(2020) Ozric Tentacles - Space for the Earth


Review:
Written, programmed, recorded and produced throughout 2019/20 by Ed Wynne in ‘Blue Bubble Studios’ by the sea, this exploratory and diverse musical adventure comprises seven new tracks spanning 45 minutes. Inspired by the Scottish hills, valleys and beaches surrounding his studio, Wynne feels that lockdown in a strange kind of way has provided space for the Earth to breathe for a while and for people to rediscover its resonant healing frequency. ‘This is space music for people from the Earth to enjoy’. Ozrics’ synth player Silas Neptune and drummer Balázs Szende join forces again with Wynne on the album which also features special guest appearances from former members synth player Joie Hinton, drummer Nick Van Gelder flautist Champignon and percussionist Paul Hankin. Psychedelic voyager Gracerooms also contributes additional synth layers. The album ebbs and flows through blissed-out soundscapes featuring incendiary guitar solos, space grooves and ambient atmospheres. Wynne plays his recently revived Ibanez Jem, a new 8-string guitar, all kinds of synths and bass. Van Gelder uses the original snare he played on the first six cassette albums and early live Ozric performances. One tune features Champignon playing kaval, a traditional wooden Balkan flute. The album artwork was inspired directly by these seven tracks and realised by arboreal artist Kitty (Twisty-Trees) with help from Ed and cosmic artist Ivy. To celebrate this year’s summer solstice Ozric Tentacles released a new single, taken from Space For The Earth, entitled “Humboldt Currant”, the track Ed Wynne states “‘It’s a light-hearted message about feeling all right. It’s not trying to dig down into the depths of what is going wrong in the world but giving people a little bit of relief from everyday life, a stepping-stone into the astral plane’. One of the most influential bands to emerge from the UK’s festival scene, Ozric Tentacles formed during the solstice at Stonehenge Free Festival 1983 going on to become psychedelic staples at Glastonbury and other festivals. The creative vision of multi-instrumentalist Ed Wynne, the Ozrics’ uniquely trippy soundscapes connect fans of progressive rock, psychedelia and dance music culture. Space for the Earth represents the next harmonic step in the unfolding Ozric journey.





Tracklist:
01 Stripey Clouds
02 Blooperdome
03 Humboldt Currant
04 Popscape
05 Climbing Plants
06 Space for the Earth
07 Harmonic Steps


Media Report:
Genre: prog-rock, psychedelic rock
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits