'BURN' by On-Ly

"Built on the bedrock of Jazz and the jazz-adjacent."

This is the tagline at On-Ly's Bandcamp page and it's such a deliciously tantalising description of a person's vast ranging musical scope.  Long touting his affections from everything from Miles Davis' ambitious reinvention of jazz in the 1970s to hip-hop's boom-bap golden era of the 1990s to the sonic textures of house music, On-Ly's perceptions of the "jazz-adjacent" continue to carry with them the weight of variety and dynamic expectation from audiences.

Pianist, producer and all-round multi-faceted genius, Joshua "On-Ly" Smeltink, adds his name to the ever-expanding list of Australian based artists who seems to be expressing incredibly inspirational takes on neo- and future-soul, broken beat and nu-jazz.  Artists like Finn Rees, Allysha Joy, Cinta, Benjamin Samuels and Don Glori are all names helping to usher in innovative new takes on their respective genre – and genre-less – music.  Likewise, Smeltink's imaginative compositions, that find their inspiration amongst a litany of styles and influences, are equally at the forefront of ground breaking and progressive leaps forward.

As adept at helming all aspects of a solo release by himself as he is leading a full ensemble, Smeltink's roll call of credits has often included duties from piano, synthesizers, drums, percussion, djembe and trumpet and then delving further into the weeds as the producer, mixer and engineer of his releases as well.

Through his latest project, 'BURN', Smeltink finds himself embracing all aspects of his music that have endeared him to listeners the world over.  A project that relishes the joy of boundaryless fusion, the glee of collaboration, the thrill of improvisation... all aspects of the ever-evolving glorious gumbo that constitutes jazz in the 21st century.

Alongside some remarkable collaborators including guitarist Daniel Waddingham (Mia Rose B, DRYP), percussionist Phil Stroud (JK Group, Australiana) and bassist Horatio Luna (30/70 Collective, Jitwam), 'BURN' soars as a free-spirited exercise within the definitive take on "jazz-adjacent".  The vibrant opener in 'Recondite' segues brilliantly into the lazy funk-laden drawl of 'Gabbro'.  'Causation' lends itself to Smeltink's affection for house through an intricately-composed gem and the cheeky bounce of 'My Love' is sure to raise a warm smile.  

The album's centrepiece however surely lies within the magnum opus that is 'Opro Cosmic'.  A mind-bending empyrean workout that navigates a scintillating course over its eight-plus minutes and represents every ideal that 'BURN' was built upon.

While openly embracing the ideas and concepts across a multitude of genres, 'BURN' never loses sight of its identity.  An album that finds its happy place in the spaces between definitions, On-Ly navigates those spaces with confidence and imagination and delivers a definitive treasure in the process.