Obscured By Clouds

Music:

Member Since: 4/8/2005
Band Website: obscuredbyclouds.net
Band Members:
Obscuredbyclouds.net:
William: Electric & Acoustic Guitars, Synthesizers & Oscillators, Vocals.
Kevin of Church Bar: Keyboards, Lead Synthesizers, Oscillators, Backing Vocals.
Ian: Bass and Rock Staristic Idioms.
Reinhardt: Drumming Brilliance in honor of Hayer Slippy.
Matt: Electric Guitars.
RADIO PLAY AUGUST 2008:
KNRK 94.7 Radio Portland will play our CD WED AUG 20th @ 8 PM.
08/10/2008 9 PM - KUFO CLASSIC ROCK PORTLAND OR - Viva-La-Luna Show - Lisa Wood 2040 SW 1st Avenue Portland, Oregon 97201 KUFO Lisa Wood (local music) Viva-La-Luna Show Debuts Obscured By Clouds CD “Psycheclectic” 10 PM on AUG 10th, 2008. http://www.kufo.com/Viva-La-Luna/1147867 CALL: 800-344-5836

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Influences:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September, 2008:
WITH THE RELEASE OF THEIR CD, “PSYCHECLECTIC”, OBSCURED BY CLOUDS BENDS GENRES TO FORM A UNIQUE BLEND OF RESONANCE AND TRANSCENDENCE
With the Cooperative Efforts This Quintessential Quattro Creates a CD That Truly Stands Out From the Standard Formulas of Rock Music
The world of rock music devotes itself to a certain quasi-preconscious and mostly unconscious fickleness that has yet to be proven actually functional to the vast continuum of music. In rock’s reiterations and reinventions searching for a new azimuth, from the uncommon new music outside the standard formulas – Obscured By Clouds (OBC) and Psycheclectic Records offer hope for the future of creative original music. People could view the world of music as a setting sun and a dwindling source of access and potential. OBC unassumingly reaches out to connect with their listeners in a highly personal way as approachable, functional and as a resource for their audience. Their music stands out as a source of abundance beyond the untoward, to ward the continuum of the possibilities for music, music lovers, and the future of music. This is a band who would not particularly want to throw a television off a balcony or end up dead from an overdose of pride in a hotel room. They don’t have enough capacity for vanity required to hold anyone back, especially all the people they are trying to free from the limitations by ingathering their audience to move forward.
How willing is music today to stand outside the formula of comfort and chaos? For the most part it’s difficult to find music that’s both inspiring and original today, but there is great music waiting to be discovered. In conceiving the band, guitarist and song writer, founder, William describes their approach as a group.
“The reason I started Obscured By Clouds was to share the concept of a band together, not to espouse the William Weikart experience. It was the camaraderie of a band we had in mind with a grander view of what a band could create together. I wanted to have the strength of a focused group, not the indulgence of an individual.” When listening to their music, one realizes this inclusive approach of OBC’s music today does sound welcome and promising for change. The OBC sound is interwoven and has a real group feel. Let’s go back to the genesis to see the source of this obscure self-imposed exile.
William continues, “Pink Floyd…was really responsible for my love of music. And I don’t throw that band name down loosely. I mean I delved deeply into their music, as I did with so many more bands in an exhaustive passionate inculcation. Standing alone, Pink Floyd was everything that made music amazing. I would say…if I were lying on a beach with crashing waves in a half conscious state, there would be no better music floating across the sand than Relics, More, The Madcap Laughs, or even early Tangerine Dream.” The separate parts of a band never truly surpass the whole. It is within this gestalt from where this passion is also summoned for Obscured By Clouds. The listeners’ inclusion in the band’s performance, psychedelic effects, and light-show is essential for the connection they produce. We would offer the same potential connection exists for the audiences of Obscured By Clouds in the days ahead.
“One of the most synchronistic moments in the history of Obscured By Clouds happened when I received an e-mail from Tube Records.” William discovered there was someone who wanted to connect. Apparently, Tube Records was releasing some of David Gilmour’s and Andy Jackson’s works.
“You can’t imagine how excited I was when I determined it was David Gilmour and long time Floyd engineer, Andy Jackson who were the source of the outreach. It was a moment of reflection that was a threshold experience for me.” They traded email back and forth. Andy was acting on behalf of Tube Records, who wanted a copy of the bands first demo “Bleed”, as well as other new material. “We sent it off, along with some of our other stuff too. It was great to hear that they really liked our work. William talked on the phone with Andy Jackson about music and various Floyd conceptual sound effects. “We hope to have an opportunity to work with Dave and Andy in the future, maybe even on the old house boat studio on the Thames. …The kingdoms’ heaviest boat on the river -- relative to its vast musical intent.”
“I still miss the concept album and the extended attention span it encompassed,” says William. In the midst of all of this connection, conversation and inspiration came the ideas for a new sound—new music with a killer identity of its own from the album “Psyheclectic.” It blossomed out of the hard work and dedication of some impressive artists, instrumentalists, and producers. Namely, this is the line-up of Obscured by Clouds. Phil Baker (bassist) has toured with everyone from jazz legends Eddie Harris, Joe Henderson, Bobby Hutcherson to the very popular Portland indie act, Pink Martini (Heinz) and even Diana Ross. Having appeared on hundreds of jazz, rock, pop and blues albums, Baker is one of the West Coast's premiere bass players.
Thee Slayer Hippy (drummer), co-produced and co-recorded the first two Elliot Smith’s Heatmiser albums for Frontier Records. TSH has played with Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees/Queens of the Stone Age), played with Ben Shepherd of Soundgarden. Lastly for ten years THS wrote, produced, and recorded with Poison Idea touring the world.
Kevin Cozad (piano/synthesizer) has performed live with John Taylor (Power Station, Duran Duran) for James Angell’s first album. He has produced, recorded and played with groups (Neros Rome/AutoBahn) all over the northwest.
In summing up, Nick Moon (Mixing Engineer: Obscured By Clouds, Ani DiFranco, amongst others) seems to eloquently encapsulate it the best. “This CD has some wild vibrations going on. You can hear a lot of influences, but everything has been taken out further…to the 9th degree.” Nick’s enthusiasm is almost infectious. “Musically it is so tonally rich and competent. It was such a great project to work on, because there were so many dynamics to it. This makes Psycheclectic that much more enjoyable to listen to…you know how much work was put into the writing, recording and the mixing. And the coolest thing about this new record is that it is such a great amalgamation of members, sounds and recording techniques. It includes people from all different walks of life and different genres of music.” The recording was done in various studios, starting in a basement on a Digi 001 and ending on “a sick API board.” In the making of this album, the band has been through so many different places in their lives, and gone through a span of time.”
Joe Lambert (Mastering Engineer/Black Label Society/Ted Nugent/V2/Nonesuch Records, etc.) also described the album as meaningfully original, “I enjoyed mixing this album. And I have never heard anything like it before, I mean that in a very enthusiastic way.”
Obscured By Clouds are in it for the long haul. The album is far and away unique to the standard rock formula, and being weird is a compliment in OBC’s book. So fear not the strangeness and willingness to accept un-acceptance. With not only the drive, ambition, ethic, and the sound, they do have the talent to back it up. And isn’t original, unique, and creative new music what the future is all about?

Obscuredbyclouds.net

(c) 2008 Psycheclectic Records
Sounds Like: Summary Reviews for Obscured By Clouds "Psycheclectic"
Key Points:
• Radio Play: KNRK 94/7 Alt Portland, KUFO 101.1 Classic Portland, KEXP (Seattle) In Library Awaiting A Spin, College, and Specialty Radio.
• National Press Mailing Of 500 CDs, Local Support, New World Order Bloggers, And More.
• First Show: The Aladdin Theater August 22nd, 2008. Constant Touring Throughout 2008 And 2009, West Coast First -- East Coast Next.
• In-Store Performances / P.O.P. Available For In-Stores On Tour Route. Music Millennium In-Store Portland, Oregon August 21st, 2008.

"An ambitious prog-rock album where surface-sutured layers of trippy textures and trances melt into ominous simmering swatches of deep-seated psychotronic sensations before slowly coalescing together again."
- Jeffrey Morgan Creem Magazine September 2008
“There is so much going on within this album that it takes many plays to fully explore the multi layers and sometimes disguised dimensions it contains. The production…is first class. …Both psychedelic and eclectic drawing from not only Floyd influences but releasing those energies and letting them go on their own journey…not only rewarding but is also fascinating and compelling. It is a brave move… “Cast Close the Gate” which opens with strident guitar work before developing into an extraordinarily accomplished track underpinned by some clever and effective drumming. “Love’s Love” appears with a wonderfully rich opening section and highly evocative lyrics.”
- Jeff Perkins Blog Critics Magazine August 25th, 2008
“…The album takes great inspiration from Pink Floyd, but really stands with its own persona. …Obscured By Clouds takes what they heard and learned from Pink Floyd and adapted it to their own play. And the thing is, these kids rock. Using "psycheclectic" as a portmanteau of "psychedelic" and "eclectic" very much describes the album itself. …Different songs (would) be described as everything from classic rock to feedback experimentation to folk to perhaps even Celtic in its epic descriptions of landscape and emotional impact. “Soft Cheeked and Worried," …flows from stark acoustic guitar emulating the barren desert with splashes of piano and moves to electric guitar playing just on the edge of feedback. "Zoë Zolofft" works as an homage to Syd Barrett in a "song about a girl, a sitar, and modern pharmakinetics", creating the "sonic imagery of the splintered spokes of a broken and wobbling wheel." "Love's Love" calls up images of love personified "with a Floydishly acoustic accompaniment."
- Jeff Provine Blog Critics Magazine July 27th, 2008
“Dark, ambitious, brooding and atmospheric, it’s a bold and unique statement from a band that’s gotten the stamp of approval from Pink Floyd mastermind David Gilmour himself. The record is attention-grabbing from start to conceptual finish. You can bet money the record release show will be a brilliant affair.”
- Barbara Mitchell The Portland Tribune August 21st, 2008
“Obscured By Clouds newest CD “Psycheclectic" features dreamy meditative songs and harder rockin' tunes, and has already received airplay on such stations as KNRK and KUFO. The album veers from dreamy meditations to hard rockers, and is sure to please fans of progressive rock as well as orchestrated psychedelia.”
- Rob Cullivan The Outlook (Oregon) August 19th, 2008
“…Psycheclectic, (a) 21st-century interpretation of the music of the ‘60s and ‘70s. Obscured By Clouds certainly has a better grasp of their instruments and how to play them than most pop-rock groups on the market. Psycheclectic is an album that will only be appreciated by those who already love the music of Geddy, Neil, Alex, David, and Roger and the deep catalogs of both those transcendent groups.”
- (Music In My Ears) August 20th, 2008
“Psychedelicgrunge: who’d have thought it? …Think of an album including tracks from Pink Floyd, Rush, Screaming Trees and Faith No More, and then mix all the tracks together; it would be called Psychelectic and it would be by Obscured By Clouds. …If you fancy being in a dream while being awake… Clearly influenced by Pink Floyd…the opening track Soft Cheek and Worried is a homage to the Floyds early psychedelic era… They describe themselves as a band with a sound that is truly unique forgoing the standard formulas Its no surprise, then, to catch a bit of grunge influences in the music as well. Full credit is due for producing a professional sounding record and for a band who obviously know how to handle their instruments. Front-man and songwriter William Weikart clearly understands his music to be able to write such a variety of songs. A good debut effort and likely to be loved by fans of Roger Waters and company and likely to be understood by grunge kids; other music fans might find the droning guitars, abstract synthesizers and fantastical lyrics too much to be able to appreciate.”
- Rachel Butler Idio Magazine September 11th, 2008
“The band finds the right balance of hard-hitting and melodic rock on "Fatih’s Soul," which will catch the ear of fans of Northwest rock heroes Floater. "Psycheclectic" takes on the persona of a concept album, with deep imagery and recurring sound effects ingrained into a running theme, called "The Drip Feed." "Psycheclectic" is a good starting point for Obscured By Clouds — at least good enough to have caught the attention of Pink Floyd member David Gilmour and longtime engineer Andy Jackson, who have expressed interest in working with the band in the future.
- Ossie Bladine Vancouver Voice September 2008
“It's easy to forget in light of Floyd's gargantuan mainstream popularity, but their music originally came from truly weird, avant-garde origins. …Fortunately, the band is at its most interesting when they drop the Floyd homage and play straightforward, propulsive rock, like "Cast Close the Gate," or the Cult-like "Faith's Soul," both from their new album, Psycheclectic, which celebrates its release tonight.”
- NL The Portland Mercury August 21st, 2008
“No obscuring new record. Drawing inspiration from Pink Floyd and the psychedelic music of the ’60s and ’70s, local band Obscured by Clouds is releasing its second album, “Psycheclectic.” It features eight tracks written by William Weikart of Camas, the progressive rock group’s guitarist, keyboardist and lead vocalist. This album is more layered than the group’s first effort, “Bleed,” (1997) said Weikart... “This has much more complexity in songwriting, (and) much more instrumentation. There is a thematic flow that runs from song to song.”
- Elisa Williams The Columbian August 22nd, 2008
“Portland-based art rock band Obscured By Clouds…maintain heavy influence by psychedelic and art rock of the 60s and 70s, particularly experimental bands like Pink Floyd. The first track, Soft Cheeked and Worried, was my favorite song on the album… Much like Pink Floyd’s art rock, the vocals of Weikart are slurred and dream-like, as if spoken/sang through a megaphone in an echoing empty tunnel. Combine the vocals with various electronic sound effects and synthesizers, and it becomes a brilliantly original spin on its influence. As a fan of the musical style of the Floyd, I was surprised to find that Psycheclectic had retained many of their positive elements, and how much I liked the new originality. The tracks are all masterfully orchestrated and the talent of every member of the band is obvious. Another great example of this composition mastery is demonstrated in Track 5, “Faith’s Soul”. …But there is no mistaking that Obscured By Clouds took the essence that made Pink Floyd so revolutionary and re-birthed it into a solidly innovative work of art, able to stand on its own. …As Weikart has stated in interviews, his purpose for starting the band was to enjoy the concept of the band together. The creative influences of the Floyd combined with the seamless synergy of the members of Obscured By Clouds make for a truly enjoyable experience in freeform art rock.
- Leslie Waara NW Noise Reviews September 24th, 2008

REVIEWS (for OBC’s previous CD ‘BLEED’ 1997): Now there are twenty bands with a song called Bleed or an album also named Bleed with no intention of homage as we hold true to the Floyd. I remember being excited about how there were none in 1997... Homage was the point and is the basis of the vast legacy of film and music! "At times the vocals resemble David Gilmour and Roger Waters. But also - if you can imagine - the late, great Nick Drake...this band (is) headed to the major leagues.” - European Progressive Rock Reviews
“This is the stuff that dreams are made of, masquerading in the warm velvety tones of William's vocal cords…” - Nikki Brooks - Thru Her Eyes
"They describe themselves as ‘early Floyd meets early Crimson,’ a description that doesn't do them justice. They have that progressive rock sound…but have added their own sound within. But give them a viewing yourself so you can decide... “ - About.com - Weekly Music Video Pick
“Bleed…(an) amazingly cohesive album...a beautiful album of minimalist technique… makes one very curious about the future output of this trio” - Sal Pichireddu The Progressive Rock Encyclopedia (Germany)
”Computer-fueled frequenters of the dark side of the moon long since have learned that logging into the Pink Floyd Webring can end up spacey. One safe place to start orbit: www.obscuredbyclouds.com. Yes, that is the name of a first-rate Portland band specializing in lesser-known Floydism.” - Jonathan Nichols, The Oregonian
“The melody is really good here and the use of mellotron is beautiful... It is striking that all these tracks have been made so much their own by Obscured By Clouds...An album of pleasing music, brought in a strictly introspective way.” - Jurriaan Hage - Hage's Axiom of Choice
"Obscured By Clouds defines art rock nouveau as music for the millennium" - Kuenstlernetz.de
obscuredbyclouds.net

Record Label: Psycheclectic Records
Type of Label: None