Alice Okada Explores New DnB Horizons on Album “chapter one: the beach episode.”

Alice Okada’s debut album Chapter One: The Beach Episode feels like the sound of a young artist learning to trust her instincts in real time. Across six tracks, the Portland-based producer steps into the world of Jungle and Drum & Bass with curiosity rather than bravado, creating a project that values mood, texture, and personal expression over flashy trends.

This is not an album built in expensive studios or shaped by big teams. Okada crafted most of it alone in her bedroom using FL Studio, guided by a small circle of friends who offered feedback along the way. That intimate process shows in the music. Every track carries a homemade honesty, as if the listener has been invited directly into her creative space.

Influenced by pioneers like Shy FX, Congo Natty, and Dillninja, Okada works with classic genre tools, vocal samples, chopped breakbeats, and rolling basslines, but she uses them gently. The standout piece, “Dreams Of Oceans Beyond Eyesight,” reveals her real intention: to make electronic music that calms rather than overwhelms. Its ambient layers and steady rhythms create an atmosphere closer to a late-night meditation than a crowded club.

What makes the album especially interesting is the way Okada approaches creation. She openly speaks about using Esketamine treatment for MDD and how it helped her push through creative blocks. Instead of hiding that reality, she allows it to become part of the story, reminding listeners that art often grows from deeply personal battles.

For a first full project, Chapter One: The Beach Episode is refreshingly sincere. It doesn’t try to prove anything. It simply explores, experiments, and breathes. Alice Okada arrives here as an artist, finding her voice and inviting others to relax and discover it with her.