MOTSA ft. Sophie Lindinger - Petrichor
On the day of his new and anticipated 'Petricolour' EP relelease, MOTSA (real name Valerio Dittrich) has unveiled a dramatically stunning film accompaniment to the EP opening track, 'Petrichor' feat Sophie Lindinger. The clip, directed by Martina Trepczyk & Nicola Leffern (APESFRAMED), premiered yesterday via Complex and sees the artist immersed by the elements, surrounded by some of the most incredible landscape and scenery his home country of Austria has to offer.
'Petricolour' EP is written about the decline of our western society; its beauty, wealth and our opportunities having reached a peak and the onset of gradual decay. This is reflected in the accompanying artwork; the flowers symbolising deterioration but retaining some beauty and hope. Throughout the EP, MOTSA incorporates organic textures and sounds recorded from nature and his surroundings. 'Petricolour' EP is out now on MOTSA's own label imprint, following two releases on Southern Fried Records.
'Petrichor', the first track on the EP, is a sensual delight; pulsating, intelligent rhythms and the sound of water hitting concrete signify autumn and new beginnings. Sophie Lindinger, the featured artist, is one half of acclaimed Austrian experimental pop outfit Leyya. The starkly poignant 'Walked This Road' follows – a song about history and humanity repeating the same mistakes over and over. Offering the fastest tempo of all tracks on the EP, it combines jittery electronics but with an underlying sense of calm; a spellbinding and evolving cut with warm surges of melody. 'Colours' is one of the more uplifting of those featuring on the release; its use of soft vocals and classical melodies atop restrained beats builing towards an epic, emotional climax. EP closing track 'The Storm' stays true to its title, with percussive sounds and claps creating a tense atmosphere before veering into an angelic closing half, symbolising hope for its listeners.
Upon its release, first single 'Colours' was streamed over 150,000 times in a week, entered the German iTunes Electronic Charts and continues to receive regular airplay across Austrian radio. The EP is currently #1 on the Austrian iTunes Electronic Chart.
MOTSA has garnered the attention of several influential figures and tastemakers; international dance icon Sasha inluded 'Sleepless Nights' on his compilation for Mixmag, Beatport named ‘Untitled’ one of the top tracks of it’s year and i-D, THUMP, Eton Messy, Annie Mac, Dummy Mag and XLR8R are all included in his surplus of supporters. Radio support has come from BBC Radio 1, BBC 6Music, plus several rotation spots on Austria's Radio FM4 (his track 'Clocks' was also featured in their Top 100 Singles of 2015). He was invited to partake at the Red Bull Music Academy Bass Camp Vienna in 2013, and has released original and remix work on key labels such as Counter Records (Ninja Tune), PMR, Southern Fried Records, Last Night On Earth and Compost Records.
MOTSA has found himself in the enviable position of being recognized and revered by the likes of John Digweed, Tom Ravenscroft, Adam Freeland and Maribou State. This list only continues to grow with each incredible remix for established acts in the field – Submotion Orchestra, SG Lewis, The 2 Bears and Flamingods being the most recent names that have commisioned MOTSA for his remix work.
MOTSA is a musician driven by a desire to convey his serious love for sounds and to push his own musical boundaries. Instead of resting on familiar structures, Valerio decided to change his approach and started recording and incorporating organic textures, instruments, synthesizers and his own voice in his new work. This has led him from a purely club directed sound towards a more melodic yet still beat heavy and danceable realm of electronic music.
'Petricolor' EP is out now digitally and on vinyl. He will bring his live set across Europe in late 2016 and 2017.
