João Orecchia

João Orecchia is a multi-faceted musician based in Johannesburg, South Africa. His is a process- orientated approach, mixing improvisation with loosely pre-composed material, finding joy in"accidents" and"mistakes". Using a collection of looping devices and effect pedals to create sounds with a variety of acoustic and electronic instruments including guitar, banjo, voice, bass, melodica, toy instruments, theremin and more, he combines layer upon layer of sound, constantly reprocessing and chopping up the sounds he records in real time, building dense soundscapes, while pulling it all together into an abstract song structure. João has collaborated with many fine artists and arts organizations from around South Africa. Focusing on alternative sound approaches, he has been exploring ideas of randomness, composition based on source material from field recordings and the effect this can have on an audience's perception of space or image. João's music has been released on several albums and compilations in Germany and New Zealand. His album, Hands and Feet, was released by Other Electricities in 2009 and features contributions from members of BLK JKS (Secretly Canadian), Serengeti (Anticon, Audio 8), Spoek Mathambo of Sweat.X and Playdoe, Carlo Mombelli, and Mario Marchisella.

Click here to view the Hands and Feet media kit

Praise for João Orecchia’s Hands and Feet:

“Electronica this good should be illegal.”–The Mail and Guardian (ZA)

“…his songs are filled with random bursts of stuff that would sound out of place on any other record… but they weave organically here.”–ALARM (US)

 “João Orecchia’s transcendence of classification is where Hands and Feet’s strength lies. Not only does he cite influences from all over the musical map, but he does so in a strikingly cohesive manner that highlights the universality of musical expression.”–okayplayer (US)

“It's soft roadside glitch makes me glow. Banjos and toy pianos and flugelhorns and melodicas and violas play in sweet synchrony with crunchy electronics. It's the most lush and charming electronic record I've heard in a long time.”–Anti-Gravity Bunny (US)

“Incongruous but striking… thorny Johannesburg glitch-pop.”–Dazed and Confused (UK)

“Although eclectic, Hands & Feet is really a solid listen.”–Surviving the Golden Age (US)

“…once Orecchia's ideas take hold they're difficult to shake. He comes from a place where disparate sounds are made to work together…”-EL Magazine (JP)

“Processed layers welded into seamless streams of jittery digital fidgeting, João’s overstocked toy box simmers alongside bantering banjos, wheezing concertinas and listing violins.”–Maximum Ink (US)

“Pretty one-of-a-kind!”–Redefine (US)

 “An excellent [album of] crackle-heavy leftfield hiphop-centered electronics.”–Cyclic Defrost (AU)

“The sounds are original… Throughout the album you’ll discover and be lead through soft and mellow transitions while guided through more up-tempo indie rock efforts but no matter where you are there is cohesion in each song and a defining meaning behind the lyrics.”-!Earshot (CA)

“An album that knows how to entertain and never gives an inch in terms of inspiration.”–Onda Rock (IT, translated from Italian)