Ozric Tentacles

Originating from a prior epoch, Ozric Tentacles linked 1970s cosmic rock with the organic dance and festival scenes that regained prominence in the 1990s. Launched in 1983 and drawing upon jazz fusion alongside space rock, the initial roster comprised guitarist Ed Wynne, drummer Nick Van Gelder, keyboardist Joie Hinton, bassist Roly Wynne (Ed’s brother), and guitarist Gavin Griffiths, who exited in 1984. The Ozrics performed in London venues and issued six cassette-only albums, beginning with Erpsongs in 1984; these were later compiled in the Vitamin Enhanced box set despite Kellogg’s cereal company threatening litigation over the artwork. Merv Pepler replaced Van Gelder in 1987, and synthesizer player Steve Everett joined at the same time.

The band’s first significant outing, the 1990 album Erpland, anticipated the crusty movement, Britain’s counterpart to America’s 1960s hippie phenomenon. Crusties adopted organic attire and new-age cosmic ideas, traveling across England to festivals and outdoor events. The style aligned closely with acts such as Ozric Tentacles and the Levellers, and the Ozrics’ 1991 album Strangeitude achieved their strongest sales to date, prompting a U.S. deal with Capitol. Following the U.K.-only Afterswish and Live Underslunky, the 1993 release Jurassic Shift—which featured flutist John Egan, later recognized for his onstage trance-dancing, and bassist Zia Geelani alongside original bassist Roly Wynne, who left in 1992—reached number 11 on the British charts, an impressive result for a self-produced album on the group’s Dovetail label. IRS Records issued it in America, as it did 1994’s Arborescence. Neither record found favor with U.S. listeners, even after the band’s first American tour in 1994, and Hinton and Pepler departed that year to concentrate on their dance project Eat Static, which released several albums on Planet Dog Records.

Ozric Tentacles returned to Dovetail for 1995’s Become the Other, introducing new members Rad and Seaweed, both of whom appeared on 1997’s Curious Corn. Ed Wynne’s brother Roly, whose later years were troubled, died by suicide in 1999, a loss that affected the Wynne and Ozric families. The band continued, however, concluding the decade with Waterfall Cities in 1999 and issuing Swirly Termination during summer 2000. Hidden Step followed in 2000, then the Pyramidion EP in 2002; Live at the Pongmasters Ball also appeared in 2002, marking the first release available on both CD and DVD.

By the time of 2004’s Spirals in Hyperspace, Ozric Tentacles operated chiefly under sole remaining original member Ed Wynne, who handled guitar, keyboards, and beat programming while incorporating contributions from prior associates Zia, Seaweed, John Egan, and Merv Pepler, plus drummer Schoo (who had succeeded Rad after the latter’s departure following a 2000 U.S. tour), Ed’s wife Brandi Wynne on bass, and space rock/electronica guitarist Steve Hillage. The 2006 album The Floor’s Too Far Away extended Ed Wynne’s central role. A June 2007 concert was captured on the 2008 disc Sunrise Festival, and 2009 brought the studio album The Yumyum Tree. Inspired by Lewis Carroll, that record presented Ed Wynne in the leading position alongside Brandi Wynne on keyboards, bassist Vinny Shillito, and drummer Roy Brosh. A subsequent configuration became a Wynne family enterprise when Ed was joined by his son Silas—Roly’s nephew—on synths, with Brandi returning on bass in place of Shillito and Ollie Seagle on drums. After 2011’s Paper Monkeys, the Wynnes’ Colorado home and studio burned in wildfires while the band toured, destroying archival materials, instruments, equipment, and other possessions. Rebuilding and adopting a refreshed approach, the Ozrics issued the double album Technicians of the Sacred in 2016, viewed by many listeners as a creative return to form. The group entered a temporary hiatus for the next three years while Ed Wynne concentrated on the electronic side project Nodens Ictus with Hinton. Wynne resumed Ozrics work in 2019 and delivered the sixteenth studio album, Space for the Earth, in 2020.