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Old-School, Progressive Trance Fusion:
An Interview with Ozric Tentacles' Ed Wynne

by John Patrick Gatta

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Formed at the Stonehenge Solstice Festival 17 years ago, Ozric Tentacles exuberantly embrace the complexity of sound while being ever mindful that there is a place in music for fun.

So, while their material is a blissed out union of space rock, jazz, psychedelia and ethnic elements, they also infuse each lengthy track with energetic rhythms, trancey moments and deep dub grooves. The band's recording method takes hours and hours of instrumental jam sessions and then constructs them into sonic journeys that have a beginning, middle and end.

Coming out on July 6, "Waterfall Cities" becomes their 16th release, and first for their American distributor, Phoenix Media Group. For a band that has appealed to a wide fanbase in their homeland - from ravers to Crusties (English slang for hippies) - their music has become a prime match up of band, sound and period in time.

To gain a stronger foothold here, they will embark on their first full U.S. tour in five years. I spoke with main Ozric Ed Wynne during the rehearsals for the upcoming series of shows from the band's Bristol, England base of operations.

John Gatta: Since most of your albums aren't widely distributed, you've managed to create a strong underground fanbase via live performances.

Ed Wynne: To be honest, gigs never feel like work to me 'cause I love 'em so much. American gigs or European gigs or English gigs, the only thing that seems to change for me is the length of the drive to get there.

Obviously, each country has its flavor. There's something very special about the States. It is a different kind of vibe `cause they haven't seen the whole festival preamble [of Ozric]. To them it's this funny band that's come from England and done all this weird music, whereas here they've seen it all grow and they know where it's come from, and it's a different thing.

JG: So, it's not bad when people initially think, "What is that?"

EW: No no no, because everyone gets their own particular thing from it. So the new people, goodness knows what they think. I haven't got a clue. (slight laugh) As long as they love it, that's what I'm concerned with, really.

JG: Explain to the uninitiated what Ozric Tentacles is all about.

EW: Well it's a very hard thing to do for me, really. To me it's just what I do. It's just the way I think and breathe and play, you know. Basically, what it is is instrumental experimental strange music, but you need so many words, metaphors, to describe it. I have this theory that you cannot describe music. All that you can do is hear it, which is the thing.

JG: For a band that brings in elements of progressive rock, you've received your fair share of favorable press. Is it because you've adapted the structures to modern times?

EW: Maybe, maybe. In England we don't get such good press, really, but I don't think anybody does. The English press is very cynical and ready to slag something off if they can for their own personal whatever. Whereas in Europe and in the States, the people like it for the sake of the music. They say, `I like this tune, that's why I will say something good about it.' In England, they will say , "Oh, this band, we remember them from the festivals. We don't go to festivals anymore, so they must be really old-fashioned and stupid." Not totally, but a little bit of that.

JG: So, has it been a sense of vindication that you've been together for so long (since 1982)?

EW: A little bit, yeah. Some people were hoping we'd go away and we didn't. (laughs) But then again, you've got people, who when they hear us after a long time and they happen to find themselves at a gig, and they say, `I've forgotten about you lot, this is really good!'

JG: I've read that you've made seven-figure grosses on some of your European tours. Still, you're very much an underground success.

EW: It's just the way it is, really. The nature of the beast, the music is strange enough that we're never going to get massive, megastar popular. That's quite nice. I don't really fancy that whole super, super rich pop star glitzy thing. I don't think I could deal with that. So, we keep it strange enough to keep some people at bay. (laughs) and let it be a doorway for other people in a way.

JG: Last time we talked was back in 1994 with the release of "Arborescence." At the time you were excited to meet Joe Satriani, and your playing reflected his influence. With the release of your latest disc, "Waterfall Cities," where are you at now musically?

EW: I'm still me, doing what I do. I've been playing guitar and keyboards all day for the last two days. We're rehearsing [for the North American tour]. People are pointing out this latest one is slightly less of a heavy guitar thing. There've been plenty of guitar solos on all these other ones. I still love doing `em. The next one might be covered in 'em. It just so happened that these particular tracks weren't that guitar-oriented.

JG: The way that the songs move from beginning to end. They seem to be constructed like a musical journey.

EW: Very much so. Often in journey style too, they go from point A to B and then back to A. I know from listening to a few of our recent ones, they go from A to B to C to D and E and F and off they go a little bit. (laughs) So, they are journeys. They take you off on a ride, for sure. This is what I like. I like tracks to be journeys. I've always thought of them as places rather than tunes in a way.

JG: With that same idea of a journey, I wonder about the importance of drugs, as a useful tool for band and/or listeners in taking part in the musical journey.

EW: What I like is when people say they hear the music and it makes them feel really spaced out without drugs. A lot of people say this and that's an amazing thing. Obviously, there used to be a bit of that going on. More so in the earlier albums than now. It's still there, your mind is able to latch on to that after all that stuff. It's got the same sort of glint in the eye that it had before.

JG: But it seems that the music, with or without drugs, is meant to be used as a way to alter consciousness.

EW: When people get that from the music, that is when it's working properly. I think that is why the whole point of music right from the beginning is to change or raise the consciousness. Some music possibly lowers the consciousness when you hear this really dark or rather drab music.

Right in the beginning, when they were banging drums, they were doing that anyway, weren't they? Thousands of years ago, they were trying to elevate their states of minds. Ultimately yes, I would say to 100% sure, that is exactly what we're trying to do and when someone gets that from it that means it works. We've done the right thing or they've got the right thing from the piece of music.

JG: When you talk about music from the beginning of time, then you have to think about such things as rhythm and groove. There's that within Ozric's music but also the complexity of sounds above that foundation.

EW: Sure, the written track has to work, it's like the bedrock. The rhythm. If that's working then the whole track can build and turn into an amazing thing.

JG: How do you view the jamming aspect for yourself?

EW: It's certainly the point where I can breathe a sigh of relief. That means I cannot worry about what comes next. I cannot have to think, this pedal, that pedal, pull this down, that keyboard, switch to that bit, change to that stuff. It's really manic like that sometime, the gigs, so when it's suddenly the jam, it's like, `Ah! Thank goodness for that! Here we go!'

That's such a joy `cause we started just simply doing that, used to be only jams. We used to go onstage without a clue as to what we were going to play and start with one note and take it from there. But then we started to wanting a few structures in there and now it's swung the other way. It's much less improv now in the set than there used to be. Still, plenty of room for it if we feel like it. It's quite a malleable thing, our set, we can twist it and pull it around a bit if we want to.

JG: With such intricate arrangements and possibilities of sound, how difficult was it getting used to two new members back in 1994.

EW: Seaweed and Rad, you mean? We're flying with them now. It was a bit of a strange situation when suddenly they came in `cause Joie and Merv left. That was oh my God, that was two weeks before an American tour. No keyboards and drummer and it's not like anybody can step in and just do that. It's not like normal music at all. Luckily, they were there and knew enough about the style and enough of the tunes and all that to actually be able to pull it off. Now, what is it five years later, and it's flying. It's better than it ever was, really. It's really good fun.

JG: Some have compared your fanbase to the Grateful Dead, basing it solely on the idea of both bands resting on a high degree of improvisation and the cultish nature of their fans...

EW: It's a funny thing `cause we keep on hearing this about the Grateful Dead and, for sure, there's ideologies that are the same, I reckon. It's a free-form jamming and people coming down not just for a concert but for an event where they meet people they know, like-minded people, and the whole traveling thing. To be honest, I don't see much similarity musicwise between the Grateful Dead and us.

JG: The only thing I can see is musical exploration and a willingness to improv.

EW: Other than that much. But that's the basic difference in the culture between here and the States. I think you can see that blatantly there. It's almost the same philosophy, but actually, when you listen to it, you can never confuse them.

JG: In 1982 the band started with a little set up at a music festival, what's kept you inspired ever since then?

EW: Oh just, God, it's so hard to say, really. I just still love it and still like discovering new bits. Sometimes, the equipment is a very inspiring thing; once you get a new synth with a new sound on it and a new way of programming it. That will kick off some ideas.

Actually, I feel more tunes brewing as we speak...in the back of my head. You see this chat has inspired some aspect of it.

JG: Well then, you didn't waste you time completely by doing this interview and stepping away from rehearsing.

EW: It's not wasted time anyway. I really like talking like this. It's quite interesting being interviewed actually `cause it let's you analyze your own situation a little bit. Normally, we just bumble through life, just doing what we're doing. Sometimes when confronted with, 'Why does this happen and that?' It's quite interesting to delve in there sometimes.

JG: Do you have spiritual side as well, do you meditate in order to help you better focus on this complex music?

EW: In a way music is our meditation. It's the same kind of thing. I've done this, I find it...um...I don't know (keyboard sounds heard in the background). The music seems to give us that high, open clear feeling when it works, especially improvisation when it's flying. We call it 'when it's flying,' then for sure you get that. At the end of a jam we're just all in an other state; all with big smiles on our faces. That's kind of like a spiritual thing. Well, it feels like it anyway.

JG: Describe what John Egan brings to Ozric Tentacles because his flute playing and vocals aren't as much a constant element as the other instruments.

EW: Livewise, especially, he's a very good focus. Our set, for us, is a very immensely complicated thing to play, not only play, but to make it sound likes it's fun and it's up and it's working, a very busy time. So, we don't really get time to interact with the crowd too much. Have you seen us play?

JG: Yes.

EW: Well, you've seen probably the fact that we all just stand there, (slight laugh) playing, concentrating and John's looning about. That's his role live, really, and also he plays amazing bits of flute. He's almost like the doorway to the audience, our link or the audience's link with us. He can look people in the eye and say funny things to 'em.

JG: Speaking of the show itself, when I spoke to Seaweed earlier, he wasn't too sure how much of Fruit salad (the name for their light/visual system) you'd be bringing over this time.

EW: I don't know. Obviously, not a full rig 'cause it's a whole other truckful. But enough to make it look pretty full on, I reckon.

I don't know what's involved in any of it. I play and the whole stage flashes on and off and changes color. That's all I know about the light set. Also, I'm always facing the other way. I don't actually see the projections and all that. Jasper (Ozric's visuals person) has talked about bringing a load of slides and strobes and synchronized stuff. It will look pretty mad, I reckon. He wouldn't let us go out there if it wasn't going to look amazing.

JG: At this point you've gained respect among peers such as Joe Satriani and Steve Hillage...

EW: Steve Hillage is a good friend now. He's done a remix of one of our tunes. There's a remix with him playing guitar on it cross-faded with me playing guitar on it, which is just an incredible feeling for me because he was one of the people who totally changed my whole outlook on the guitar-playing world.

JG: What album will that appear on?

EW: It's not out yet. There's an Ozric Tentacles remix album coming out at some point soon. Some of it's really good, some of it I can't stand. (laughs) There you go, but that's what happens when you give it to other people to interpret.

JG: Based on your history, you're very much a self-contained unit.

EW: No outsiders have ever worked out for us, really, `cause we're too strange for 'em. Which is a problem. (laughs)

JG: You had three albums distributed by I.R.S. records earlier this decade. Now, you're finally getting statesides distribution with Phoenix Media Group.

EW: Now we've got some good people on there who we trust at last.

JG: Sounds like a good thing.

EW: Oh yeah. Oh yeah. It could be a rebirth really. A way to fly and get our tentacles around the world.

JG: Glad to hear that, and glad to be able to see you play live again.

EW: We're so excited [about touring America] you wouldn't believe it. We're twitching with it at the moment, which should be good.

Waterfall Cities can be purchased at record stores and is always available at sales pricing through Phoenix Rising at www.radiophoenix.com.

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John Patrick Gatta is a widely-published freelance writer living in Warren, Ohio. He can be reached via email at jpg16@aol.com.