K-ORA – ISON-ISAE
K-ORA – ISON-ISAE – EP Review
While you’ll often find times I attempt to at least pretend that I know everything under the sun about what’s happening out there in the scene, I think we all know that’s objectively impossible for any of us now, given how much music is out there around the world, right? So…yeah…when I got this new K-ORA EP, and all of a sudden more four-letter combinations like ISON and ISAE were being chucked around in conversation, I was starting to wonder if I was having some kind of stroke in real-time. None of it was making any sense to me at first…and y’all younger folks know how you just LOVE to speak in acronyms.
As it turns out, this is a cover of the song “ISAE” by Sweden-based project known as ISON, played by our solo homie in K-ORA. Everyone up to speed now? Good good. We’ll keep on moving then.
From what I understand, K-ORA discovered the original song by ISON during a very difficult time where his health was being threatened by an autoimmune illness, and “ISAE” was of great help and relief when he needed it most. Full respect to that – the healing power of music is vastly underappreciated on the whole, but if you’ve ever needed it, chances are it has been there for you at precisely the right time. Like K-ORA I’m sure, I know I wouldn’t be here with you all today were it not there for me in the past.
So heck yeah – you better believe that I go down rabbit-holes like that, and before even listening to this new version by K-ORA, I went online to pay my respect to the original and had a listen to ISON’s version. What a fantastic tune! I’ve gotta thank K-ORA for an incredible introduction to their music – this is profound stuff all-around, and I immediately felt like I understood the immaculate connection he feels towards ISON. After a single spin through “ISAE,” I knew right away that I’d be checking out a lot more of what they do. You should see their page at Bandcamp and how many things have sold right out of stock! Amazing! Especially for the Dark Ambient realm – clearly we’re not the only ones listening.
What was awesome to discover on this side of the speakers, was how honorable this K-ORA EP sounded. You can feel the respect he’s got for the music of ISON, and in my opinion, taking on this cover really expanded the K-ORA sound into something we’ve yet to hear from this project in all the right ways. To the point where I’d be looking at what’s transpired here, and recognize that it might be some of the very best we’ve heard from this project to-date. While I listened to the “ISAE (Ancient Space Version)” as the two-track EP began, I could instantly hear how art inspires art – the reciprocal nature of how sound can move someone to the point where they’ll make something of their own, in tribute. Elements of the vibe shift this particular variation towards the K-ORA sound, but without pushing it too far – you still get a lot of what you’d know in the original ISON tune, though it’s got a more distinctly atmospheric direction on the “Ancient Space Version.” Which I honestly think was a really good move. Even when K-ORA takes on a more faithful cover of “ISAE” in the second track of this EP, it still doesn’t play out like an exact carbon-copy so much as you’ll hear the sound of an artist paying an audible homage to one of his own heroes, but in the style that he’d do it in, you know what I mean? That being said, you have to also look at both of these versions as decisively different than anything we’ve personally been exposed to here on our pages from K-ORA before. For instance…the vocals aren’t too buried underneath the weight of a million effects, and our attention remains on what’s being sung as opposed to the strange otherworldly ideas we typically find in the music of this project. Here on both the “ISAE (Ancient Space Version)” and “ISAE,” you’ll find K-ORA not shying away from the moment so much as embracing it as he should, delivering the powerful emotional elements of the vocals as you’d want to hear them in each of these tunes. Again, I think this was a seriously good move, and I’d be very much surprised if this particular venture didn’t inspire K-ORA to get behind the microphone a lot more often. I love what I hear in both of these songs, and I’m stoked that he was unafraid to put his vocals right there on the surface for all to hear. That doesn’t mean you’re not still going to likely need the lyrics right in front of you in order to figure out what’s being sung with each word drawn out as much as they tend to be, but you get what I mean – K-ORA didn’t attempt to hide his vocals – he’s singing with spirited confidence, and he sounds absolutely spectacular in this cover no matter which version you choose. While it’s fair to say there’s an inherent desolate coldness that is conveyed through the stunning lyricism of “ISAE,” K-ORA establishes a connection to us through a performance that’s like hearing something in between the humble emotion in the vocals of something like Sigur Ros, and a blackened soul-crushing remix of something by The Cure. It’s all as fascinating to experience and listen to as it is stirring to the soul, truly.
When you do have a read through the lyrics and you’re listening along, you’ll marvel at the profound poetic nature of the words, and be entirely moved by the concept of an idea that’s so lost and distant, yet communicates an understanding of these feelings that translates to an experience well beyond words. The emotion you’ll find here is practically overwhelming…the performance is breathtaking…and while there’s no doubt about the heartbreaking nature of the lyricism, you can’t help but admire the inspiration that was required in order for K-ORA to branch out and make a cover like this. It’s like we’re right there at the edge of oblivion staring into space along with him…you’re guaranteed to be moved by what you find in the atmosphere of a song like this whether it’s something you through the music, or implied by the vibe. I found both versions absolutely spellbinding, and I truly felt like this was quite probably the best I’ve heard from K-ORA to-date on a personal level. I’ve always enjoyed this oddly unique project in a variety of ways on multiple levels, but I’ll fully admit that having a bit more of a tangible framework to communicate in with “ISAE” really worked wonders in K-ORA’s favor. This EP is downright monumental if you ask me…and by covering this incredible song, K-ORA has given himself the opportunity to share the healing properties of “ISAE” with someone else that needs to hear it one day.
Make sure to find out more about K-ORA from the official page at Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/k_ora.official
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