Ozric Tentacles
The Ozric Tentacles (commonly known as the Ozrics) are an instrumental band from Somerset, England, whose music can loosely be described as psychedelic. Formed in 1984, the band have released well over 20 albums as of 2005, and become a cottage industry selling around a million albums worldwide despite never having major label backing.Contents
The original lineup met on June 21st, 1984, at the Stonehenge Free Festival and their name arose from discussions of hypothetical cereal brands (Malcolm Segments, Desmond Whisps, and Gordon Lumps are among the names that were considered). In the 1980s the band built a fanbase on the festival circuit, becoming particularly associated with the Glastonbury Festival, and made a series of cassette releases, sold at gigs and via a fan club.
Their first label release was Pungent Effulgent in 1989, which was also re-released in the early 2000s, packaged with Strangeitude. This was followed by Erpland (1990), an album dedicated to Erp, a character which appears on many of the band's album artworks. 1991 saw the Strangeitude LP. The track "Sploosh!" was used by BMW in an advertising campaign and became the band's only single. By 1993 the band had grossed over three million dollars, and their Jurassic Shift album reached the Top 10 of the UK Album Charts.
The band have gone through myriad line-up changes, with only Ed Wynne (guitar, keyboards) and Jon Egan (flute) keeping a constant presence since the early 1990s. Many members left to pursue more electronic music spin offs acts, namely Eat Static, Nodens Ictus, ZubZub, Dubblehead and Moksha. Nevertheless, the band maintained their identity and continued with this prolific rate of albums throughout the 1990s, and into the new millennium. They also continued to tour extensively, releasing a live DVD in 2002.
The band are famous for their live performances, long fronted by Champignon, who danced around the stage in a trance-like manner and playing a variety of flutes. Ozric Tentacles have long taken an audio-visual approach to live performance, with an integrated lighting and projections crew. As of 2006, the lineup features Ed Wynne (guitar, keyboards), Justin (bass), Ed's wife Brandi Wynne (keyboards) and Dominic Gibbins (drums, percussion). Egan parted company with the band in 2005 and is now playing with space rock outfit Dream Machine together with, among others, former Ozric keyboard maestro Joie Hinton, ZubZub, ex-Ozric's bass player Zia Geelani's dance and electronica band and Jon's own band Champignon, playing eclectic, spacey world music with Alex Pym (Dream Machine) and Mindflux (ZubZub, Dream Machine).
Their music is a highly psychedelic mixture of thumping basslines, sound effects and danceable keyboard and guitar work, with a sound influenced by Steve Hillage and Gong. Many of the Ozrics' songs are in unusual time signatures and/or unusual Eastern-influenced modes. Furthermore, they often feature complex arrangements which change time signature, key signature and tempo frequently in the course of a track. In places, this is deliberately confusing; however, there are also moments of straightforward funk-influenced grooves.
These features are mixed with electronic elements, including densely layered psytrance- and techno-influenced arpeggiated synthesisers, pads, synth basslines, effects and programmed drumbeats. They also have a strong influence from dub and ambient music, with many extremely relaxed tracks which balance the frenetic, intense material.
The Ozrics also use a wide range of instruments in their performances. Electric and acoustic guitars, flutes, recorders, xylophones and even sounds of digitally tweaked human voices appear throughout.
Discography
Albums
Pungent Effulgent (1989)
Erpland (1990)
Sploosh / Live Throbbe EP (1991)
Strangeitude (1991)
Live Underslunky (1992)
Afterswish (1992)
Ozric Tentacles (1993)
Jurassic Shift (1993)
Arborescence (1994)
Vitamin Enhanced (1994) - CD box set of the first six cassette releases
Become The Other (1995)
Curious Corn (1997)
Spice Doubt (1998)
Waterfall Cities (1999)
Floating Seeds (1999)
The Hidden Step (2000)
Pyramidion (2000)
Tantric Obstacles - Erpsongs re-release (2000)
Swirly Termination (2002)
Live at The Pongmasters Ball (2002) - live DVD
Eternal Wheel (The Best Of)
Spirals in Hyperspace (2004)
The Floor's Too Far Away (2006)
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