Followers of Richmond’s ethereal, electronic trio Opin have come to expect the unexpected from the kinetic group.

The band’s hotly anticipated, more song-oriented album “Valley Bombastic” has been in the works for several years. They’ve been working with Philadelphia-based engineer Jeff Zeigler — whose client list includes Kurt Vile, A Sunny Day in Glasgow, The War on Drugs, Purling Hiss — and the results promise to be worth the wait.

Where many bands get stuck in between writing, recording and performing, bogged down by a consumer-driven album cycle, Opin has flourished by releasing new material that’s of the moment, sourced from whatever may move them, via mixtapes and singles.

This recent output, along with an incendiary and inspired set for WRIR’s anniversary party at Hardywood earlier this year, has allowed for renewed creativity and engagement in what can otherwise be the isolating and tedious process of producing an album.

Style is pleased to share the premiere of their new single “Bodywork” ahead of their last show of the year. We also checked in with the band for a status update and reflection on how they’ve arrived here — vital, energized and eager for more.

STYLE: What’s Opin been up to since the release of your previous single “Exit Check” last summer?

Landis Wine: Well, I guess the most important thing is we finished mixing Valley Boombastic up in Philly with Jeff Zeigler earlier this year. That was the culmination of a process that we started when we moved into our current studio/practice space back in mid-2020. To give you an idea of how contorted our timeline is, the improv/companion album we produced alongside it (“Hospital Street”) came out in 2022. This past fall, we dove back into improvising and recording and that resulted in some jams that we workshopped at live shows (the new single, “Bodywork” is one of these), and some that will either end up on another mixtape or mutate into pieces for the next album. A lot of exploration.

Jon Hawkins: We’ve been messing with the format a lot. I’ve been really fixated on what it is to release music currently. We have amassed a lot of ideas since we record ourselves while playing. We get decision paralysis and it takes effort to not be precious about things. Having something like the Hospital Street series has been a great way to get ideas released physically and mentally. I want to get comfortable putting music out that excites me and may not be as polished. There’s a balance of trying to capture the excitement of a song that fades as the songs become more defined. We are leaning further into the excitement.

Tori Hovater: I think we’ve experienced a pretty significant pivot since “Exit Check.” Everything is weirder, less structured, more improvisational and, in my opinion, more delicious. I think the three of us have always enjoyed the actual creative process and the moments that arise from that, sometimes more than rehearsing and fine-tuning. So we’ve leaned into that pretty hard and it’s been extremely fun!

Do you have a message for those hearing “Bodywork” for the first time?

LW: I think it probably works best while taking a long walk, doing some dishes, or dissociating in your favorite chair.

JH: This is probably the quickest we’ve released something. It’s fun for the background and foreground. It benefits from being loud.

TH: It’s a long one, but I think it goes on a fun little ride … just roll with it. Make dumb faces in the mirror to it. Drive around with your windows up to it. Spin around in a circle and wave your arms to it (just don’t hit anyone). Sometimes it feels to me like a track that sort of remixes itself before it’s over, and I really like that.

How has this adventurous shift toward a more improvisational approach carried over to your live performances?

JW: I think it first reared its head back in 2021 when we played a handful of shows after lockdown and began to stretch out on segments of songs that we later tightened up for [“Valley Bombastic”]. We took it a step further during an opening slot for Live Skull the following year. We hadn’t had an opportunity to practice and we decided to get onstage and improvise the entire set. It was weird, liberating, and shockingly, the audience didn’t seem to be aware that we were making the entire thing up on the spot. The confidence we gained from doing that helped us to inform our current approach, which consists of some longer pieces with refined elements and a couple short/punchy songs thrown in for good measure. We’ve played together for so long that we can just sit down with each other on whatever instrument we’re feeling for that day and sculpt an idea without having to talk about it.

JH: We are trying ideas out to see how it feels and editing it to try and touch up where we think it may need attention and leaning into what is working for us. I’m sure we’ll modulate between writing and improvising for a bit and it will allow us to be more relaxed in the future when releasing more written and refined bits. The whole point is to have fun and this is fun at the moment.

TH: In my opinion, it’s inextricably tied to live performance. I think the recorded material and live shows are more alike and more different than ever; the recorded stuff could probably be considered one-of-a-kind in the sense that’s probably the only time we played it that way, and while the live performances carry the same sentiment they are always different now! It’s made things very exciting.

Do you have any pre-show rituals or superstitions? What elements or conditions make for an optimal Opin concert?

LW: For me, I’m generally stressing so much about making sure everything is plugged in and levels are correct that I’m a ball of stress until we’re about three or four minutes in. Superstition-wise, if we’re too confident about leaving the space with all our gear it means we’ve left a critical piece behind. As far as conditions, that depends. Sometimes when we’ve been forced to play in less than ideal conditions or we’re playing outdoors it feels like we can sync up with our surroundings more. An optimal Opin concert is one in which the gear works and we can hear ourselves onstage. Thinking about this question makes me realize how hyper-analytical I am of our performances. When we hit a flow state and the audience disappears and you’re unsure how long you’ve been playing, that feels nice.

TH: The gear thing is definitely accurate, and I personally believe we should never practice day-of-show. I think we put it all into that practice play through and it robs the mojo for the day.

Does the band feel a kinship with any specific Richmond musicians or artists?

LW: We’ve known and appreciated so many bands during our time in Richmond it’s really hard to single folks out. A lot of times it’s who we’re running into or hanging out with. Dash Lewis, who performs as Gardener, shares a space with us, and there’s always good vibes there. Mel Machete, Outer World, and the other bands that have spaces down on Hospital Street are great music neighbors. Even then we’re missing dozens more we’ve played with.

TH: I feel like I always have to offer up my admiration for Julie Storey and Dollbaby! Even though their music is different from ours in so many ways, I’m inspired by their songwriting and the way she uses her voice. It’s so powerful and their new album RIPS.

Do you, collectively as a band, draw inspiration from anywhere? 

LW: I think we like to be challenged, we like the process of discovery, and all three of us are generally very direct about what excites us. There’s definitely an interplay between the three of us that feels distinct as an ensemble and we tend to draw on that. Sometimes we’ll dive down rabbit holes of, I dunno, “A Goofy Movie,” underrated nu metal records, stand-up comedy, techno or ambient records, cultural ephemera, or counterintuitive ways of working that seem potentially bad but end up feeling great. We’ve eliminated a lot of rules for ourselves over the years, and I guess we draw a lot of inspiration from constantly questioning why we bother approaching things a certain way, or what sort of unconscious attachment or nostalgia we have for a process or idea and then rip it apart. I think it’s easy as you get older to get comfortable with understanding what works and what doesn’t, and what buttons to press for certain things to get certain responses, and I think there’s a complacency you can fall into that leads to diminishing returns. I’m still very much down to fail spectacularly.

JH: It is very random which I think makes it better. I was reviewing some of our upcoming mixtape and could tell I had been listening to a lot of Korn at the time by how I was playing. I think the moments before we start playing are usually the ones that we pull from during.

What are you looking forward to at your final show of the year?

LW: Well, since the last year has been pretty scattered in terms of what, when, and how everything will be released, and now, mercifully, we’ve got clarity on how to get all of this work out into the world, I think it’s going to be a nice exhale to cap off the year.

TH: The lineup! Really fun bill.

Any parting words?

JH: Support local music. Buy from artists. Buy from your local music store. Support the fight for artists being paid their worth from streamers.

“Bodywork” will be released everywhere digitally on Friday, Nov. 29. Opin performs Saturday, Nov. 30 with Sweet Touch and Knifing Around at Gallery5. Doors are at 7 p.m. and tickets cost $10 in advance or $15 at the door.