Oneohtrix Point Never

Origins

Born and raised in Massachusetts, Lopatin is the son of Russian Jewish emigrants from the former Soviet Union, both with musical backgrounds. Some of his first experiments with electronic music were inspired by his father’s collection of dubbed jazz fusion tapes and his Roland Juno-60 synthesizer, an instrument that has since been used extensively by Lopatin in the studio and on-stage. Lopatin attended Hampshire College in Massachusetts before moving to Brooklyn, New York to attend grad school at Pratt Institute, studying archival science. During that time, he became involved in Brooklyn's underground noise music scene.

2007–2012: Early career

Lopatin initially released music under a number of names and as part of several groups, including Infinity Window and Astronaut, before adopting the pseudonym Oneohtrix Point Never (a verbal play on Boston FM radio station Magic 106.7). Early OPN recordings drew on synthesizer music, '80s new age tropes, and the contemporary noise music. Lopatin released a series of cassette and CD-R projects interspersed with a trilogy of full-length albums: Betrayed in the Octagon (2007), Zones Without People (2009) and Russian Mind (2009). Much of this material was eventually collected on the 2009 compilation Rifts, which brought him into international acclaim; it was named the no. 2 album of 2009 by UK magazine The Wire. Also in 2009, Lopatin released the audio-visual project Memory Vague, which included his profile-raising YouTube video "nobody here."

In June 2010, Lopatin followed Rifts with his major label debut Returnal, released on Editions Mego to positive critical reception. In the same year, he released the influential limited-edition pseudonymous cassette Chuck Person's Eccojams Vol. 1 and formed the duo Games (later renamed Ford & Lopatin) with childhood friend Joel Ford. Lopatin's next album, Replica, was released in 2011 on his newly formed label Software Recording to further critical praise. It saw Lopatin develop a sample-based approach that drew on the audio of 1980s and '90s television advertisements. That year, Lopatin participated in the collaborative album FRKWYS Vol. 7 with musicians David Borden, James Ferraro, Samuel Godin and Laurel Halo as part of RVNG's label series. Also in 2011, Ford & Lopatin released Channel Pressure and OPN was chosen to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival. Lopatin and visual artist Nate Boyce collaborated on the 2011 Reliquary House performance installation; the music from this project would later be released on the split Oneohtrix Point Never/Rene Hell LP Music for Reliquary House / In 1980 I Was a Blue Square (2012). In 2012, Lopatin collaborated with Tim Hecker on the album Instrumental Tourist.

2013–present: Warp Records

In 2013, Lopatin signed with Warp Records. His label debut, R Plus Seven, was released September 30, 2013 to positive reception. Lopatin collaborated with several artists on visual accompaniments, live performances, and internet projects for the album, including frequent collaborator Nate Boyce, Jon Rafman, Takeshi Murata, Jacob Ciocci, and John Michael Boling. Also in 2013, Lopatin composed his first film score, for Sofia Coppola's film The Bling Ring (together with Brian Reitzell). In 2013, Oneohtrix Point Never also participated in the Warp x Tate event and was commissioned to create a piece inspired by Jeremy Deller’s The History of The World.

In 2014, Lopatin supported Nine Inch Nails on their tour with Soundgarden as a replacement for Death Grips. On October 4, 2014, Lopatin presented a world premiere live soundtrack for Koji Morimoto’s 1995 anime film Magnetic Rose. The event took place at the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics in Manchester, England, and featured Anohni on a rendition of the Oneohtrix Point Never song "Returnal" as well as audio-visual works from Nate Boyce which have been hosted by The Barbican in London, The Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and MoMA PS1 in Long Island City. In the same year, Oneohtrix Point Never released Commissions I for Record Store Day; the collection contained an interpretation of Lutoslawski’s "Preludes" under the title "Music For Steamed Rocks" for Polish Icons at Sacrum Profanum, "Meet Your Creator" originally from the Saatchi & Saatchi viral Quadrotor performance video for their New Director's Showcase in 2012, and a version of "I Only Have Eyes For You". He also contributed "Need" to the Bleep:10 compilation in celebration of the online retailer’s 10th anniversary. This was followed by Commissions II in 2015.

Lopatin released his second Warp LP Garden of Delete in November 2015 following an enigmatic promotional campaign. He also composed the score for the 2015 film Partisan, directed by Ariel Kleiman. In 2016, Lopatin contributed to British singer Anohni's 2016 album Hopelessness and 2017 EP Paradise as well as Chicago footwork producer DJ Earl's 2016 album Open Your Eyes. In Fall 2016, UCLA's Hammer Museum hosted the film series Ecco: The Videos of Oneohtrix Point Never and Related Works, dedicated to the visual work of Lopatin and his collaborators. In January 2017, a collaboration between Oneohtrix Point Never and FKA twigs was confirmed. In 2017, Oneohtrix Point Never provided the soundtrack for the film Good Time, directed by Ben & Josh Safdie. He won the Soundtrack Award at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival for his work on the film, which included a collaboration with singer Iggy Pop entitled "The Pure and the Damned." The film's soundtrack was released via Warp on August 11, 2017.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilations