OOOD - How deep can you bleep?
OOOD (aka. Out Of Our Depth) are 4 blokes from England whose mission is to have a good time, spread a little joy and write some blinding psy-trance in the process. Originally formed in 1994 by Colin Bennun, Nigel Bradbury and Stephen Callaghan, the current line-up is Colin, Steve and new members (but old friends) Ramsay Melhuish and Ryokan Potier. As well as being talented DJs they bring an extra live element to OOOD's live shows, adding live drums, percussion, guitar and psychedelia. A live band from their inception, OOOD have been gigging since they formed in Oxford, honing their craft at local events. Their very first performance in London (at Otherworld) was described in Dream Creation magazine as "bang on, with a power and a quality all too often lacking in some of the more well-known atists". On the UK party circuit their performances include live sets at Glade, Wickerman and Beat-Herder festivals, Synergy Project, Tribe of Frog, Cabbage, Strange Daze, Otherworld, Return to the Source, Escape from Samsara, Pagan & many many others.
OOOD's first release was on Phantasm Records in 1996, with their collaborative side-project Unconscious Collective subsequently releasing one of Flying Rhino's biggest-selling tracks, 'Fluorostani Transcendance' later that year. Nowadays the dancefloor side of both acts is combined into OOOD, and the Unconscious Collective remains as a focus for the more eclectic, often chilled-out but always inventive non-trancefloor output of the group. With up to 6 people on stage and musicianship of all kinds very much in evidence in both OOOD and Unconscious Collective, they have performed live (in various combinations) all over the world from New York to Japan via South Africa, Israel and of course the UK and Europe. Recently they played at Omni Festival in Spain and in South Africa for the Vortex/Prism New Years Eve Festival 2004-5.
OOOD on CD
aLIVE... and Kicking
The first OOOD album aLIVE was released on Cabbaged Records (UK) in 1997 and was probably the first ever live album released as a debut by a psy-trance act. A stunning exposition of the unique psychedelic sound of OOOD, the album was recorded live - and we mean LIVE - at parties across the UK including Pagan's fabled New Years Eve party, Science Fiction and Otherworld at the Fridge in London. Many years after its release this seminal album is still sought after by trance-heads across the world.
Breathing Space... Refining the formula
Two years after their debut album came OOOD's second long player Breathing Space . Ranging from full-on neuro bashing psychedelia to utter ambient via dub and chilled breaks, Breathing Space ventured beyond class A dancefloor mayhem to include the mellower side of OOOD's sonic headspace. Showcasing the dramatic effect a studio upgrade can have, the album marked a step-change in the quality of OOOD's productions and was released independently on OOOD Records distrubuted by MRL (aka. Kukomi). Now also a collector's item, copies of the CD have sold for silly money on eBay (although you can apparently still buy it in Tower Records in Tel Aviv).
Free Range... No dancefloor is safe
Over a year after it was first announced, and after 6 years of work, their third album Free Range has now been released on Organic Records. Although aimed solidly at the dancefloor, this is more than a straight-ahead trance album (as the title suggests), and - with a fresh infusion of inspiration from the new members - sees once more a great improvement in production values alongside OOOD's trademark unique storytelling style and sense of humour. An indication of things to come, the title track was released to much acclaim on the Organic Records compilation 'Invasion from Hyperspace', and was sub-licensed to Jon '00' Fleming's 'White Label Republic' compilation.
You can find complete discographies for OOOD and their associated collaborations here:
OOOD • Unconscious Collective • Voice of Cod • Dallas Kiss • Benefactor • Pharmarama • Faction • Rotatum
Eminently Bookable... Have headphones, will travel
The band are currently playing live sets as both OOOD and Unconscious Collective and were voted in a recent poll on psy-forum.co.uk as one of the top live acts in the UK, sharing their place with Ott and Eat Static. All four members have been DJing extensively, with Steve, Ryo, and Rama packing out dancefloors and backrooms all over and Colin playing sets consisting mostly of his own projects and collaborations. Whilst they are more than capable of rocking any main room or chillout for a short two hours, they are fond of playing back-to-back and are noted for specialising in the extended 'journey' type sets currently in such short supply, as shown by their recent residency at Tribe Of Frog in Bristol, for which the Collective regularly provided the music all night in one of the rooms. Colin is also part of Voice of Cod , whose debut album 'We Are Free' was released on Organic Records in October 2005.
To book OOOD for a live or DJ set, please contact Robin at Triskele Management
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/robintriskele
Email: [email protected]
[email protected]
robintriskele
Tel: +44 (0) 1732 824707
Mob: +44 (0) 7963 176818
For more information, email OOOD or
OOOD live @ Glade Festival 2007
OOOD Says:
These recordings have been carefully handmade in the finest tooled leather. Maximum use of household electricity in conjunction with specially developed Fluorostani wacka-wacka modelling techniques have enabled us to produce a port resonance perfectly centred in the binomial width-enhancer matrix. Lovevalve parameters have been carefully adjusted so that the MIDI controllable toggle/boggle delay switch glitch control gives nominal impedance with an ergonomic design which is also pleasing to the eye, and the Venus Flytrap front baffle loading coefficient ensures perfect Rhapsalidopses every spring with careful pruning. Minimising perceptual jitter in this way is known to make the music smell really loud.
Old-fashioned stereophonic technology allied with the newest hydroponic speaker designs have given us total harmonic control, and given you total listening pleasure; the monitors used on this project were homemade using the latest in paper/shred hemp technology, string and water. Three static flange injectors and deep folly joyloading have meant that the influence of German satellite TV has been kept to an absolute maximum, and we used a squeaky hammer for the snare drum on a track that's not actually on this album.