Emeka Ogboh - Beyond The Yellow Haze (2021)

'Beyond The Yellow Haze' is the debut release by Nigerian sound and installation artist Emeka Ogboh on Ostgut Ton sublabel A-TON. Combining subtle layers of ambient electronics, dance music and field recordings from the city of Lagos, Ogboh’s compositions reflect both the Nigerian city’s soundscapes as well as the artist’s increasing immersion in electronic music since moving to Berlin six years ago.

Like his sound installation 'Ayilara' for Berghain’s main floor in the current 'STUDIO BERLIN' exhibition, 'Beyond The Yellow Haze' contains a veritable atonal orchestra of honking, motors, sound systems, sidewalk sales pitches and various sonic artifacts of Lagos’s Danfo bus stations and beyond. These serve as both punctuation and swirling atmosphere within a kaleidoscope of bass and polyrhythms. The unpredictable result is at once place-specific and geographically indefinable. A city in situ – and processed in memory and rhythm very far away.

The recordings were originally included as part of Ogboh’s 2018 exhibition 'No Condition Is Permanent' at Galerie Imane Farès and self-released as a stamped and signed artist edition. 'Beyond The Yellow Haze' will be released on A-TON as a 2x12'' LP on black vinyl and in digital formats.

Born in 1977, Emeka Ogboh’s artistic practice focuses on ethico-poltical questions through sound, food and scent. His diverse body of work includes installation, video, photography and beer and has been featured in dokumenta14, the Venice Biennale, the Brooklyn Museum and the American National Museum of African Art, amongst others. He lives and works in Lagos and Berlin.