Oliver John Wisdom (8 March 1958 – 23 August 2021) was a British

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

and

psy Park Jae-sang (, ; born December 31, 1977), known professionally as Psy (stylized in all caps as PSY) (; ; ), is a South Korean singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Psy is known domestically for his humorous videos and stage per ...

trance musician, and clothing producer, who lived in London. From the 1990s he recorded under the name Space Tribe.

Early life and education

Olli Wisdom was the eldest son of Anthony Wisdom and his wife Charlotte (''née'' Hartstein) and grew up in London and in Monmouth, Wales. He went to school in London and at

Hereford Cathedral School Hereford Cathedral School is an independent, co-educational day and boarding school for pupils of ages 3 to 18 years, from Nursery to Sixth Form. Its headmaster is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The school's premi ...

in Hereford.

Career in music

In the early 1980s Wisdom was the singer in the theatrical glam and gothic rock group

Specimen Specimen may refer to: Science and technology * Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount * Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository ...

, and co-founded and ran The

Batcave The Batcave is a subterranean location appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is the headquarters of the superhero Batman, whose secret identity is Bruce Wayne and his partners, consisting of caves beneath his personal r ...

, London's weekly goth club-night at the

Gargoyle Club The Gargoyle was a private members' club on the upper floors of 69 Dean Street, Soho, London, at the corner with Meard Street. It was founded on 16 January 1925 by the aristocratic socialite David Tennant, son of the Scottish 1st Baron Gle ...

. Before forming Specimen and opening the Batcave, Wisdom was the frontman for the punk band The Unwanted. Their most popular song was a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer and actress. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato), and is best known for her 1966 signature hit " These Boots Are Made for Walkin'. Nancy Sinatr ...

's "

These Boots Are Made for Walkin' "These Boots Are Made for Walkin' is a hit song written by Lee Hazlewood and recorded by American singer Nancy Sinatra. It charted on January 22, 1966, and reached No.1 in the United States ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and in the UK Singles Chart. Su ...

". After the Unwanted, Wisdom joined Metroz for a few months. Wisdom was a pioneer of

psychedelic trance Psychedelic Trance, Psytrance or Psy is a subgenre of trance music characterized by arrangements of rhythms and layered melodies created by high tempo riffs. The genre offers variety in terms of mood, tempo, and style. Some examples include full ...

for many years. After Specimen split up, in 1986 he went travelling in Asia and in 1989 he came to

Ko Pha-ngan Ko Pha-ngan ( th, เกาะพะงัน, , ) is an island in the Gulf of Thailand in Surat Thani Province of southern Thailand. Ko Pha-ngan is best known for its Full Moon Party at Hat Rin Beach. Ko Pha-ngan has two sister islands: ...

in Thailand, where he first encountered the electro-driven wild psychedelic parties on the beach. He stayed there for two years DJing and set up a small studio to make tracks for the parties before moving to

, India. Over the next four years, Wisdom spent his time mostly in Goa, but started to travel elsewhere, DJing at parties in Japan, Switzerland, the UK and the United States. In 1993, with his brother Miki, and Richmond, he started Space Tribe clothing in Bali. In 1995, the first Space Tribe tracks were hatched in the studio with Simon Posford (Hallucinogen/

Shpongle Shpongle is a psychedelic electronic music project from England that formed in 1996. The group includes Hallucinogen and Raja Ram (one of three in The Infinity Project). The duo are considered to be one of the progenitors of the psybient genr ...

). Wisdom moved to the rainforest in

Byron Bay Byron Bay (Minjungbal: ''Cavvanbah)'' is a beachside town located in the far-northeastern corner of the state of New South Wales, Australia on Bundjalung Country. It is located north of Sydney and south of Brisbane. Cape Byron, a headla ...

in Australia and set up the Rainforest Space Base studio. Space Tribe released its first album, ''Sonic Mandala'', on Spirit Zone in 1996. In 2004 Space Tribe Music was set up as a record label, providing an outlet for Space Tribe releases and compilation albums. Space Tribe also made many tracks in collaboration with other artists such as Sirius Isness, X-Dream,

GMS GMS may refer to: Education * Gates Millennium Scholars Program, higher education scholarship program in the United States * Glen Mills Schools, in Thornbury Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States * Governor Morehead School, in Ra ...

, Menog, CPU, Psywalker and especially

Electric Universe Electric Universe is a psychedelic trance project from Germany formed by Boris Blenn and Michael Dressler in 1991. Their first EP release, ''Solar Energy'', was an instant hit with the underground trance scene and is often credited with putting the ...

, working under the name ESP.

Personal life

Wisdom had one daughter, born in 1996. He died on 23 August 2021, at the age of 63, and was buried at Islington and St Pancras Cemetery on 13 September.

Discography

Specimen Specimen may refer to: Science and technology * Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount * Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository ...

* ''Batastrophe'' (

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehre ...

, 1983) * ''Azoic'' (

Jungle Records Jungle Records is a British independent record label formed in 1982, specialising in punk rock, post punk, gothic and alternative releases. From 1982 to 1986 they were also active as a record distributor and were associate members of the C ...

, 1997) * ''Electric Ballroom'' ( Metropolis Records, 2007) * ''Alive at the Batcave'' (Eyes Wide Shut Recordings, 2008) * ''Wake the Dead'' (Batcave Music, 2013)

Space Tribe

*''Sonic Mandala'' (

Spirit Zone Records Spirit Zone Recordings was an independent record label releasing Goa trance, psychedelic trance, progressive trance and ambient music. Founded in 1994 by Wolfgang Ahrens (a.k.a. DJ Antaro), the label has been defunct since July 2005. Some of the ...

, 1996) *''The Ultraviolet Catastrophe'' (Spirit Zone Records, 1997) *''The Future's Right Now'' (Spirit Zone Records, 1998) *''2000 O.D.'' (Spirit Zone Records, 1999) *''Religious Experience'' (Spirit Zone Records, 2000) *''Shapeshifter'' (Spirit Zone Records, 2001) *''Heart Beat'' (Spirit Zone Records, 2002) *''Time S-T-R-E-T-C-H'' (Spirit Zone Records, 2004) *''Collaborations'' (Space Tribe Music, 2004) *''Thru the Looking Glass'' (Space Tribe Music, 2005) *''Electro Convulsive Therapy'' (Space Tribe Music, 2008) *''Continuum Vol.1'' (Space Tribe Music, 2011) *''Continuum Vol.2'' (Space Tribe Music, 2011) *''Peak Experience'' (Space Tribe Music, 2011) *''Space between Atoms'' (Space Tribe Music, 2021)

ESP

*''Electric Space Phenomenon'' (Space Tribe Music, 2006) *''Sensory Overload'' (Space Tribe Music, 2007)

Alien Jesus

*''Open Your Eyes'' (Space Tribe Music, 2010) *''Time Machine'' (Space Tribe Music, 2012) (EP)

Mad Tribe

*''Spaced Out'' (TIP Records, 2015) *''Amazing Tales from Outer Space'' (TIP Records, 2017)

References

External links

Official Space Tribe websiteSpace Tribe discography @ Discogs
*
AllMusic listing
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wisdom, Olli 1958 births 2021 deaths 20th-century English musicians 21st-century English musicians British psychedelic trance musicians Burials at St Pancras and Islington Cemetery DJs from London Electronic dance music musicians English male singers English people of Austrian-Jewish descent English punk rock singers English trance musicians Goa trance musicians Gothic rock musicians Metropolis Records artists Musicians from London People educated at Hereford Cathedral School Singers from London Sire Records artists