It's all centred on that moment at the end of the day where the sun dips below into the underworld, and the sky appears so black against the orange band of the horizon. I want to make a pilgrimage, a Haj, to that moment. I want to make music to communicate that space over a grander, longer scale you can slip into and disappear."