Off World by Ogre (Review)

As of November 1, 2019, we are officially living in the world of Blade Runner. So it’s only appropriate for Robin Ogden, aka Ogre, to release Off World, a five-song EP that further explores, reimagines, and pays homage to Ridley Scott’s landmark 1982 film, and its musical accompaniment.

Ogre’s own oeuvre has no doubt been influenced by Vangelis’ legendary Blade Runner score, so Off World could be seen as much a tribute to a musical hero as an influential film. “Blush Response” — the EP’s best track — certainly contains some Vangelis-isms, from the synths twinkling in the background to the washes of sound that emerge, clarion-like, at the song’s mid-point.

“L.A. Rain” is the EP’s most thoughtful track, with synth-orchestral arrangements and soft keys sounding like a replicant’s daydream. By contrast, “Tannhäuser Gate” is all pulsing rhythms and tense drones, as if you’re right there alongside Deckard as he plunges headlong into the city’s dark, ruined underbelly in pursuit of replicants — or maybe you’re the ones being pursued.

Nearly forty years after its release, Blade Runner’s thoughtfully dystopic vision of the future is unparalleled in filmmaking, and Off World is proof that its legacy is equally strong in the world of music.