There are bands that are relatively easy to describe. You know what they play, where they come from, what their influences are and, more or less, which musical box you are supposed to put them in.
And then there are Ozric Tentacles.
Because how exactly do you explain to someone who has never heard them before what they actually play? Progressive rock? Space rock? Psychedelia? Electronica? Ambient? Dub? Jazz fusion? World music?
All of the above?
The answer is probably somewhere in there.
More than four decades after their formation, Ozric Tentacles remain one of the truly unique bands to ever emerge from the British scene. With their new album, Harmonic Mind, arriving on September 18 via Kscope and their return to Greece following less than a month later, the timing seems just about perfect for a trip into their strange, colourful and completely unmistakable universe.
From Stonehenge to outer space
The story of Ozric Tentacles begins in 1983 at the Stonehenge Free Festival.
A small detail which, when you think about it, explains quite a lot about everything that followed.
This was never a band formed with singles, charts or a particular musical trend in mind. With Ed Wynne at its core, Ozric Tentacles grew out of the British free festival scene and gradually developed a sound where Hawkwind and Gong could coexist with synthesizers, dub basslines, electronic beats, Eastern melodies and guitars that occasionally sound as if they left planet Earth a long time ago.
And they did almost all of it without vocals.
The remarkable thing is that not only did it work, but it also attracted a fiercely loyal audience that has followed the band for decades.
The period that produced Erpland, Strangeitude and Jurassic Shift in the early ’90s essentially established Ozric Tentacles and pushed them far beyond the boundaries of the underground festival circuit. Albums such as Arborescence, Become the Other, Waterfall Cities and The Hidden Step followed, with the band constantly evolving while somehow never losing that very specific identity.
And that might be their greatest achievement.
Put on Ozric Tentacles and it usually takes very little time before you know exactly who you are listening to.
A sound that never needed a label
If there is one thing that defines their entire career, it is their refusal to stay within clearly defined musical boundaries.
The Ozrics can move from an almost hard rock guitar section into an ambient soundscape, then suddenly find themselves somewhere between dub, trance and a strange ethnic groove without any of those transitions feeling out of place.
Ed Wynne, of course, remains the central figure.
His guitar is perhaps the most instantly recognisable element of the Ozrics’ sound, but the real magic often lies in everything happening around it. Synthesizers create entire landscapes, the bass frequently works more as a groove machine than simple accompaniment, while rhythms can suddenly change direction without warning.
And somewhere in there lies one of the reasons Ozric Tentacles have always been so closely connected to the live environment.
Their compositions rarely feel completely locked into the versions captured in the studio. There is always room for them to breathe, expand and, when the moment calls for it, wander off somewhere completely different.
Harmonic Mind
Which brings us to the present.
On September 18, Ozric Tentacles return with Harmonic Mind, the 17th studio album of their career.
Six tracks make up the new journey: Guardstones, Space Platform, Harmonic Mind, Malachite, Tillamook and Sumipad.
Production duties are shared by Ed Wynne and Silas Neptune, with Silas also handling the mastering this time around. And his presence has become increasingly important. Wynne’s son is no longer simply playing alongside his father; over the years, he has become an integral part of the modern Ozric Tentacles identity.
Perhaps even more interesting is the fact that Harmonic Mind features the band’s entire current touring line-up, including Pat Garvey, Corey Wallace, Paul Hankin and Saskia Maxwell.
And that can probably only be a good thing for an Ozric Tentacles record.
Because as enormous a part of the band’s DNA as Ed Wynne undoubtedly is, the Ozrics are at their best when they feel like a real group of musicians playing together and allowing the music to find its own direction.
The recordings took place across different home studios in Scotland, Devon and Glastonbury, while the concept behind Harmonic Mind revolves around harmony, geometry and the patterns found throughout nature and the universe.
Yes, it sounds about as Ozric Tentacles as it possibly could.
Space Platform and Malachite
The first taste of the album, Space Platform, makes no attempt to reinvent Ozric Tentacles.
Thankfully.
Everything you would expect is here. Synths spreading across the entire soundscape, bass driving the groove, constant little shifts in direction and, of course, Wynne’s guitar appearing exactly when it needs to without having to swallow the entire track.
It feels less like a conventional single and more like an entrance into the world of Harmonic Mind.
Something similar can be said about Malachite, a track named after one of Wynne’s favourite minerals.
There is a nice little detail behind this one as well. Wynne uses his custom sandalwood acoustic guitar made by Kif Wood Guitars, which features a malachite inlay surrounding the soundhole.
Even Erp, the strange little creature that has followed the Ozrics around for decades, makes its return on the artwork.
The past is still very much present.
Ozric Tentacles just don’t seem particularly interested in living in it.
Ozric Tentacles live: that’s where things change
As good as their records can be, there is one argument that is difficult to dispute.
Ozric Tentacles need to be experienced live.
That is where their music takes on an entirely different dimension.
The visuals, synthesizers, grooves and, most importantly, the ability of the songs to expand far beyond their studio versions can turn an Ozric Tentacles show into something much more than a band simply performing a collection of tracks.
And this October, Greece gets another chance to experience exactly that.
Ozric Tentacles return for two shows, roughly a month after the release of Harmonic Mind. On October 16, they will perform at Gazarte Ground Stage in Athens, before heading north the following night, October 17, for a show at WE in Thessaloniki, where they will be joined by Naxatras as support.
And it’s difficult to think of a more fitting band to open for Ozric Tentacles in Greece.
Naxatras have spent years carving out their own path through psychedelic and space rock. Starting out in Thessaloniki, they have gradually built an audience that extends far beyond the Greek borders, making the pairing of the two bands on the same stage an especially fitting one.
It also makes that second Greek night even more interesting.
The timing could hardly be better.
There will be brand-new material, a band that has been particularly active again in recent years and a catalogue spanning more than four decades from which they can pull almost anything.
And with Ozric Tentacles, the setlist is only half the story.
You don’t necessarily go to one of their shows expecting your favourite track to sound exactly the way it does on the record.
You go to find out where it might end up.
More than 40 years and still travelling
There is something almost ridiculous about the longevity of Ozric Tentacles.
They started in 1983. They lived through the cassette era and underground tape trading, reached much wider progressive and alternative audiences during the ’90s, watched the music industry transform almost beyond recognition and somehow they are still here.
Without ever having to chase whatever happened to be fashionable at the time.
Without becoming just another retro act whose only purpose is to recreate the glory days of the past.
And, most importantly, without losing what made them interesting in the first place.
Perhaps that is ultimately the secret behind their longevity. Ozric Tentacles never really needed to worry about what people expected from them. They simply continued making the music they wanted to make, following their own rules inside their own strange little universe.
A universe that, more than four decades later, still has room for new journeys.
Harmonic Mind arrives on September 18 to add another chapter to an already remarkable story.
Less than a month later, on October 16 and 17, that journey passes through Athens and Thessaloniki, with the second night made even more interesting by the addition of Naxatras.
If you have never seen Ozric Tentacles live before, this is a very good opportunity to understand why this completely strange band still commands such a devoted following more than four decades into its existence.
And if you’ve seen them before?
Then you probably already know.
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