12/10

Self-Released

Street: 01.16

OK Ikumi = DNTEL + Hey Willpower + ARP

Orem’s Karl Jorgensen has been perfecting this blend of playful chiptune melodies, elegant Komsiche synth lines, and glitched-out beat palate for five years now. While relatively new to Jorgensen’s output, I can’t help but feel like I have stumbled on to something that has taken years to make. The concept behind the digital-only 12/10 was to produce one song per day in the month of December.

While the experiment only lasted nine days, the record is something that feels like the culmination of a young life’s work. Balancing the inherent playfulness of Nintendo-inspired, chiptune melodies with more serious explorations into the Cluster worship of synth groups ARP and Emeralds, OK Ikumi infuses even his most lighthearted arrangements with a nameless sense of ennui and genuine human emotion. The longing on “A New England” with Karl’s sister Kari Jorgensen (AKA The Boy Who Could Fly) is an excellent example of this.