The Aether Obelisk is the fourth release in the Baja saga by composer Daniel Vujanic. It arrives at a broad musical horizon, touching the borderlines of forms ranging from chamber music and psychedelia, to pop/jazz-infected electronic music. The Aether Obelisk is a polymorphous monolith, unpredictable as ever, but definitely exploiting more vocal and repetitive elements than its predecessors. The overall mood is also less melancholic and nocturnal than previous Baja offerings. Some almost-tender sequences add more harmonic depth to the fractured signature sound of Vujanic´s suite-like compositions.
The sound is emotionally charged in a way that is as tightly woven as it is free-flowing at times. It’s loaded with acoustic and electric guitar textures ranging from folk to improv, synths, panoramic electronics, reverberating piano bits, horn sections, vibes, glockenspiel and multi-layered percussion - both live and programmed. Some various toys and small plastic objects left their mark as well. The recording process took place for almost a year. Vujanic’s goal was to create an electroacoustic environment with a soul, and provide various melodic counterpoints to the sometimes seemingly enigmatic changes, breaks and song developments: a coherent, thematic album rather than a mere compilation showcasing sonic diversity.
Press From Previous Releases:
"mirroring the obstinacy and arbitrary nature of human emotions, Vujanic is using electronic music in a way that makes it less a statement about media or a contemporary discussion about subverting conventional songwriting than a tool of matter-of-factness; Vujanic is a Apollonian fully aware of the necessity of his Dionesian counterpart, returning us to a more fundamental discussion about how words may never encapsulate what it is we want to say, or how music makes us feel." -Coke Machine Glow
"If the indie rock just isn't getting it done for you anymore, Baja's enveloping, intangible compositions may be just the guide you need to more engaging musical territory." - Tiny Mix Tapes
"...clever and simply beautiful..." -Intro Magazine (DE)
"...This is rippling, stuttering pop music with as much emphasis on plucking your desire for easily accessible melodies as it places on surrounding them with as much accentuating musical quirks as possible..." -Audiversity
“Incredible, genre-melting… deconstructs rock norms.” –The Tripwire
"…appeal[s] to both free-jazz enthusiasts and fans of minimalist electronics. The production is great, and the musicianship manages to work well in the cut-and-paste way that Baja works.” –Drowned in Sound
Praise for Wolfhour
"Baja’s Daniel Vujanic is a prolific, thoughtful artist with very strong opinions about the value of craftsmanship and intentionality." -Tiny Mix Tapes
"Vujanic is making music for the Shuffle generation, positing endless subdivisions that thus, beautifully, enable the listener to consider the music in almost anything." -Cokemachine Glow
"Vujanic is a one man musical army..." -Sound the Sirens
"Baja slowly envelops the listener by sheer curiosity, then slowly blooms into a carefully organized series of musical colors, shapes, and patterns." 4/5 Stars -Lucid Forge
"Neo-ambient, folk-electronic slabs for the mind and soul..." -Gaz-eta
"There is what seems to be an “effortlessly” created anthropomorphia about Wolfhour—a one-man digital orchestra, in Baja’s hands a battery of familiar instrumentation is mere putty ready to be sculpted into decidedly unfamiliar shapes, juxtaposed at will, wriggling to life." -Squid's Ear
"On this third release under his Baja pseudonym, he stirs things up, unleashing frequencies and fragrances that place Wolfhour in the court of the Books or even Jaga Jazzist for its expert blending of organic and inorganic elements." -Exclaim!
"Daniel Vujanic channel-surfs through a mercurial panoply of styles..." -Textura
"This is real and right on throughout." -Music Emissions
"Vujanic sprinkles and intersperses massively complex electronic bits into a disjointed ADD child’s dream..." -Exoduster
"...sweet, not cloying and thoroughly enjoyable." -Terrascope
"Aether Obelisk grows on you slow, then hits you hard with its power, one that you can't place, but know you understand." - Music Emissions
Praise for Aether Obelisk
"With such an array of styles at his command, Vujanic establishes himself as both student and curator of contemporary music." -Tiny Mix Tapes
"Aether Obelisk has it all, and wraps it up in a way you have never heard before." -All Music Guide
"...Daniel Vujanic deserves immense credit for his ability to force us into questioning ourselves and each other about why we really enjoy music." -Swan Fungus
"I'm at an utter loss of how to describe it." -Missing Thumbs
"Baja saunters through glitchy electronica, tender indie, dreamy jazz, and spectral chamber music, leaving the global metropolis a slightly richer place." -Experimusic
"A particular strong voice of his own here." -Vital Weekly
"...something nice and different." -88 Days In My Veins (UK)
"An almost prog-like intricacy characterizes some of the writing, as does a dizzying, rather ADD-like tendency to shift gears within a given song..." -Textura
"Whilst there are elements of jazz, electronica and free-form within the pieces, each retains an identity of its own, a sense of purpose and an inner beauty..." -Terrascope
"Aether Obelisk grows on you slow, then hits you hard with its power, one that you can't place, but know you understand." -Music Emissions
"It's an album of lovely surprises that never lags or lulls." -Exclaim
"...its attention to detail makes it a challenging but rewarding listen..." -30 Music
