Music acts as a recording of energy; a tonal snapshot of emotions superimposed with cultural mediums: a recording of the conditions of human civilization. Oscar Pray For Oscar The Dog is a resolute of this image; textured by charismatic guitars, and language of bright electronic instrumentation speaks of harmony in a time of loneliness.
The folk styles – blended with electronic arrangements – offer an interpretation for this expression unbounded by any fathomable thought structure. Is it ambient, does it tinker on the borders of some style I’ve never heard of? The mystery surrounding these artists and the album’s conception is intriguing to say the least.

Snekhoose is a collaborative project between Jonah Hebron (Mzungu, Cacero Lazo) and Rupert Spurrier. Geared towards a blend of folk and drone styles, the debut EP Oscar Pray for Oscar the Dog “treads the line between electronic and traditional music,” the artists say.
As they live in separate cities, York and Edinburgh, the concept of the album was constructed through digital files, each artist adding layers of sound on top of the other; samples of live recordings was a great addition, unequivocally harnessing a refreshing and raw power to the mix.

Everything composed here is ethereal and steady; delicately pulsating through latent, rhythmic landscapes embellished in contemporary styles and an ambient backdrop of arbitrary scenery and otherworldly sounds. Snekhoose does a fantastic job stringing together an abundance of material into lifeforms of delicate creation.

The instruments used – acoustic guitar and Microkorg – are tended in the same ritual as musique concrete; samples of notes and sounds are broken apart and re-assembled.
Choosing unorthodox methods of the musique concrete style was genius – each song created a melancholic aura, allowing the listener to venture through fragmented sensation on the silhouette of eternal bliss.

Oscar Pray for Oscar the Dog is blasted off with A1; a sudden clash of bright whirring strikes the listener’s ear, gently pulsating a vibrant energy of ambient and tonal elements. Electronic humming and echoes of foreign emotion are revealed when the guitar speaks through the fabrics of the unconscious. Reveling in this velvet mixture of folk and electronic elements, the wings gently come to a close as A1 descends from its flight – allowing its brother to take reigns.
A2 is an expansion of the preceding piece; embellished in golden chimes cascading like a thin ray of sunlight echoing off the trees in foreign greenwood’s. A short trip, but the nonetheless, existential.

B1 is my personal favorite out of the 5. Largely contrasts to the other song’s journey through plains of experimenting fields, this one takes a trip through the classical guitar’s clean and highly articulated notation. I don’t know who recorded the guitar’s piece on this one, but it’s amazing! The swing of dynamical tones and sharply plucked strings emits a warm setting. When the player shifted, the strings mechanically shimmered, giving character to a crisp morning air.
You can almost feel the glow from the Microkorg beaming through an ocean’s horizon: a delicate and wholesome, sunset.

The only way you can truly appreciate an album of this caliber, is by listening to it over and over again – becoming one with the meditative atmosphere. I will say though, the only thing I didn’t enjoy about the album was it’s lack of songs. Too short man, too short! Haha, I keed, I keed
These guys are fantastic artists, and in fact I actually reviewed Cacero Lazo’s album Regime of Calm – certainly one of the best experiences as a listener of ambient music.
And, Wormhole World is exemplary of a niche label; doing a great job at representing highly creative artists, something that is far over-looked these days!
Definitely check this album out!

Purchase OSCAR PRAY FOR OSCAR THE DOG by Snekhoose through Wormhole World on Bandcamp