WOMAD

Ozric Tentacles

From United Kingdom

Ozric Tentacles are, simply put, legends of the UK underground. Inspired by a myriad of music and musicians from Kraut-rockers Kraan to guitar maestro Steve Vai, from ethnic Arabic to electronic techno, from Hendrix to Hillage, Ozric Tentacles’ music is a fusion of sounds, styles and genres that cannot be categorised nor plagiarised, such is its complexity. The essence of the Ozric Tentacles remains essentially a free-willed musical unit oblivious to fashion trends and intent on exploring instrumental experimental music with an obsessive zeal.In their 17 years, the Ozrics have experienced the vicissitudes of rock and roll life. The band has flourished through a number of line-up changes, spawned several side projects (Nodens Ictus, Ullulators) and new entities (Eat Static), created their own record label (Stretchy), put out close to 20 albums, scored a top ten album and sold close to one million albums worldwide. Throughout, the basic motivation behind the band’s existence has never wavered.Formed in the early eighties, the Ozrics began life as a free-form psychedelic vehicle for jamming, attracting a dedicated fan-base at grassroots level by playing at all the free festivals to fans of space-rock, dub, psychedelia, and later on when the festivals had developed into raves, to fans of house and techno.Throughout the eighties the Ozrics released six cassette-only albums, initially sold at festivals with hand-painted sleeves, but later given a proper release as their popularity increased. Those early releases were eventually re-released on CD and collected together in a limited edition box-set that has now become a serious collector’s item for Ozric fans.Having then developed their own cottage industry – studio, label, tour bus, dedicated following – the Ozrics eventually achieved top ten album status in the UK with their 1993 album ‘Jurassic Shift’. It was, and still is, an astonishing accomplishment for a band with no celebrity status, and no major record label backing.Suddenly nobody could ignore the Ozrics any longer. Sell out tours followed, culminating in the band packing out the Brixton Academy two nights running. Melody Maker put them on the cover, to mixed reactions from their writers. Paul Mather stated that: "I’m proud to admit that I like Ozric Tentacles, because a) they’re terrific, if inscrutable, people, b) they occasionally stumble on the sort of plangent codas that the eternally underrated System 7 made their own and, most importantly, c) they really don’t give a hoot what you or I think."In the NME, Sam Steele wrote that, "Ambient atmospherics lead into lush fields of skanking bass and digital dance beats, while tribal drums and marimba motifs mix with bluesy steel strings awash with the astral vibes of John Egan’s floating flute and spinning in a land of spaced-out synths. Heady stuff."In Q, Lloyd Bradley concluded, "The Ozrics are deceptively disciplined because they have no choice: if their expertly handled guitars, flutes, synths, sitars and so on wandered off in self-serving directions, the tunes wouldn’t be anchored down and this deeply funky, thoroughly absorbing, orchestrated chaos would sound unlistenably ragged."The band’s line-up has been somewhat fluid over the last 17 years. Founder member and guitarist Ed Wayne was joined by frontman/flautist Jumping John three years after the band’s inception. Bassist Zia joined a few years later and, after Merv Pepler and Joie Hinton left to concentrate on Eat Static full time, Rad and Seaweed replaced them on drums and keyboards respectively to complete the definitive line-up that has remained constant since the early nineties.To date the band have released 19 albums, a vast body of music that is both complex and fascinating in its scope and vision. The new album ‘The Hidden Step’ is set for worldwide release on 2nd October 2000, and features seven tracks that cross a multitude of genres from dance to dub, from ethnic to psychedelic, from guitar rock to ambient.Ozric Tentacles will be embarking on a UK tour in September following their sold out tour in February this year, before the next step over the Atlantic in November, continuing their rapid rise in the States. A European tour will follow in December.Ozric Tentacles are: Ed Wynne (guitar, keyboards) – John Egan (flute, vocals), Zia Geelani (bass) – Seaweed (keyboards – Rad (drums, percussion)Biog supplied by Work Hard Public Relations