Onra’s electronically produced hip hop and R’n’B loaded worldly sounds are instantly striking. There is something mysterious yet authentic, modest yet powerful and classic yet fresh about the music he makes. Onra has an obvious and irrepressible passion for music noticeable within the intricacy and attention given to every sound. It is easy to lose yourself while listening to his tracks.
Onra, aka Arnaud Bernard, represents an amalgamation of cultures. His background is a mixture of French and Vietnamese while also drawing from the influences of his time spent in West Africa.
Modestly Onra describes how this diversity plays into his music, “I only realized it a few years ago, as I grow older and I get to know myself better, my multicultural background makes me understand how I am here today, making music.”
When talking about the Ivory Coast Onra speaks fondly of the experiences he found, “The Ivory Coast was where I saw the first MPC in my life (instrument that I’ve used for most of my career), first time I went to a studio, first time I danced in a club, first time I played a record on a turntable in a club (Aaliyah’s Back And Forth). All these little things played an important role in my life, but I only recently figured it all out.”
Onra started listening to hip hop music at age 10, later when he moved to Paris and had access to the internet and record stores, other genres and “old stuff” started infiltrating their way through his hip hop and rap-fixated mind. After some time discovering more music in Vietnam, he started blending Vietnamese and Chinese samples with hip hop to create his unique sound.
When asked about the combination of the two styles he responds, “It was instantly a perfect match. The first thing I did when I got back from this first trip to Vietnam in 2006, was to listen to those records. I started making beats right away and in three days, I had half of the album ready, that is 16 beats.”
Onra has been influenced by J Dilla (musically his greatest influence), Madlib, Pete Rock, Kan Kick, Andre 3000, Timbaland, Buckwild, Dogg Pound, ATCQ and NWA to name a few.
After playing at Oxford Art Factory as part of his Australia and New Zealand tour he will head back to Paris where he will begin work on his widely anticipated next album. (NL)
Jul 19, Oxford Art Factory, 38-46 Oxford St, Darlinghurst, $30, oxfordartfactory.com
