.O.rang (or 'O'rang) is an English experimental music project led by former
Talk Talk
Talk Talk were an English band formed in 1981 by Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar, piano), Lee Harris (drums), Paul Webb (bass), and Simon Brenner (keyboards). Initially a synth-pop group, Talk Talk's first two albums, '' The Party's Over'' (198 ...
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 during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...
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
''Future Music'' (stylised as ''FutureMusic'') was a monthly music magazine, published by Future plc in the UK between 1992 and 2024. It was aimed primarily at record producers working in the electronic music field.
''Future Music'' included Comp ...
'', October 1994. Among other elements, the project draws on
dub,
Krautrock
Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock that developed in Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It originated among artists who blended elements of psychedelic rock, avant-garde composition, and electron ...
,
post-rock
Post-rock is a subgenre of experimental rock that emphasizes Texture (music), texture, atmosphere, and non-traditional song structures over conventional rock techniques. Post-rock artists often combine rock instrumentation and rock stylings wit ...
, 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
Beth Gibbons (born 4 January 1965) is an English singer and songwriter. She is the singer and lyricist for the band Portishead, who have released three albums. She released an album with fellow English musician Rustin Man, '' Out of Season'', ...
(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.
Discography
*''Herd of Instinct'' (1994)
*''Spoor'' EP (1994)
UK No. 176
*''Fields and Waves'' (1996)
References
External links
*
.O.ranga
Discogs.comSite about the band
English post-rock groups
English experimental musical groups
English rock music duos
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