Olicía — Out of the Blue (Album Review)
Does it matter if real live humans make art anymore? Yes, it does.
Improv loop jazz vocal maestras Olicía quietly dropped their brand-new full-length album Out of the Blue at the beginning of Nov 2024, a collection of songs that emerged over the last two years in collaboration with artists working in film, design, painting, literature, arts and crafts. For Olicía, engaging other creatives is neither new nor a gamble. But by widening their orbit of coconspirators, the group’s latest LP strikes me as a solid achievement. If your attention span is fried and you don’t have any scroll-time left to finish reading this review, Out of the Blue is a fine album well worth your time. Get it.
Whereas the group’s previous album Liquid Lines (reviewed here) “explored the boundaries of the individual song by creating two different versions of each of the 10 tracks,” Out of the Blue is “an attempt to take a completely new look at their own art form, to connect their music with other art genres through dialogue and exchange” via a process of “cross pollination, of continuous pings and pongs, of being inspired by one another and from learning from one another in the process.” In that sense, Out of the Blue promises to offer up some good old fashioned creative give-and-take. That might sound banal, but in the age of AI-generated art, conceiving such a project, let alone actually seeing it through to completion, is borderline heresy. If that’s the new blasphemy, I’m here for it.
Out of the Blue reveals two ladies responding to the impetuses of other artists while deepening their own talents, skills, and intuitions to paradoxically get out of their comfort zone. In popular music, where musicians often stick to a winning formula, it’s hard not to respect Olicía’s impulse to reinvent or rediscover themselves through others. In fact it strikes me as a deeply human drive that boldly stands against the current fad of bland algorithmic content generation. Out of the Blue ain’t that, but it is eerily familiar. It is très Olicía.
Five of the 14 tracks clock in as one-minute improvs. Some might characterize these as ‘filler’ but I understand them as crucibles — the aural spaces in which Fama and Anna, the two jazz-trained vocalists at the helm, forge musical blurbs that may or may not develop into full-fledged songs. While these improvs give listeners insight into Olicía’s process (and, more specifically, how they collaborated with the other artists on this project), anyone who has seen the duo live is already hip to their sonic sorcery. And if you haven’t? You are missing out.
The standout songs on Out of the Blue are “Hidden Portraits” (concieved with photographer Micha Steinwachs), “Finally” (inspired by German Iranian author Sudabeh Mohafez’s prose poem “summonings”, the full text of which is included on a poster that ships with physical copies of the record), “Branches” (with woodworker Dshamila Annina), “Warrioress” (jewelry designer Malene Glintborg), and “The Frame” (with visual designer Gunther Kleinert). You can learn more about these specific collaborations by purchasing the album or at Olicía’s official website.
Any of the five songs I mention could be standalone singles. Will they be? In the streaming era, where platforms hardly remunerate artists (if at all), I won’t be holding my breath. The music world has shifted, and the best artists shift with it. Olicía has released videos and some live performances of these songs to promote the album. Sadly, singles are no longer artifacts containing exclusive remixes or B-sides worth collecting for their own sake. Instead, singles today exist to ‘raise awareness.’ (OK, maybe that’s always been the case.) The five songs I highlight constitute the bulk of the record, the meat so to speak. Juicy and sustaining, these cuts will brighten your long slog through another northern hemisphere winter or brighten whatever is going on south of the equator. It’s sunny there now. Out of the Blue will surely enhance that glittery streaming gold.
Follow any of the hyperlinks above, but I think the best place to check out Olicía’s work is Bandcamp, where they occasionally release one-off singles between official full-length albums. There you can purchase their music and conveniently stream it through the app. Bandcamp is the best platform for musicians, especially if you believe creative output should allow artists to keep the lights on and some tender vittles in the cupboard. Give Olicía a follow on Bandcamp. At the very least, you can preview these songs before deciding to purchase the record. That power-of-preview is easily the biggest advantage in today’s digital streaming world.
Naturally, you can follow Olicía on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or — if you absolutely must — Spotify and Apple Music. Since I still operate under the antiquated notion that artists should be paid for their work, I plunked down cold hard cash to get Out of the Blue on vinyl. If wax is not your thing, the album is available on CD. Both iterations come with an attractive poster with detailed information about the collaborations contained therein. Those are some nice extras, and I think that alone is sufficient reason to buy the record. Thankfully, physical copies include digital download codes, which is way cool in our mobile world. Have you ever tried to commute to work with a turntable strapped to your back? Trust me, you’ll get stares. But that’s not a concern here because Olicía’s got your digital back covered.
My verdict? I like it! To be clear I was already a fan, but Out of the Blue shows Olicía developing artistically in dialogue with real, live human beings. A mere ten years ago you might have laughed at such a statement. But these days working with flesh-and-bone hominids has become a badge of integrity, and Olicía’s got plenty of that. To be sure Fama and Anna create music using much of the latest cutting-edge technology on offer, but in my view they strike a masterful balance between silicon and flesh.
As glad as I am to have discovered Olicía some years ago, I’m even happier now to hip you to their latest release. If you feel forlorn about the state of music today, give Out of the Blue a chance. It might restore your faith in humanity before the killer AI bots come tapping at your door.
If you get the opportunity, check out Olicía in concert. So far they’ve got nine dates lined up across Germany in 2025, but I suspect more shows will be added soon. I’ve seen them perform live five or six times, and it’s never a dull moment. As jazz musicians, they are constantly toying with their arrangements to keep them alive, fresh, and pulsating. Go Go Go…seriously, you won’t regret it.
By all accounts, Olicía should be an absolute international sensation. Won’t someone reading this review book them for an extended residency at a swank high-rise hotel in Tokyo? “For a relaxing time, make it Olicía time.” If the group isn’t slated to make an appearance near you, Lars Hiller, the group’s manager, will be happy to accommodate your needs. He can be reached at lars@kfrecords.de. Do not hesitate to get in touch. After all, the scene we get is the one we make and curate. Be active, y’all. Be the cure.
