GOSHEN

Ot To, Not To is the alias of Ian Mugerwa, a VA based musician who makes experimental RnB. Combining low fidelity electronic recording techniques with unconventional song structures, his music pays homage to dusty old blues recordings.

Mugerwa first beginning making ‘Goshen’ age 19, after leaving his hometown of Fairfax for Richmond. Whilst sleeping on friends floors, he would sneak into the Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU) music facilities at night, with borrowed audio equipment and record until the early morning. Here he began exploring new aesthetics in Black Music through the use of non-traditional methods, creating RnB that starkly contrasts the clean, sterile contemporary form.

On lead single ‘Regretta II’, Mugerwa subtly layers white noise synthesis to create a damp backdrop to the arrangement, whereas on tracks like ‘Withdrawal and Restraint’ and ‘Never’ he layers, he mixes 40+ cello tracks to create the illusion of a full orchestra. Throughout ‘Goshen’, Mugerwa also used button click samples to create the illusion of audio triggering. All tracks were recorded using a combination of both Ableton Live and a broken Tascam 4-track tape deck — most of the drums were recorded last.

The album draws influence from Mugerwa’s appreciation for imperfection and tape recording, the compositional variety of Jim O’Rourke and bands like Sweet Trip andCoil’s informed use of synthesis, rhythm and mood, as well as artists like Phil Elvrum and Mark Hollis. In addition, ‘Goshen’ is steeped in the countless tapes of Congolese, Zairian and Afro-Latin music played to him throughout his childhood by his Ugandan father.

Throughout ‘Goshen’, Ot To, Not To deliberately focuses on experimentation within the context of pop music, believing that music is most innovative when unorthodox ideas are made accessible to all.