.O.rang (or 'O'rang) is an English experimental music project led by former
Talk Talk members
Lee Harris and
Paul Webb, with a shifting cast of guest musicians.
.O.rang's music exhibits more culturally diverse influences than Talk Talk. Webb has commented "We used to be in a
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean
The Caribbean ( ...
band when we were younger... The Talk Talk thing was always very Westernized, and we were listening to other kinds of world music."
[Dave Robinson,]
Of Masks and Men
," '' Future Music'', October 1994. Among other elements, the project draws on
dub,
Krautrock
Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre
Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it norm ...
,
post-rock
Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation ...
, and
world fusion music.
The group's first album, ''
Herd of Instinct'' (1994), was recorded similarly to Talk Talk's later albums: guest musicians played hours of improvisational material, then the performances were edited down and pieced together. However, in contrast to Talk Talk, the song structures were not planned before being recorded. Paul Webb explained, "it was recorded before it was written."
Guests on the album included former
Bark Psychosis leader
Graham Sutton and
Portishead singer
Beth Gibbons (who at the time applied to become the group's singer, before Portishead's growing success removed this possibility).
After several false starts, a second album - 1996's ''Fields and Waves'' - was recorded. This album was more Krautrock-oriented and more structured in terms of composition, as well as being more focused around the core duo of Webb and Harris.
[Matt Ffytche,]
substation ZERO
," ''The Wire'', August 1996.
An album with the working title of ''Loudhailer No. 19'') was projected for release in 2001, but remains unreleased.
In April of 2020, .O.Rang released an album entitled "Orang's Strangest Decade."
Discography
*''Herd of Instinct'' (1994)
*''Spoor'' EP (1994)
*''Fields and Waves'' (1996)
*Orang's Strangest Decade (2020)
References
External links
*
.O.ranga
Discogs.comSite about the band
English post-rock groups
English experimental musical groups
English musical duos
Rock music duos
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