Oren Ambarchi (born 1969) is an Australian musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays mainly electric guitar and percussion.

Biography

Oren Ambarchi was born in Sydney to an

Iraqi Jewish The history of the Jews in Iraq ( he, יְהוּדִים בָּבְלִים, ', ; ar, اليهود العراقيون, ) is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity c. 586 BC. Iraqi Jews constitute one of the world's oldest and mos ...

family. Ambarchi has been performing live since 1986. In the late 1980s he played free jazz in Sydney, originally as a drummer. In an interview with ABC Radio broadcaster, Jon Rose, Ambarchi described how he started playing guitar,

There happened to be one laying around in our rehearsal room. I picked it up and starting hitting it with drumsticks and using it in whatever way I wanted to use it in, and one thing led to another. I'm glad I wasn't trained. I've always loved rock music, I grew up listening to pop and rock, so that was in my mind, but I've also been interested in electronics. I never wanted to learn to play it properly, it was an object as much as an instrument.

He was a member of

noise Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference arise ...

band Phlegm with Robbie Avenaim, with whom he co-organised the What Is Music Festival. His work focuses mainly on the exploration of the guitar, though he also plays drums and percussion in some of his live performances. Ambarchi contributed to

drone metal Drone metal or drone doom is a style of heavy metal that melds the slow tempos and heaviness of doom metal with the long-duration tones of drone music. Drone metal is sometimes associated with post-metal or experimental metal. Characteristics Ty ...

band

Sunn O))) Sunn O))) (pronounced "sun") is an American experimental metal band formed in 1998 in Seattle, Washington. The band is known for their distinctive visual style and slow, heavy sound, which blends diverse genres including doom metal, drone, bla ...

's '' Black One'' album in 2005, and has since become a frequent live performer with the band, as well as contributing to the ''

Oracle An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word '' ...

'' EP and ''

Monoliths & Dimensions ''Monoliths & Dimensions'' is the sixth studio album by drone metal band Sunn O))). The album was created and recorded over a period of two years and features the collaborations of composer Eyvind Kang, Australian guitar player Oren Ambarchi, Hun ...

'' album. He also released a vinyl EP with

Attila Csihar Attila Csihar (; born 29 March 1971), also sometimes known as Void, is a Hungarian extreme metal vocalist, best known for his vocal work in Norwegian black metal band Mayhem and American drone-doom project Sunn O))). Author Ian Christe descr ...

and Sunn O)))'s Greg Anderson under the name

Burial Chamber Trio Burial Chamber Trio is a drone metal band consisting of American guitarist/bassist Greg Anderson, Hungarian vocalist Attila Csihar and Australian multi-instrumentalist Oren Ambarchi. These three musicians are also performing with Sunn O))). T ...

and has performed with

and

Stephen O'Malley Stephen O'Malley (sometimes referred to as SOMA; born July 15, 1974) is an American guitarist, producer, composer, and visual artist from Seattle, Washington, who has conceptualized and participated in numerous drone doom, death/doom, and exper ...

, the other half of Sunn O))), under the name

Gravetemple Gravetemple is the name given to the line-up of Attila Csihar, Stephen O'Malley and Oren Ambarchi. The trio formed in the summer of 2006 when Sunn O))) was invited to play in Israel, while Israel was engaged in the 2006 Lebanon War, and some o ...

. Ambarchi also works in popular music contexts and is a drummer for the group Sun with composer/musician Chris Townend. In May 2010, he performed live with Boris at the Vivid Live Noise Night curated by

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

and

Laurie Anderson Laurel Philips Anderson (born June 5, 1947), known as Laurie Anderson, is an American avant-garde artist, composer, musician, and film director whose work spans performance art, pop music, and multimedia projects. Initially trained in violin and ...

. Ambarchi collaborated with multi-instrumentalist Paul Duncan of

Warm Ghost Warm, WARM, or Warmth may refer to: * A somewhat high temperature * Kindness Music * ''Warm'' (The Lettermen album), 1967, and the title song * ''Warm'' (Johnny Mathis album), 1958, and the title song * ''Warm'' (Herb Alpert album), 1969 * ' ...

on experimental music projects. Ambarchi begins a series of duo recordings with multi-instrumentalist Jim O'Rourke, the first one being the acclaimed 'Indeed' in 2011. In 2017 he worked with composer Alvin Lucier, performing new compositions for electric guitar.

Partial discography

* (1998) ''Stacte'' (Jerker Productions) * (1999) ''Stacte.2'' (Jerker Productions) * (1999) ''Clockwork'' with Robbie Avenaim (Jerker Productions, Room40 reissue 2005) * (1999) ''The Alter Rebbe's Nigun'' with Robbie Avenaim (

Tzadik Tzadik ( he, צַדִּיק , "righteous ne, also ''zadik'', ''ṣaddîq'' or ''sadiq''; pl. ''tzadikim'' ''ṣadiqim'') is a title in Judaism given to people considered righteous, such as biblical figures and later spiritual masters. The ...

) * (1999) ''Insulation'' (

Touch In physiology, the somatosensory system is the network of neural structures in the brain and body that produce the perception of touch (haptic perception), as well as temperature (thermoception), body position (proprioception), and pain. It is ...

) * (2000) ''Persona'' (ERS) * (2000) ''Afternoon Tea'' with

Christian Fennesz Christian Fennesz (born 25 December 1962) is an Austrian producer and guitarist active in electronic music since the 1990s, often credited simply by his last name. His work utilizes guitar and laptop computers to blend melody with treated samples ...

Paul Gough Paul Gough is a British academic, writer, painter, broadcaster and the current Principal and Vice Chancellor of Arts University Bournemouth. Biography Gough was educated at Aberdeen Grammar School. He graduated from the Polytechnic Wolverhamp ...

, Peter Rehberg,

Keith Rowe Keith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Keith (surname) * Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949) * Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons ...

(Ritornell) * (2000) ''Reconnaissance'' with Martin Ng (Staubgold) * (2000) ''Stacte.3'' (Plate Lunch) * (2001) ''Suspension'' (

) * (2002) ''Honey Pie'' with Robbie Avenaim and Keith Rowe (Grob) * (2002) ''Thumb'' with Robbie Avenaim, Keith Rowe,

Otomo Yoshihide is a Japanese composer and multi-instrumentalist. He mainly plays guitar, turntables, and electronics. He first came to international prominence in the 1990s as the leader of the experimental rock group Ground Zero, and has since worked in ...

Sachiko M Sachiko Matsubara (Japanese: 松原幸子; born 1973), better known by her stage name Sachiko M, is a Japanese musician. Her first solo album, ''Sine Wave Solo'', was released in 1999. Working in collaboration with Ami Yoshida under the name Cosmo ...

(Grob) * (2002) ''Flypaper'' with Keith Rowe (Staubgold) * (2002) ''Mort aux Vaches'' (Staalplaat) * (2002) ''Stacte.4'' (En/Of) * (2003) ''Sun'' (Preservation Records) with Chris Townend * (2003) ''Triste'' (Idea Records,

Southern Lord Southern Lord is an American heavy metal record label that was founded in 1998 by Greg Anderson. It specialized in experimental metal: particularly doom metal, stoner rock, and drone metal. The label later expanded its line-up to include arti ...

) * (2003) ''Vigil'' with Martin Ng (Quecksilber) * (2003) ''My days are darker than your nights'' with Johan Berthling ( Häpna) * (2003) ''Oystered'' with

Günter Müller Günter Müller (born October 20, 1954) is a German sound artist who originally performed as a percussionist and drummer, active primarily in free improvisation. He was born in Munich, West Germany, but has lived in Switzerland since 1966. Ba ...

and Voice Crack (Audiosphere) * (2004) '' Grapes from the Estate'' (

, Southern Lord) * (2004) ''Strange Love'' with Günter Müller and Philip Samartzis (For4Ears) * (2005) ''Cloud'' with Keith Rowe,

Toshimaru Nakamura Toshimaru Nakamura is a Japanese musician, active in free improvisation and Japanese Onkyokei, onkyo. He began his career playing rock and roll guitar, but gradually explored other types of music, even abandoning guitar, and started working on ...

and

( Erstwhile) * (2005) '' Black One'' with

(Southern Lord) * (2006) ''

Squire In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight. Use of the term evolved over time. Initially, a squire served as a knight's apprentice. Later, a village leader or a lord of the manor might come to be known as a " ...

'' with Keith Rowe (For4Ears) * (2006) ''Stacte Motors'' (

Western Vinyl Western Vinyl is an independent record label founded in 1998 and based in Austin, Texas. The imprint was formed by Brian Sampson and Ryan Murphy originally to release their lo-fi indie rock projects as Win Foster and Havergal. Artists *Abram Sh ...

) * (2006) ''Willow Weep and Moan for Me'' with

Tetuzi Akiyama Tetuzi Akiyama (Akiyama Tetsuji) (born 13 April 1964) is a Japanese guitarist, violinist, and instrument-maker. Akiyama formed the improvisation group Madhar in 1987, and the classical ensemble Hikyo String Quintet in 1994 (which also included T ...

and

Alan Licht Alan Licht (born June 6, 1968) is an American guitarist and composer, whose work combines elements of pop, noise, free jazz and minimalism. He is also a writer and journalist. Biography Licht was born in New Jersey in 1968. His earliest mus ...

(Antiopic) * (2007) '' In the Pendulum's Embrace'' (

) * (2007) ''Lost Like a Star'' (Bo'Weavil) * (2007) ''

'' with

and

(Southern Lord) * (2007) ''

'' with Greg Anderson and Attila Csihar (Southern Lord) * (2008) ''Spirit Transform Me'' with

Z'EV Z'EV (born Stefan Joel Weisser, February 8, 1951 – December 16, 2017) was an American poet, percussionist, and sound artist. After studying various world music traditions at CalArts, he began creating his own percussion sounds out of indust ...

(Tzadik) * (2008) ''A Final Kiss on Poisoned Cheeks'' (

Table of the Elements Table of the Elements is an American record label. It concentrates on re-released and specially recorded experimental music, including many avant-garde musicians of the 20th and 21st centuries: such as John Cale, Tony Conrad, La Monte Young, L ...

) * (2008) הופעה באוגנדה (Uganda) * (2009) ''

'' with Sunn O))) (Southern Lord) * (2010) ''Tima Formosa'' with Jim O'Rourke and

Keiji Haino Keiji Haino ( ''Haino Keiji''; born May 3, 1952) is a Japanese musician and singer-songwriter whose work has included rock, free improvisation, noise music, percussion, psychedelic music, minimalism and drone music. He has been active since the ...

(Black Truffle) * (2011) ''Hit & Run'' with Joe Talia (

) * (2011) ''Indeed'' with Jim O'Rourke (

Editions Mego Mego was an experimental electronic music independent record label based in Vienna, Austria. The label has been superseded by a new company, Editions Mego, which was set up both to keep Mego albums in print and to issue new albums, run by Peter ...

) * (2011) ''In a Flash Everything Comes Together as One There Is No Need for a Subject'' with

and Jim O'Rourke (Black Truffle/Medama) * (2011) ''Dream Request'' with Robbie Avenaim (Bo'Weavil) * (2012) ''The Mortimer Trap'' with

Thomas Brinkmann Thomas Brinkmann (born 1959) is a German producer of experimental minimal techno music. He began experimenting with records in the early eighties and released re-workings of material by fellow artists Mike Ink and Richie Hawtin in the second ha ...

(Black Truffle) * (2012) ''Audience of One'' (

) * (2012) ''Connected'' Robin Fox ( Kranky) * (2012) ''In the Mouth – a Hand'' with Fire! (

Rune Grammofon Rune Grammofon is a Norwegian record label founded in 1998 by Rune Kristoffersen. Rune Grammofon's reputation for lovingly issued experimental electronic music, jazz, and improvised music by Norwegian artists has grown over the years with its art ...

) * (2012) ''Black Plume'' with Keith Rowe and Crys Cole (Bocian) * (2012) ''Raga Ooty / The Nilgiri Plateau'' (Bo'Weavil) * (2012) ''Sagittarian Domain'' (Editions Mego) * (2012) ''Wreckage'' with James Rushford (Prisma) * (2012) なぞらない (''Nazoranai'') with Keiji Haino and Stephen O'Malley (Editions Mego) * (2013) ''Cat's Squirrel'' with

Merzbow is a Japanese noise project started in 1979 by , best known for a style of harsh, confrontational noise. Since 1980, Akita has released over 400 recordings and has collaborated with various artists. The name Merzbow comes from the German dada ...

(Black Truffle / Hospital Hill) * (2014) ''Quixotism'' (Editions Mego) * (2014) ''Tikkun'' with

Richard Pinhas Heldon was a French electronic rock band originally active between 1974 and 1978, and led by guitarist Richard Pinhas. Other members included synthesizer player Patrick Gauthier and drummer François Auger. The name of the band was taken from the 1 ...

(

Cuneiform Records Cuneiform Records is a record label in Silver Spring, Maryland. Founded in 1984, the label releases an mixture of musical styles, all with a Rock in Opposition aesthetic, including progressive jazz, jazz fusion, the Canterbury scene, and electr ...

) * (2016) ''Hubris'' (Editions Mego) *(2018) ''Face Time'' with Kassel Jaeger and James Rushford (Black Truffle) *(2018) ''Hence'' with Jim O'rourke and U-zhaan (Editions Mego) *(2019) ''Simian Angel'' (Editions Mego) *(2019) ''Oglon Day'' with Mark Fell, Will Guthrie and Sam Shalabie (33 33) *(2020) ''Dreamlet'' (ATTN:SPAN) *(2022) ''Shebang''

References

External links

Oren Ambarchi.com
– Official website
Oren Ambarchi on Discogs
– Discogs page
Oren Ambarchi artist feature page
on

Wire Magazine ''The Wire'' (or simply ''Wire'') is a British music magazine publishing out of London, which has been issued monthly in print since 1982. Its website launched in 1997, and an online archive of its entire back catalog became available to subs ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ambarchi, Oren 1969 births Living people Australian experimental musicians Australian guitarists Australian people of Iraqi-Jewish descent Electroacoustic improvisation Free improvisation Jewish Australian musicians Jewish artists Jewish heavy metal musicians Rune Grammofon artists Western Vinyl artists