Ousia is a

music ensemble A musical ensemble, also known as a music group or musical group, is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrumentalists, ...

from

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. The group classifies their music (a mixture of

ambient Ambient or Ambiance or Ambience may refer to: Music and sound * Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgrounds * Ambient music, a genre of music that puts an emphasis on tone and atmosphere * ''Ambient'' (album), by Moby * ...

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 ...

, and

space rock Space rock is a music genre characterized by loose and lengthy song structures centered on instrumental textures that typically produce a hypnotic, otherworldly sound. It may feature distorted and reverberation-laden guitars, minimal drummin ...

) as "Snowbient." Their current

instrumentation Instrumentation a collective term for measuring instruments that are used for indicating, measuring and recording physical quantities. The term has its origins in the art and science of scientific instrument-making. Instrumentation can refer to ...

consists of two

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, and

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

s. Musically, their compositions are constructed around

keys Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

and dynamics, rather than a traditional "verse / bridge / chorus"

musical form In music, ''form'' refers to the structure of a musical composition or musical improvisation, performance. In his book, ''Worlds of Music'', Jeff Todd Titon suggests that a number of organizational elements may determine the formal structure of a ...

. A consistent approach involving

improvisation Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

and "live" recordings, minimizes the difference between their performances and CD releases. Ousia have performed with

The Flaming Lips The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, keyboards, bass, drums, vocals), Derek Brown (keyb ...

Laibach Laibach () is a Slovenian avant-garde music group associated with the industrial, martial, and neo-classical genres. Formed in the mining town of Trbovlje (at the time in Yugoslavia) in 1980, Laibach represents the musical wing of the Neue Slo ...

, Third Eye Foundation, Windy and Carl, as well as headlining their own shows.

Members

* Horn, Paul -

Guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, PolySix, QuasiMidi 309, Mini

Analog Synth An analog (or analogue) synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog signals to generate sound electronically. The earliest analog synthesizers in the 1920s and 1930s, such as the Trautonium, were built with a variety of va ...

created by Paul * Onnen, Dave -

Bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

* Shapiro, Jason -

Roland JP-8000 The Roland JP-8000 is an analog modeling synthesizer released by the Roland Corporation in 1996. Overview The Roland JP-8000 was released in early 1997 as part of the first wave of virtual analog modeling synthesizers (VA synths). Others from ...

Roland MC-909 The discontinued Roland MC-909 Sampling Groovebox combines the features of a synthesizer, Music sequencer, sequencer, and Sampler (musical instrument), sampler, with extensive hands-on control of both the sound engine and the sequencing flow. It ...

, Symetrix 606,

TC Electronic TC Electronic (sometimes stylized as t.c. electronic) is a Danish audio equipment company that designs and imports guitar effects, bass amplification, computer audio interfaces, audio plug-in software, live sound equalisers, studio and post-pro ...

D-Two * Teasley, Fred -

, MS-20,

Micromoog The Moog model 2090 Micromoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer produced by Moog Music from 1975 to 1979. During 1973 and 1974, Moog attempted to produce a synth system, possibly as a result of seeing Yamaha's massive GX-1. The bass and pol ...

Biography

In February 1996, Jason Shapiro and Paul Horn collaborated on a primarily improvised performance for a showcase at Intermedia Arts in

("You're My Avant-Guitar Hero", February 23–24, 1996). Seven months later (September 1996), the two decided to record their "improvised compositions", in addition to writing new material. During this time, Horn was also working with Fred Teasley writing drone-oriented compositions. As the two separate projects were similar in nature, it was decided that the three should get together and compose new music. In late October 1996, the line up expanded with the addition of Dave Onnen, and the name "Blue Shift" was established by Teasley. Late November 1996 brought the addition of Jason Ducklinsky, as preparations were made for their first live performance a few weeks later. In March 1997, the ensemble were informed that there were at least two other bands performing as Blue Shift, and thus Shapiro suggested that their name be changed to "Ousia", inspired from

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

's ''

Metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

''. The change in the name also reflected an evolution in the structure—at the end of May 1997, Ousia trimmed down from a

quintet A quintet is a group containing five members. It is commonly associated with musical groups, such as a string quintet, or a group of five singers, but can be applied to any situation where five similar or related objects are considered a single ...

to a

quartet In music, a quartet or quartette (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers; or a musical composition for four voices and instruments. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations o ...

(Ducklinsky was no longer a member).

Discography

* Various Artists, ''Southeast of Saturn, Vol. 2'' (Third Man Records, Dec. 3, 2022) * Various Artists, ''Redeyed: Minneapolis Shoegaze and Dreampop 1992-1998'' (Go Johnny Go, 2006) * Various Artists, ''FutureMusic CD #131'' (Future Music UK Magazine, Jan. 2003) * Ousia, ''Face the Robot'' (Mutant Music, 2002) * Various Artists, ''Twin Town High Yearbook 1997-1998'' (Pulse of the Twin Cities Newspaper, Jan. 1998) * Various Artists, ''Future Perfect Sound System:

Music For Listening ''Future Perfect Sound System: Music for Listening'', a compilation of electronica, techno and trance music, is the first album by Twin Cities-based electronica collective Future Perfect Sound System. The album features work from a diverse range ...

'' (UltraModern/TRG, Oct. 21, 1997) * Ousia, ''Why is That a Four?'' (UltraModern/TRG, Sept. 23, 1997) * Various Artists, ''ADA Monthly Catalog Sampler, July '97'' (Alternative Distribution Alliance, Jul. 1997)

Selected awards

* Best Noise Band - Winner (

City Pages ''City Pages'' was an alternative newspaper serving the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area. It featured news, film, theatre and restaurant reviews and music criticism, available free every Wednesday. It ceased publication in 2020 due to a ...

- May 13, 1998) * Best Electronic Group/DJ of 1997 - Nominated (Minnesota Music Awards - April 23, 1998) * Best Electronic Music CD of 1997 - Nominated (Minnesota Music Awards - April 23, 1998) * "Picked to Click" (Best New Band Poll) - Top 10 (

- April 22, 1998)

External links

Twin Tone / UltraModern Records - Ousia

Ousia Homepage (1998)

Local Minneapolis Press for Ousia in the City Pages

"Why Is That a Four" review at AllMusic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ousia Musical groups from Minnesota