Ox4ord & Yaak – Parameters

Melbourne producer YAAK has announced the launch of his new moniker ‘OX4ORD’.

A literary outlet personified as a nonchalant wordsmith, who debuts on his latest electronic/hip hop single ‘Parameters’, via Hy-Lo. 

Serving as a turning point for YAAK as he departs from standalone singles into a new era of production for artists, ‘Parameters’ introduces OX4ORD as the front-facing act. The record provides a commentary on broader society and some concerning trends, including mass consumerism, shifting personalities, and the psychological toll of social media. It reveals the lyrical dexterity that OX4ORD can offer, while confirming YAAK’s ability to deliver a record that compliments and exemplifies other artists strengths.

On the record, YAAK says, “I think ‘Parameters’is a show of my skill and maturity as a producer. It’s this unique blend of garage, hip-hop, and electronic that is unmistakably YAAK, but lends itself in all the right ways for an artist to come in and do their thing. The OX4ORD project exists to do what YAAK can’t, giving a voice to a lane of artistry that was boxed in by producer labels.”

Balancing both artistic lanes as the key driving force behind the song, ‘Parameters’is an effortlessly seamless hybrid of genres, carving a space between hip hop, garage and electronic sonics. It immediately launches into a perpetual motion of cascading synths built atop pulsing percussion, exhibiting a tapestry of textures that thrive on its placement of details. Anchored by a clever use of lyricism and grounded by the kind of bass that echoes through your chest, fans of Kaytranada, GoldLink, Duckwrth, and Mac Miller are bound to find something they love within this record. 

The accompanying music video, directed and conceptualised in-house by the Hy-Lo Creative crew with assistance from Iain Soumitri of Soumitri Studios, came together in a way that was rogue, organic, and inspired. It features stark and menacing shots of neo-brutalist locations across Melbourne CBD, pertaining to OX4ORD’s enigmatic character. Also included in the release is a reimagined editorial interview of YAAK and OX4ORD, offering a comedic insight into the delightfully chaotic relationship between both monikers. 

Hy-Lo Director George Yacoub says, “We’ve been working on a clever way to introduce this persona and artist moniker. It seemed right to pair the music with visual counterparts that helped amplify the new world of OX4ORD. This in turn opened up the opportunity for Hy-Lo to showcase its versatility as a label and creative agency, by writing, producing and directing the videos you see, in house.”

Where organic meets machine, YAAK is a multidisciplinary producer that has established himself as one of Australia’s most promising electronic acts. Having amassed millions of streams across platforms while earning praise from triple j, Pilerats, Acclaim Magazine and more, YAAK’s acclaims attest to his steady evolution as a producer since his 2019 EP ‘T I D E S’. Ready to further give life to OX4ORD, the future promises audiences the chance to see him maturing alongside his music, with introspective penmanship and beat curation at the heart of the project.