Opaline

Portland-based producer, Opaline, forms a mesmerising late-night synth drifter with his album, ‘Memory Drain‘. I’ve been sitting on this for a while, but have recently found it has taken up residency as my go-to late-night listen. Airy textures abound throughout, and he has a serious knack of instilling within his music this almost palpable energy. It’s a real stunner. - ISO50

Another winner tape from Constellation Tatsu: Memory Drain by Opaline, a solo vehicle of Hunter P. Thompson is a classic look through the magnifying glass at the world of classic synthesizers presented as a series of glowing, retro-futuristic vistas that bear some resemblance to Steve Hauschildt as both seem to share the same nostalgic vibe and the abdundant use of liquefied sequence-based rhythms. Fans of Panabrite, Le Révélateur and, of course, the whole lot of Emeralds-based catalog should be delighted. - Weed Temple

Memory Drain is an album from Opaline. The music is a mix of IDM and Ambient and has a futuristically technological feel with a touch of dreaminess mixed in. Perhaps this is what it sounds like when a robot is dreaming. - WRUV 90.1 FM

I like a good synth album that occupies neither space or time. One that doesn’t seem beholden to some concept of science-fiction. It’s getting harder and harder not because of artistic horizons shrinking, but because of hangdog ears and a synapses that associates synthesizers with the relics of retro-futurism. It hurt to type that word, I apologize. But before we crusade against such a nega-term (as we did with hypanogogic), may I suggest Projector Mapping as the music for our march? It’s adventurous and not of this era, though to peg it as some Kubrick nightmare or Hawking dream seems disingenuous to Opaline. What we have here is a ambient pop album akin to R.O.B. Proof positive that synthesizers are not tied to one specification of sound. And though there have been many synth crashes to scare off the masses, those of us who have stuck around to rebuild find new relics such as Projector Mapping by which to restore our faith in the versatile instrument. So those of you still stuck in some teenage idea of synth as sci-fi instrument, I present to you a reason why infantile thinking still makes you think misogyny and super cars are the best things since sliced bread (and you think that phrase is still awesome). Audi 500. - Tiny Mix Tapes

In the last two plus years, Opaline has released burner after burner on the likes of Twin Springs Tapes, Constellation Tatsu, Phinery, Habitat Tapes, Rainbow Pyramid, Big Ear Tapes, as well as a few self-released cassettes, all without a hitch in his step. Gait aside, the guy peacefully kills it. It’s as if he can’t avoid making great meditation pieces. Maybe it’s like his water. Sure, he can go a few days without it, but I bet Opaline gets dehydrated as fuck when he can’t craft celestial sonic cities. He’s truly an ever-reaching architect, espacialy (lol) with his new tape, Spacial Awareness. - Tiny Mix Tapes

As of last May, Purr Tapes no longer operates as a label, after having been putting out excellent stuff on tape since 2011. Instead, founder Hunter Peter Thompson has shifted focus to his solo music project Opaline. Projector Mapping, Hunter’s latest release as Opaline, finds him at his very best. Full of cosmic synth layers, tracks like “New Realities” and “Skyocean” create a melodic euphoria achieved through synth-driven lines and blissful tones. That is not to say that it does not have its dark aspects too though; both “Horizon Circuit” and “Restless Architecture” are guided by an obscure note repetition that often comes off as otherworldly, fitting in with the mood-shifting “Value of History” that goes as long as ten minutes. All in all, Hunter’s sound explorations are now deeper than ever before. A truly pleasing listening experience.” Projector Mapping is out now via Phinery. - Decoder

Following two promising tapes on Phinery and Habitat Tapes,Portland, Or-based synthman Opaline returns with a new duo of pieces in the form of Spatial Awareness on the beloved Psychic Troubles imprint. Traversing through similar territory to those to initial excursions, Hunter P Thompson alters his trajectory for new and partially familiar realms. The end result is an engaged drift through drastically lush and subtly textured arpeggiations. Opener “Awaiting Levitation” surfs through space, unencumbered by anything at all. Waves of synthetic chords cycle through in a continual wash of color and hazy static while fluorescent flourishes echo around the scene, channelling the Kosmische progenitors in the best way possible but with a modern slant. “Clearing Beam” unfurls all over the B-side, taking a much more serene and sublimely austere areas. The fruits are buried in negative space while contrasting lines of tonal levity serve as the perfect foil. Copies of Spatial Awareness are available now directly via Psychic Troubles’ Bandcamp. - Decoder