Osada Vida

In the area of today's Benin, there's a small village. Its inhabitants live far from all the civilisation, but in perfect harmony. Their newborn babies are given to pythons, which look after them and protect from dangerous bushes.

This village is called Osada Vida.

Two mates - Adam Podzimski and Lukasz Lisiak - both having the same music tastes. They persuaded the third friend - Blazej Kubica - to join them. First music sessions, first songs. They did not choose one style of playing, everything was born itself. They accepted only one limit in music - no limits at all. The music means pleasure of playing and joy of listening. It did succeeded. But something was missing. The sound wasn't full enough.

Rafal Paluszek - soon appeared, listened to their music and stayed in the band. Osada Vida had its first inhabitants. The whole was fullfilled by a singing Magda Hajda and Luca Juraszek - a lead guitarist. In fact everyone was different, like from other story, but everyone had already played the music. However, they understood each other and created their own melodies. Each of them added something from himself and that's how Osada Vida mixture was made.

They recorded their sounds on silver discs. First "Critical Moment" (2000), next "Heading For The Moon" (2002) and finally "Osada Vida" (2004). A few people heard the last CD and somehow they affected Osada Vida's fate. Positive reviews, invitations for concerts, sold cd's. It was also appreciaeted by musicians from Polish Band Riverside and as a result. Osada Vida  was  invited to play together within their Progressive Tour II. Due to this proposition, the name of Osada Vida started to reach bigger and bigger number of progressive music listeners. Such things inspire, give new energy to create. But not for all. Magda and Luca decide to leave he band and "move" to different music areas.

The moment of hestitation. A short break. Decision. And here comes Bartek Bereska. Young, talented, full of enthusiasm. And always somehow close to Osada. They started playing together. It really worked. So now there are four of them. The first concert together - really fullfilling. So let's get to work.

New ideas blossom and new sounds are born. Finally "Three Seats Behind A Triangle" is released. Every day brings something new. Osada Vida welcomes those who have an open mind and want to listen to sounds without clasifying.

Why "Three Seats..."? 

Three seats behind a triangle... Well, in fact it's not a really interesting or noticeable place in the orchestra, which hardly anybody wished to take. Most of Dreamers see themselves in the light of flashes. 

Painters, artists, musicians, doctors, architects, sportsmen, scientists... etc.

In the childhood or in the early adolescence many Dreamers discover their passions, pretending to sing to the broomstick, playing on the tennis rocket, painting every single view, spending the whole hours in the pitch, collecting insects and plants etc. Various areas of art, science, sport initially treated as a hobby, become their main aim and they decide to devote to their passions, making of them a kind of lifestyle. They also dream to create something, what will be noticed and appreciated, something, that can change views and bring people some profits.

Having finished their education, Dreamers full of ideals, take up different activities, which they treat as temporary or as a "break" in a long way to the fame, career or a great revolution. Unfortunately, not all dreams come true at once. An idealistic and positive attitude is not always treated seriously by the people around and reluctantly considered by the job givers. Innovatory ideas are thought to be not commercial enough, unreal or too vanguard. So in most cases Dreamers "do their job" at work and perform passions after hours. But after some time they realize how much time they've wasted, what makes them feel annoyed and desperate inside. Maybe it will be too late for revolutions in a while...

This irritating invariability of every day is intolerable for Dreamers, so their passions become sleeping. They only fullfill someone's orders, the freedom of creativity has no right to be. They're bitterly disappointed with the whole situation. Dreamers mentally grow up to say, that the present times aren't good for idealists. 

What's left for them is their passion. Accepting the order of the world in which they must exist, they do what they're expected to. However, Dreamers are again trying to treat their passion as hobbies. The passion makes them content, torn from the surrounding reality, lets them perform their visions. Without waiting for an admiration of world - only for their own pleasure of creativity, thinking, moving etc.

Dreamers take an unwanted seat: three seats behind a triangle. Although, what always remains in them is the passion. 

"Three Seats Behind A Triangle"

01. The Passion

01st Seat - Driving
.....Desires To Become
.....The Aim
02. Pictures From Inside
.....(Part I) - Colours
.....& Notes
03. Pictures From Inside
.....(Part II) - Unlimited
......Mind
04. The Decision

02nd Seat - And
......Desires Are The
......Most Delicious
......Thing Of Routine
05. Devotion (Part I)
......- After Hours
06. Devotion (Part II)
......- Flying Time 
07. Tension Blossoms 

03rd Seat - Constant
.....Rhythm Of The
.....Routine Makes All
.....Dreams Unaware
08. Everyday Ltd.
09. Boiling Point
10. Bitterly Disappointed

11. The Rebirth
......Of Passion

Osada Vida is the name of another example of a brilliant and amazing Progressive Rock band that reflects a wide variety of influences and styles, we can find in their works, elements of Symphonic Prog Rock, Neo-Prog, Progressive Metal, Alternative Rock and Metal. The instrumental arrangements consist of very tasteful and  energetics guitar solos, mixed with magical keyboard sounds, adding stunning harmony vocals, not aggressive but very powerful and efficient. We can find a variety of symphonic musical atmosphere present in all songs, as a result, you get moments of astounding power, in the same time lots of melodic and symphonic instrumental parts, but all executed with a perfect precision and discipline. Comparisons are hard to make, but in some ways, It reminds me something of "Riverside", "Satellite", "Anathema", "Collage", "Abraxas", "Porcupine Tree", "Tool", "Pain Of Salvation". I believe that Osada Vida will rank very well in the top of the Progressive Rock Band lists from the next months. "Three Seats Behind A Triangle" is definitely recommended to all prog rock fans and absolute assept to all progressive  CD collection. Brilliant and fantastic, an incredible album and an amazing band, highly recommendable...

The line up on the Band are:
Lukasz Lisiak - Bass & Vocal
Bartek Bereska - Guitars
Adam Podzimski - Drums
Rafal "r6" Paluszek - Keyboards

OSI

Office Of Strategic Influence

A new year, a new Dream Theater-related super group. At least that's what this might seem like. OSI was founded by Fates Warning guitarist Jim Matheos and also features keyboardist Kevin Moore (Chroma Key, ex-Dream Theater) and (of course) drummer Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater). Now, judging from the background of these musicians, one would expect another prog metal band, of which there are far too many around these days, flooding the DPRP editors, making it hard to tell the good stuff from the crap wannabe's.

The music turned out to be very different from what I expected though. There's loads of spooky keyboard soundscapes, weird synth noises, effects and samples of spoken text, the latter reminding me a lot of Dark Star. As such Kevin Moore has had an enormous influence on this album, and at times there's more technology and electronics than in the average house release. The music is at times dreamy and mesmerising, at other times hard and heavy, though more based around catchy dark riffs in the Porcupine Tree vein then on self-indulging fast-finger guitar or keyboard solos.

The band themselves conclude on their web site that their debut is "a record that will as likely appeal to fans of Porcupine Tree, Pink Floyd, David Sylvian, Radiohead and Wire as it will, the followers of Fates, Dream Theater, Vanden Plas, Pain Of Salvation or Symphony X". Not being too familiar with the latter prog metal bands, I definitely agree with the Porcupine Tree and Radiohead references. As a matter of fact, the album features both the dreaminess of some early Porcupine Tree material, as well as the aggressive riff based approach of tracks like Up The Downstair, Signify and Wedding Nails and other trademark Tree elements like distorted vocals and catchy bass parts.

Sean Malone (Gordian Knot) performs bass and stick on some of the tracks, while other tracks feature throbbing bass sounds as bass part. As such, the bass at times reminds me of Ozric Tentacles, while at other times the often mentioned Porcupine Tree is a clear reference.

Another piece of evidence pointing out how important an influence Porcupine Tree has been on OSI is the fact that Steve Wilson himself is doing lead vocals on (and co-wrote the lyrics for) ShutDOWN. This track - the absolute highlight of the album - could easily have been on one of the more recent Tree albums, closely resembling tracks like Russia on Ice in feel, structure and atmosphere. But there's much more to enjoy on this album than just this epic ....

A substantial part of the album (3 tracks) is instrumental, which is a good thing because Kevin Moore, who does all the vocals except those on ShutDOWN, has a bit of a dull voice and the many added distortion and echo effects cannot always make it more interesting. His voice is okay for one or two tracks, and does again remind me of some of the earlier Porcupine Tree material, but it's too flat to keep you tied to the speakers for much longer. This is the main reason why some of the tracks on the album are weaker than others.

Among those instrumentals there are some real highlights though! The opener The New Math is a fine example of how music can be fast paced and heavy without falling into the obvious prog metal traps. It also sets the right mood for the first vocal track, OSI, which continues along the same rhythmic paths. The second instrumental, Horseshoes and B-52's, is a bit harder to digest (for me) since it's rather experimental and industrial in a King Crimson kind of way, to me it sometimes sounds like some random cutting and pasting was done on this track, leaving out a couple of seconds here and there. The third instrumental, Dirt from a Holy Place, is another fine piece though. It starts rather atmospheric, almost ambient, but before long it turns into this horror movie soundtrack which reminds me a lot of the same threatening mood Metallica's Call of Ktulhu has.

As for the songs with lyrics, some of those seem to deal with a rather cynical view on the government. As a matter of fact 'Office Of Strategic Influence' was an ill-fated agency that was dreamt up by the Pentagon, shortly after 9/11. Their purpose was basically to disseminate information mostly abroad, and if need be, false information, to put the U.S. war on terrorism in a more favorable light as the band's web site states. The energetic OSI, the oriental flavoured Head and the dreamy Hello, Helicopter are the best of the vocal tracks (and ShutDOWN of course).

There is a limited edition of the album which features three extra tracks, including a cover of Pink Floyd's Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun, as well as a multimedia documentary of the recording of OSI. The regular CD also features a bonus video of Horseshoes and B-52's. Personally I find this experimental clip nearly unbearable to watch. If some video games are bad for people with epilepsy, this video is going to instantly kill them.

All in all a fine record recommended for prog metal fans who like a bit of experimental alternative and ambient stuff and for Porcupine Tree fans that were not put off by the heavy approach on their last album In Absentia.

Track list: The New Math (what he said) (3:36), OSI (3:48), When You´re Ready (3:08), Horseshoes and B-52´s (4:18), Head (5:18), Hello, Helicopter! (3:43), shutDOWN (10:24), Dirt From a Holy Place (5:09), Memory Daydreams Lapses (5:55), Standby (looks like rain) (2:11). Enhanced Video: Horseshoes and B-52´s

Ozric Tentacles

A Short History

Ozric Tentacles was formed at the Stonehenge festival in 1982 when the initial band members met around an open fire. The name evolved from a joke about imaginary breakfast cereals. In 1983 they started gigging in clubs, like The Crypt in London, and a second synth player and percussionist were added to the band. They also played all the major festivals after that, and six hour shows (!) were well within the bounds of probability.
During the eighties the band released no less than 6 fully instrumental tapes, plus an official outtake tape, issued under the guise of Noden Ictus. The first tape consisted of a selection of 14 pieces from the 84/85 period and was released in late 85 under the name Erpsongs. In 1986, no less than three tapes were released. Tantric Obstacles (15 new tracks), Live Ethereal Cereal (8 live recordings) and There is Nothing (14 new songs). The fifth cassette, Sliding Gliding Worlds, was released in 1988 and contained 15 new tracks. The last tape was a collection of 14 rarities and left-overs under the name The Bits Between the Bits.

In 1988 the band was invited by Hawkind's Dave Anderson to record their album debut in his studio and release it on his Demi Monde label a year later. This turned into Pungent Effulgent. This album was quickly followed by a second one called Erpland in 1990, a double LP released on their own Dovetail label on which Pungent Effulgent was re-released shortly after.
The band slowly started to attract a more mainstream audience. Executives played the CDs on their car stereo while younger kids, exhausted by the two note Techno of their generation, discovered the pleasant chill out properties of The Ozric's music. The band started to put more focus on the electronic side of their music, resulting in their third album in 1991, Strangeitude, which also featured their only single to date; Sploosh.
1991 also saw the release of a double CD with a collection of songs taken from the 6 cassette-only albums plus a couple of previously unreleased tracks; Afterswish. A live album called Live Underslunky was released in 1992. Most of the tracks on this album originated on the three studio albums. 1992 was also the year in which guitarist/keyboard player Ed Wynn set up his own recording studio in an old mill.

By 1993 Ozric Tentacles grossed over 3 million dollars, had their own label, mail order & distribution business, made shirts and produced their own music. The audience of the Ozrics had slighly changed from New Age hippies to a much wider cross-section of the music population. Although their next album, Jurassic Shift, certainly wasn't their best to date, it was extremely successful. The reason for this would probably be a mixture of coincidences. Besides the growing fan base the album title resembled the title of Spielberg's Jurassic Park movie - released in the same year - and it got even more publicity because of the first use of hemp in the (tree-free) LP sleeve and CD booklet; the first commercial use of such tree-free paper in the music industry. The album went straight to number 11 in the UK charts and sold over 50.000 copies.

In 1994 all the 6 cassette albums were re-released on CD, as well as in a box set called Vitamin Enhanced Ozric Tentacles, which was soon withdrawn because the Kellogs Company protested against the parody on their cereal packagings on the box set cover. After releasing three more studio albums, Aborescence (94), Become the Other (95) and Curious Corn (97) the band released a recording of a live Internet broadcast in 1998 called Spice Doubt Streaming. By this time only two guys of the original band, Ed Wynne (guitars & synths) and John Egan (flute and voices), remain. Some of the former members decided to put more time into Eat Static, a techno Ozric offshoot. Nevertheless, the band is still producing the same blend of styles they have done for 16 years now and plan to release their next album in the summer of 99. Besides that, remastered versions of Become the Other and Arborescence are planned for release in the spring of 1999.

So .... what's it like ?

Here's some descriptions I found while doing some research:

• [The music] will move from intense high speed fusion, to incredible atmospheric electronic music to a track that could only be described as a prog bands answer to reggae.
• The music is virtuosic keyboard/guitar rock, anchored with a strong drum-bass rhythm, improvisational at times, yet always strongly executed.
• There are no lyrics and the focus is on the incredible, mind-blowing jams with distinct mid-eastern influences.
• ... a highly accomplished drummer with a huge sound, an aggressive bass player featured prominently in the mix, a guitarist worthy of praise, plenty of top-notch synthesizer work, and a flute player and two percussionists to boot.
• ... I'm not sure one needs to get more than one Ozric Tentacles album. The ones I have aren't distinctive enough (from each other) for me to even think about which one might be my favourite.
• The sound owes as much to jazz, Asian musics and acid house as it does to straight-ahead rock.
• In an age where so many bands fall into ready made categories already overflowing with their peers, the Ozric Tentacles stand their own. (...) unique blend of progressive ethnic-space-dance-jazz-rock (...)
• Ozric Tentacles have formulated an updated strand of progressive rock for the rave generation, combining all the quirky melodrama and advanced musicianship of the 1970s fusion with the spacey, dance-floor Nirvana of the 90s.
• (...) bucolic blend of progressive rock, English rural psychedelica meshed with umpteen strands of world music (...) Make no mistake, the Ozrics are a guitar band (well, they're a flute band too, but that's another story). A master of everything from the Eastern and esoteric through lissom reggae to electrifying fusion-widdle.
• Finally, Ed Wynn himself:"People put all these words together to try and describe it, that's the weird thing. They might title it ethnic, psychedelic,space reggae, ambient, rocky, blah, blah, blah, you know. Who knows ? Music of the mind, armchair journey music or whatever. It is escapist in a way."

People have compared Ozric Tentacles to (early) Hawkind, Pink Floyd, Gong, Steve Hillage and even bands like King Crimson and Black Uhuru. Tracks can be divided into 'band-based' and 'sequencer-based' songs.

Enough about that all, let's have a look at six of the recent remastered re-released and two latest pieces of work by this band.

Pungent Effulgent

Dissolution has a nice start featuring electric guitar with delay effects. After a while the bass and drums join in and after two minutes the tempo increases and the whole changes into a more uptempo tune. This second part features a lot of electronic effects, guitar solo's as well as the only (spoken) vocals on the album ('Illumination, dissolution, devolution, evolution", etc). When the track nears the end it slowly gets more chaotic until it's over after six minutes. One of the highlights on the album.
O-I, a remake of a track which originally appeared on the There is Nothing cassette, has a rather funky bass line mixed with bits of flute. The song also features a synth solo, several wonderful breaks and lots of tempo changes into uptempo sections.
Phalarn Dawn starts peacefully with a slow continuing monotonous rhythm combined with some keyboard effects which together create a rather ambient sound. This track, in which nothing much happens, mainly leans on its drum and percussion rhythms. The flute sounds which give the track a more Asian feel can't make the track much more interesting. It shouldn't have been longer than half its seven and a half minutes, really.
The Domes of G'Bal starts with a keyboard intro which would not have been out of place on a Jean-Michel Jarre record, but soon to your surprise the track changes into a reggea rhythm. This is one of the splendid examples of the variety within the music of the Ozrics; reggae rhythms combined with electronical keyboard effects and guitar solos with a more Middle Eastern atmosphere !
Shaping the Pelm starts with electronical effects and an ethnical percussion rhythm. When the song starts to get quite boring a flute solo follows in the second half of the tune. Like Phalarn Dawn a rather forgetable track.
Ayurvedic is the longest track of the original album. After a minute of menacing keyboard effects a bass line starts which would not have been out of place on a Porcupine Tree album. Electric guitar picks up the same melody as the bass and the song slowly builds up. After a quiet intermezzo with flute and guitar the power of the track increases and the initial bass line melody returns. A short percussion solo and strange vocal babblings follow when the song suddenly changes into a reggea/dub like tune which fills the last 3 minutes of the song, which also feature a funky bass line and electronic and vocal effects and a rhythm guitar with echo effects. The band could have been slightly more creative in this second bit, but its still one of the best tracks on the album.
Kick Muck, originally from the Sliding Gliding Worlds cassette, immediatley brings a very different mood with it's agressive, sharp and quick lead guitar, followed by more Middle Eastern synth parts. The percussion on this one is stunning as well !
Agog in the Ether was fully written and performed while the band was high on mushrooms. Jungle sounds are mixed with flute and synth creating a musical wilderness. After about two minutes percussion and drums come in, playing a tribal rhythm. That's pretty much it.
Wreltch was the bonus track on the first CD release of this album. It originally appeared on the The Bits Between the Bits cassette. It starts with some experimenting on a xylophone-like synth. After 2 minutes the song suddenly changes into a rather free formed space rock song with an uptempo beat and lots of experimenting on synth and guitar. The recording quality of the track isn't as good as the rest of the album and the song's structure isn't either.

The bonus track Ayurvedsim is an extended live version of Ayurvedic. The tempo of the first part is a bit higher than on the original. The improvisations take place in the second (reggae) part of the song, where the band almost sounds like The Police for a while. There's lots of little changes in the bass line and weird sounds from the synths (even a strange chainsaw-like sound). The sound slowly builds to a climax where the reggae influences are exchanges for rock again.

Pungent Effulgent features some amazing tracks which you definitely have to hear (Dissolution, O-I, The Domes of G'Bal, Ayurvedic, Kick Muck) but also some less interesting stuff (Phalarn Dawn, Shaping the Pelm, Agog in the Ether, Wreltch) which lacks a good melody, hasn't got a melody at all or are just to long and boring.

The artwork is very nice with the band's wizard-like mascotte (the Pongmaster) in front of a landscape with psychadelic skyline.

The remastered version of the CD features one bonus track (Ayurvedsim) and extensive liner notes about the album. Instead of description of what the tracks sound like (I can tell for myself, thank you) I would have preferred some more information about this period of the band instead.

Tracklist: Dissolution (The Clouds Disperse) (6.15), O-I (3.58), Phalarn Dawn (7.34), The Domes of G'Bal (4.36), Shaping the Pelm (6.08), Ayurvedic (10.57), Kick Muck (3.53), Agog in the Ether (4.05), Wreltch (8.31), Ayurvedism (19.03).

Erpland

Erpland was originally released a a double album on vinyl. Since the playing time is almost 74 minutes already, this remaster doesn't feature any bonus tracks.

Eternal Wheel, a remake of a track originally released on the There is Nothing cassette, is a fanastic track where a synth intro is joined by one of those delicious Ozric bass lines and guitar. After lots of 6 string violence a quiet intermezzo with washes of keyboards calms you down again, but not for long because the powerful guitars and increasing tempo bring the power back in the song. This track could easily have been on a Porcupine Tree album.
Toltec Spring has a mysterious jungle feel to it which is enhanced by tribal rhythms and flute in the background. Fine mood music but not interesting enough to capture the attention of the listener.
Tidal Convergence is a whole different cup of tea; after an atmospheric soundscape of keyboards another bass line and drums take over. A great melody is shared by bass and guitar and after a quiet intermezzo follows a slightly Floydian guitar solo. Fine tune !
Sunscape is completely different again; it starts with acoustic guitar after which bass, drum and tambourine join in to introduce a flute solo. Part of this song has a sound comparable to the acoustic middle piece of Spock's Beard's The Doorway.
Mysticum Abricola is another song with an Eastern feel, enhanced by the use of acoustic guitar and flute. The background features weird sounds you would expect on an Arabian bazaar. After five and a half minutes the first razor sharp guitar solo follows. Great song with a stunning variety of instruments which would have been even better if it had been a bit more compact.
Crackerblocks is another long ambient piece which would be perfect to chill out to but misses the power of most of the other tracks on the album.
The Throbbe features - as was to be expected - a throbbing keyboard sound which sets the pace, together with a continous mid tempo drum rhythm. More Arabian murmerings and flute and electronical effects in the second half of the song. Another track which is a bit too monotonous and too long for my taste.
With the next song, Erpland, the band fortunately shows that they can do much better than that. Catchy and powerful bass lines, lots of tempo changes. It's the opposite of the previous track; Erpland is a tune with loads and loads of variation ! The melodies could have been a bit better but the whole thing, which by the way stops rather abruptly, certainly is impressive.
Valley of a Thousand Thoughts is quite comparable to Tidal Convergence in all ways. Ozric Tentacles seem to produce two kinds of songs. On one hand there's the marvellous energetic tracks with lots of variation which grab you by the troat and force you to listen and enjoy. On the other hand there's the ambient tracks which work well as background music but just miss the strength to keep the attention of the listener.
Snakepit has an Asian atmosphere again with strong bass lines, acoustic guitar and flute intermezzo.
Something we hadn't had on this album yet: reggae rock. And it arrives in the form of Incense, which even has vocals. Not one of the highlights of the album but fun nevertheless.
A Gift of Wings is the last and longest track on the album. After one and a half minute of eerie atmospheric keyboards sounds percussion comes in and the melody is picked up again. Another track with an Eastern of Asian feel which reminds me of Pink Floyd's Obscured by Clouds/When You're In a bit. The song leans on keyboard and guitar solo's which never really dominate but support the overall mood. After solo's by percussion, a sitar-like instrument, guitar and flute the song ends. This track probably would have fitted quite well on Peter Gabriel's Passion album.

The artwork is nice again; a atmospheric landscape with the Pongmaster present in the margins. The inside of the booklet features liner notes and a two page spread of small pictures and a kaleidoscopic drawing.

Although not all of the tracks are interesting, this album is slightly better than Pungent Effulgent

Tracklist: Eternal Wheel (8:20), Toltec Spring (3:03), Tidal Convergence (7:14), Sunscape (4:02), Mysticum Arabicola (9:14), Crackerblocks (5:40), The Throbbe (6:21), Erpland (5:32), Valley of a Thousand Thoughts (6:32), Snakepit (3:18), Iscence (4:37), A Gift of Wings (9:46).

Strangeitude

White Rhino Tea, a remake of a track from the Sliding Gliding Worlds cassette, starts out in much the same way as Eternal Wheel on the Erpland album with a combination of guitar and electronic effects. Great keyboard solo's, powerful percussion, lots of breaks. There might not be a real Rhino in this track but there certainly is an elephant ! A fine opening track with lots of variations.
The next song, Sploosh was actually released on single and was also used in a BMW advertising campaign. It doesn't feature any real guitar or bass but has been fully created by synths and other electronics. There are loads of weird sound effects which give the feel of dripping water in underground caverns. The pace of the song is set by a throbbing keyboard which reminds me of Mike Oldfield's Evacuation from the Killing Fields soundtrack. It's a nice track which could have been slightly shorter as far as I'm concerned.
Saucers has a Spanish feel to it created by acoustic guitars. A flute supports the whole melody. Great track.
The name Strangeitude fits the next track very well. The song starts with synths that create a weird Middle Eastern atmosphere while humming menacing keyboards support them. After 3 minutes the song changes completely. Strange voice effects are added as well as percussion (which sounds like a drum computer to me). More weird babbling follows and the drumming gets more powerful (this might be a real drum kit). As with Sploosh there are no bass or electric guitars in this track.
Bizarre Bazaar starts with acoustic guitar and a powerful bass line. A flute quickly picks up the melody. This uptempo song features some electric guitar solo's as well.
Space Between Your Ears isn't a real reggae song but does feature some dub influences and a mid tempo beat in the first half. The weird chain-saw like noice which was used on Ayurvedism can be heard shortly in this track as well and the electric guitar creates growling and howling noises. Halfway through the song the tempo increases when drums and bass speed up. Eastern flute sounds are added and the tempo increases even further until the song proceeds as a very uptempo tune. Guitar sounds get sharper and more raw as well.
Live Throbbe is a live version of The Throbbe from Erpland and only slightly more interesting than the original. It was used as the B-side for the Sploosh single and added on the first CD issue of Strangeitude as a bonus track.
The bonus track of the remasted edition on this album is another live song called Weirditude. This isn't an alternative version of the title track, as you might expect, but a completely different and rather rare song. It was originally on a compilation cassette with track by othr bands which was given away at a gig at The Kilburn National in London on the 17th of December 1993. It's a very uptempo song with emphasis on electronic (voice) effects and guitar.

Compared to the previous two albums, Strangeitude has even more focus on synths and electronic effects, with two tracks (Sploosh and Strangeitude) even being played by these instruments only. Some people have even said that this album was the closest the band ever came to producing a dance album. The album still features enough of the wonderful Ozric style though in songs like White Rhino Tea, Saucers and Bizarre Bazaar.

The booklet once again features extensive liner notes by Richard Allen, this time focusing on both the tracks and the historical period of the album. The artwork isn't as good as on other Ozric albums. The cover shows a scene in space where trees row out of trees, grow out of trees, etc. The inside of the booklet also has a two page picture of the band. The back cover features a nice drawing of the Pongmaster staring in amazement at a very weird sculpture

Tracklist: White Rhino Tea (5:55), Sploosh (6:24), Saucers (7:30), Strangeitude (7:29), Bizarre Bazaar (4:04), Space Between Your Ears (7:46), Live Throbbe (7:16), Weirditude (5.11).

Jurassic Shift

Sunhair is very heavy on the synth side and later on features sharp guitar solos, resembling tracks like Eternal Wheel. Very Ozric, but also not very renewing. There's no real tempo or melody changes in this one.
Stretchy is another uptempo song with dominance by the keyboards. There are more ethnic influences in a break which takes place after about two minutes, followed by a guitar solo. Not a real stunning piece.
Fens Shui starts very ambient and soundscape-ish before proceedings with a reggae rhythm. After that the track just carries on for ages without really becoming very interesting at any time. Just endless streams of electronic effects. However, after 8 minutes the track suddenly changes into a punk/heavy metal influences chaos which isn't really pleasant to listen to. After that a couple of interesting chord progressions follow after which the track suddenly stops.
Half Light in Thillai is another one of the quiet, ambient pieces with ethnic percussion, weird chanting far in the background and keyboard soundscapes. Fortunately an acoustic guitar adds a bit more depth to the song, which is too monotonous and long for my taste.
The title track, Jurassic Shift, has a more prominent but rather simple bass line and a more jazz-fushion feel to it and also remembers me of those long jams Pink Floyd used to do in the early seventies (remember the original version of On the Run ?). The emphasis is on the guitar which jams along the basic track for 5 minutes. After a rather long keyboard intermezzo with Arabian influences of two and a half minutes, the tempo increases an sharp guitar and flute solos accompanied by bubbling electronic effects follow. During the last minute the pace of the song slows down again. Although 11 minutes seems a bit long, this might just be the most interesting track on the album.
Petranodon features a slow rhythm and a pumping bass in the background. Strange babbling and electronic effects introduce a guitar solo. The song continues for almost 6 minutes, with only an interesting percussion solo adding something extra, and then suddenly stops. Completely forgetable track.
Train Oasis is a very short track which could have been even shorter as far as I'm concerned since it hardly features any interesting music.
Vita Voom sounds more straighforward and less cluttered than other tracks on the album. It has a catchy bass/guitar line and a nice 'chorus' melody. The track also features weird electronic effects and flute. One of the more interesting tracks on this very mediocre album.
The bonus track on this remastered edition is a live version of Feng Shui which adds nothing to the original.

The bass is much further 'down in the mix' than on previous Ozric albums and the synths are very prominent. The melodies aren't as good as on other albums and the tracks go on quite long without real variation. The songs miss the variety of the other albums and don't leave the same impression as their previous work. And the things we hear have already been heard before.
Maybe if the band didn't have to rush against a deadline to finish this album while they were still fine-tuning their recording studio, the album would have been much better.
Still much better than some of the other stuff which is out in the market, but certainly not one of the most recommended Ozric albums. For die-hard only.

The artwork features a nice drawing of the Pongmaster walking through water on bubbles, while the booklet contains a rather dodgy picture of the band live on stage.

Tracklist: Sunhair (5:43), Stretchy (6:51), Feng Shui (10:24), Half Light in Thillai (5:35), Jurassic Shift (11:05), Petranodon (5:40), Train Oasis (2:45), Vita Voom (4:48), Fens Shui Live (10.55).

Curious Corn

Spyroid starts with a sequencer, after which the whole song builds on drums and electronic effects. Nice short song but nothing stunning.
Oolite Grove is a more laid back, slightly bluesy kind of song with the emphasis on the guitar. After a while there's a break with a powerful bass line followed by guitar with echo effect. The tempo increases and more keyboards are added. The laid back beginning and guitar are repeated at the end of the song. Lots of varitation in this one !
Afroclonk starts with a swinging xylophone-like melody and flute-like synths. After a rather long intro of 2 minutes there's a break in which an ethnic instrument - which I seem to recognise as an Aboriginal horn - is used. The tempo increases but after four and a half minutes the music stops and slowly the xylophone melody returns. Guitars start to get sharper and after 5 and a half minutes the rhythm is picked up again. The whole continues with some added electronic effects until the end of the song.
Curious Corn features a bass line played by a synth. Guitar solo's are combined with a monotonous rhythm. After four minutes there's a break with a soundscape of atmospheric keyboards. What follows are electronic effects, distorted guitar, percussion and ethnic flute sounds. After ten minutes the song stops with dreamy keyboards. This track is a bit too long and monotonous for my taste.
Oddentity starts with a pumping bass line and a play between guitar and keyboards where the latter answer the melody played by the first. There's a break again, with an emphasis on drums and percussion. Eastern sounds from the keyboards. After some more breaks the song ends with a slowly fading bass line.
Papyrus is definitely one of the best songs on the album. The song has a catchy rhythm and guitars which bring a slightly Egyptian feel to the song. Nice breaks and a prominent bass. The guitar melody is taken over by the keyboards later on. The drums and percussion on this number are really phenomenal.
Meander starts out as an average techno trance song, but just before you start to get bored with the whole thing there's a sudden change. Powerful drumming, a dark low humming bass keyboard and Spanish guitar change the whole feel of the song.

Curious Corn is not one of the best albums of the band, but nevertheless contains a couple of nice tracks. Worth checking out but not as one of your first Ozric purchases.

The album has a nice cover (slightly Roger Dean-ish), several (live) band pictures in the 6 page booklet and a drawing of the Erpman by guitarist Ed. There aren't any extensive liner notes in the booklet (this CD is not one of the remasters).

Tracklist: Spyroid (3:47), Oolite Grove (5:57), Afroclonk (8:06), Curious Corn (10:56), Oddentity (7:00), Papyrus (5:32), Meander (5:13).

Spice Doubt Streaming

Spice Doubt Streaming was the first thing I ever heard of the Ozrics. Having heard of them but never having heard them, I was pleasantly surprised by the versatile music. The album contains the recording of their performance in the Cyclops Studios in the Bay area in June 1998. The show was simultaneously broadcasted on the Internet.

After the quiet, somewhat Floydian beginning of Cat DNA the track changes into an uptempo song with amazing heavy guitar, lots of breaks and keyboard solo's. And if that's not enough for you, what about a drummer who goes totally beserk ? Marvellous work.
Eternal Wheel, one of my favourite Ozric tracks, taken from Erpland, is the second song on the album. A fine live version.
After the guitar violence of the previous two songs the electronic weirdness of Sploosh is a nice change. In contrast with the original from Strangeitude, this live version does contain guitar which makes it (in my opinion) much better.
The watery noises of Sploosh continue with the short ambient track Ahu Belahu full of eerie electronic effects, ethnic percussion and Eastern flute in the background. The good thing about this track is that it's quite short and compact and calms you down before the band kicks off with another energetic tune.
Papyrus is slightly longer than the original on Curious Corn and the dark bass line of Oolite Grove of the same album is even used for an improvisation called Citadel Jam, containing a quiet, free-formed part with some Floydian influences.
Oddentity is not a song I would have chosen for the live performance since it's a bit too long an slightly boring for my taste.
A heavy version of Dissolution features an extended delayed guitar intro (remember Run Like Hell ?). Myriapod is another fast, heavy track with the emphasis on guitar, bass and electronic effects. It was re-performed after the actual web broadcast because it went off into an extended jam after Ed made a mistake in the intro.
Spice Doubt starts slowly, quitely and atmospherically and features a mysterious keyboard melody in the beginning which builds in volume. Bass drum and bass guitar come in, but the track does not feature any guitars. It sounds like a spontaneous improvisation. The song ends with some vocal effects.

The album packaging is rather simple with only some minor liner notes and credits. The artwork includes a lot of fish swimming around and the print on the CD actually has .... tentacles !
Spice Doubt is not a reference to the Spice Girls but a word play on 'spaced out'. The subtitle 'A Gig in the Ether' is a pun on the track Agog in the Ether from Pungent Effulgent.
The album is a nice collection of some of the best work of the Ozrics played live. Although the emphasis lies on their previous studio album Curious Corn with three songs (Oolite Grove, Oddentity and Papyrus), theres also material from Pungent Effulgent (Dissolution), Erpland (Eternal Wheel), Strangeitude (Sploosh), Arborescence (Myriapod) and Become the Other (Cat DNA and Ahu Belahu). The album features both the more 'rock orientated' material as well as the sequencer/electronics stuff. Unfortunately there's not a lot of flute on this album and there's none of the reggae tunes, which would have made this record a perfectly representative album.

Because of the nice mixture, as well as the marvellous live performance this would be my highest recommendation to people who are not familiar with the Ozrics yet. Try this disc and take it from there. The album is a 'limited edition', so you'd better try to find one quick.

Tracklist: Cat DNA (8:11), Eternal Wheel (9:31), Sploosh (7:04), Ahu Belahu (2:46), Papyrus (6:30), Oolite Grove & Citadel Jam (10:28), Oddentity (7:22), Dissolution (10:08), Myriapod (5:48), Spice Doubt (9:43).

Orphan Project

Orphan Found

Orphan Found is the amazing debut by Orphan Project, which I should have reviewed last year, but only discovered this year. The founder of Orphan Project, Shane Lankford, is a man who has a story, and his lifelong friend John Wenger wrote the perfect music to tell it. Making Orphan Found a concept album of sorts, played by a number of guest musicians, the pieces are loosely connected to one theme, the story of an orphan.

Shane Lankford, himself an orphan, was adopted by a loving family, but wondered where he really belongs and in whom he could find his identity. In the end, he realized his life is in the hands of his Heavenly Father, and that his restless heart may find rest in Him. The songs on this album reflect episodes of that search, sometimes in terms of biblical images like the prodigal son and the New Jerusalem. The personal quest, however, is at the same time an accessible experience to a broader audience.

Orphan Project dub their music "hard prog". It is indeed "progressive" in the sense that it goes beyond the borders of ordinary rock, using different instruments and song structures. And it is indeed hard in the sense that Orphan Project borrow powerful vocals and guitars-with-distortion-wide-open from our tougher musical neighbours. Somewhere between Under the Sun and Threshold, I'd say, Orphan Project show very capable musicianship and writing. Not without reason Lankford and Wenger credit American 'hair bands' (Journey, Kansas/Livgren, Petra) and well known prog giants (Yes/Rabin, Genesis/Gabriel) for inspiration. One could safely add Gilmour and Hackett.

On the more technical side (and then I'll get on with the songs themselves), the production and the mix really stand out, especially for a debut album. Someone there knew what he wanted to record for each song. There is diversity and transparency in sounds, effects and instruments (for instance such that drums are mixed to the fore when they deserve it and Wengers guitar pops out when it is played with balls). Also, Shane's seasoned voice gets all the space it needs. With some great vocal melodies, hooking choruses, and a range of nuances, he voices the lyrics very effectively. Let me just say that if you like Neal Morse's Testimony, you'll love this one as well.

The album begins with a great opener, because it already has everything that makes the whole cd attractive. Coming Into View: Discovering New Surroundings starts off with an intro featuring acoustic guitar and keyboard backdrop before the dual lead guitar and drums kick in, leading to a memorable chorus. Quite fittingly the song is about birth. Chosen, secondly, is about a kid in an orphanage waiting for adoptive parents. It changes mood completely to almost folky, with acoustic guitar, prominent snare drum, violin (!) and harmonizing vocals. The decision to use strings (violin and cello) is courageous, especially for a debut album in the harder regions of prog, but OP pull it off. The next scene in the orphan's childhood is a up-tempo song, called Full But Lonely, with tasteful keys and pushed forward by a rocking guitar riff. It describes a longing for more than material well-being. The same holds for Leaving My Seat At The Table, which goes full throttle with a great chorus and with an almost haunting violin and piano.

Orphan Found then continues in a somewhat quieter pace, with a song that seems to have references to Peter Gabriel. This song, Trickle Down, is about despair and could have been on Us, although it ends like Family Snapshot. Again, Wenger manages to get a good guitar solo. Also in a quieter vein, but building up tension to a contagious chorus, is Coming Into View II: Encircling Arms Of The Father in which the orphan in the story embraces the love of his Heavenly Father, in a spiritual rebirth, like the prodigal son in the biblical parable. This song, which opens with Floydian guitar, serves as a sort of bridge to the highlight of the album, the following two pieces. See What He Sees is one of the most heartrending ballads I've heard in a long time on a prog album. Introduced by cello and accompanied by piano, Lankford sings his heart out. The other part of the centerpiece of the album is Orphan Found, the title track. It picks up the hard rock pace of Full But Lonely and Leaving My Seat... again, with great guitar riffs, powerful chorus, quiet interlude with violin, a Genesis-like change of pace, and a guitar solo with chops.

This material will probably translate very well to live concerts. So far, the album has been able to hold the listener's attention with ease, also after repeated listening. And just like a good progressive rock album should, Orphan Found ends with a majestically sweeping finale, Coming Into View III: Looking Down On Golden Streets plus its outro Woundrous Love. Unfortunately, however, between the centerpiece and the finale, the album features one tracks and a half with too little of 'it'. Parts As One is a pretty straightforward mid-tempo rock song. Perhaps an album like this needs such a song as a point where the whole thing can come to rest for a moment, perhaps also when played live. But as far as progressive rock goes, it has too little to offer to me. The same goes for the first half of Paupers Unfulfilled. It is also mid-tempo, with U2-like licks, but it also seems to lack that 'umph' that makes both the restful and the restless songs on the album work. The second half has more power, however, and makes up for the initial faintness. If it is indeed a little drama that these songs are lacking, drama fortunately abounds in the finale, ...Golden Streets. It is lyrically about our orphan dying, but set in a hopeful tone, with sounds of sea waves, choir, and tubular bells. You get the picture. (Speaking of pictures, the cd comes in a case with delightful artwork, based on very un-prog tinted black and white photographs. Perhaps only the lettering leaves something to be desired.)

Interestingly, when you haven't heard the album, you probably still don't have a clue what it sounds like after reading this review. Hence my references to other work in the progressive rock genre. You'll have to hear it for yourself. Which brings me to the only big downside: the CD's distribution. So far, the independently manufactured CD has been available through internetshop CDBaby only. The upside, however, is that Orphan Project signed with Now & Then Records as we speak, promising better distribution in Europe and elsewhere. Judging by their debut, they deserve it.

Tracklist: Coming Into View I: Discovering New Surroundings (6:16), Chosen (6:01), Full But Lonely (3:55), Leaving My Seat At The Table (6:12), Trickle Down (4:26), Coming Into View II: Encircling Arms Of The Father (5:00), See What He Sees (4:09), Orphan Found (5:08), Parts As One (4:39), Paupers Unfulfilled (5:14), Coming Into View III: Gazing Down On Golden Streets (6:54), Outro: Wonderous Love (1:18)

Omni

Metal Mind Productions have announced that Omni will be releasing their latest album on 10th July 2006 entitled Mermaids:

Omni, the legend of electronic rock, after a very long break, returns with new material! The band remained faithful to their musical inspirations. A couple of concept from their debut album returns in more complex form. Very rhythmic compositions, which may bring to mind dance-metal in the vein of Rammstein, are the continuation of Omni style, created long before the German band started to conquer the musical world. One song features female opera vocals, which perfectly fit to the album aesthetics. "Mermaids" is sometimes dark and atmospheric, but at the same time filled with tremendous energy, as is always the case with Omni records.

Omni consist of: Marceli Latoszek – keyboards, Rafał Błażejewski – cello & synths, Gerard Sawicki - noises, Aneta Łukaszewicz – vocals on Aglaophone, Piotr "Dziki" Chancewicz – guitars on Aglaophone.

Oingo Boingo

Oingo Boingo was the band of composer Danny Elfman from the mid-1970s to October 31, 1995. An early version of the band (who produced a novelty record about kidnapped heiress Patty Hearst, "You've Got Your Baby Back") was known as The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo.

The band is probably best known for appearing on a number of soundtracks in the early-to-mid-1980s. Their most well-known song, "Weird Science" was, in fact, written for the John Hughes movie of the same name. The band made an appearance playing their hit "Dead Man's Party" on stage in the memorable party scene in the movie Back to School (for which Danny Elfman composed the score), in addition to appearing in the 1981 film Longshot, performing their unreleased song "I've Got To Be Entertained". They also contributed two songs (neither of which can be found on any Oingo Boingo release) to the soundtrack for 1984's Bachelor Party; "Bachelor Party" and "Something Isn't Right".

They also made a cameo appearance as the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo in the movie Forbidden Zone, written and directed by Richard Elfman, the brother of Danny Elfman. In this incarnation, the idea of which was initially formed in late 1972, the band was essentially a musical theatre troupe. Most of the members performed in whiteface and clown makeup; a typical show would contain music ranging from the 1890s to the 1950s (some of which were covers, some of which were original material based on music of another era.) This version of the band had as many as 15 members at any one time, playing over 30 instruments between them. Unfortunately, very little recorded material from this period exists. Because of the expense and difficulty of maintaining an ensemble of this size, Danny Elfman decided in 1978 to reduce both the band and its name, dropping the "Mystic Knights" moniker. Around 1994 it was yet again shortened, this time to "Boingo".

Oingo Boingo amicably parted ways after their annual Halloween concert in 1995, because it was "time." The final concert is available on both audio and video recordings.

Frontman Danny Elfman has had a very successful film scoring career since, particularly in collaborations with the director Tim Burton, and frequently using Boingo guitarist and composer Steve Bartek as orchestrator. Their film scores have included Batman, Good Will Hunting, Proof of Life, Men in Black, and dozens more. Elfman also wrote the themes for more than a dozen TV series, including The Simpsons, Batman: The Animated Series, Desperate Housewives, and Tales from the Crypt.

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Discography

Oingo Boingo (4-song EP) (1980)

Only a Lad (1981)

Nothing To Fear (1982)

Good For Your Soul (1983)

So-Lo (1984, solo album by Danny Elfman, usually considered to be a part of the Oingo Boingo discography)

Dead Man's Party (1985)

BOI-NGO (1986)

Boingo Alive (1988, live album recorded on a sound-stage)

Skeletons In the Closet (1989, compilation)

Stay (1990, compilation released in Brazil only)

Dark At the End Of the Tunnel (1990)

Best O' Boingo (1991, compilation)

Boingo (1994)

Farewell (1996, live, final concert)

Anthology (1999, compilation)

20th Century Masters: Millennium Collection ~ Oingo Boingo (2002, compilation)

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Singles

[edit]

External links

The Official Oingo Boingo Website

The Official Steve Bartek Website (Band member: 1976 - 1995)

The Official John Avila Website (Band member: 1984 - 1995)

The Official Richard Gibbs Website (Band member: 1980 - 1984

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