#steve okonski

[musicollage]

Okonski — Entrance Music. 2025 : Colemine.

[nofatclips-home]

Morning in America by Durand Jones & The Indications - Directed by: Ellie Foumbi

[votava-records]

Okonski - Dark Moon

The studio at 122 West Loveland Avenue was not an unfamiliar space for Steve Okonski, the leader of his eponymous trio Okonski. Ever since the Colemine label set up shop in Loveland, Ohio it has been a host to a number of groups passing through town, including Durand Jones and the Indications who all of this trio’s members have connections to. After setting aside some time in winter of 2020, Okonski, trained initially as a classical pianist, invited Michael Isvara “Ish” Montgomery and Aaron Frazer to work on an album that was initially planned to be beat driven and fully composed trio instrumentals.

After finishing this first session with some improvisations, a second week was booked in the summer of 2021 to try and capture some more of that spontaneous energy. During this session, the tracks were all improvised and recorded live to a Tascam 388 during several late nights at the Colemine HQ. They were structured to allow the group’s collective intuition to fully shape the melodies and arcs of the music.

The album opens with Runner Up, where a triumphant yet melancholic melody in the piano leads to a more reserved B-section driven by the drums and bass of Frazer and Montgomery. As you journey through the remainder of the album you are met with a plethora of evoked and explored emotions. The calmness one has walking down a moonlit street after midnight, the connection one has for a person who comes into their world for just a moment or a lifetime, and the nerves and catharsis one feels when starting upon a new, unknown journey.

Instagram   / steve.okonski  

Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/0UyhO...

[thebolg]

Durand Jones & The Indications (self titled)

9.1 - Damn, even the guitars and mics sound like a different era, to say nothing of the exceptional vocals on this amazing mix of tunes that’ll get your soul wet with feelings. -b

8.4 - Studio and live recordings that bang and pop with soul for days and days. - Tj

8.1 - It was the jazz organ (of Steve Okonski) that pushed this complete classic sweet summer soul in my love list. - Jt

7.1 - The indications are that you will bump and groove, especially if you listen in your kitchen while wearing minimal clothing. -Peck