STEPS ACROSS THE CORTEX

O-Head is the name of electronica and space rock project from Somerset, UK-based David Hendry. This is the same area that brought us Ozric Tentacles, before late 2008 when they decided and move to Colorado. There is definitely two different phases in O-Head career, the early stuff which is electronica (1998 to 2005) and the space rock phase (2008 to present, at least until 2012 when Visitor was released, and since that time nothing new released, so far). Steps Across the Cortex was the final of just two albums in this early electronica phase, and seemed to be the final release on Centaur Discs, although Dave Hendy had since reissued it (with a different cover), so if you're wondering why your copy has a different cover, it's a reissue, as the cover posted here is the Centaur original. Basically this CD has one foot in '90s techno and the other foot in '70s Berlin School electronic music, so this particular release would fit more comfortably in the Progressive Electronic section, than Psychedelic/Space Rock (but it's totally understandable why O-Head is under the Psychedelic/Spacy Rock category, due to the releases starting with Gaia's Garden, which is closer to Ozric territory). So instead of reference to Ozric Tentacles here, Tangerine Dream is a good reference,, perhaps a bit of Jean Michel Jarre without the Eminent 310 and '90s type of techno beats, but unlike real techno it's difficult to dance to this as there's plenty of moments without any beats and sticking to more ambient moments. "Oracle Eye" does point towards the more Ozric-like direction of later releases as this piece bears more than a passing resemblance to "Sploosh!" off Ozrics' 1991 release Strangeitude. It has that same pulsing bass rhythm. Sampled Mellotron is used from time to time, which I really like (at least Dave Hendry's honest that he never used a real Mellotron, as no Mellotron is mentioned in the gear listings on the CD - he probably couldn't afford a real Mellotron or didn't want to hassle with the mechanics of one). The music is stuffed with nice use of digital and analog modeling synths. It's strange that this album was released in 2005, this could have been easily released sometime in the mid 1990s. He even gets some guitar playing from Simon Williams of Mandragora.

This is a nice album to have for those looking for spacy electronic music.

I first ran across David Hendry's work as OHEAD when exploring other people's connections on MySpace. The few samples of music I found there convinced me I had to buy whatever I could lay my hands on. I quickly put in an order for the 5-CD set (everything that was still in print before Resurgent Resonance), and I wasn't sorry. David himself took care of getting it wrapped, posted and shipped, and kept me appraised via email of it's progress.

The earliest CD still available on his website, "Steps Across The Cortex" clocks in a 1 hour 18 minutes for only 6 tracks. It is essentially all instrumental, synth-based music with a guest guitarist. The music overall is upbeat and rhythmic, not droning, like some electronic music can be. Think Ozrics, or Jarre, or even sequence-driven Tangerine Dream. The only "vocals" are spoken.

Some of OHEAD's songs can sound like a compilation of different thoughts craftily joined together into a single track, but the tracks on this album are more composed, unified pieces with a clear theme running throughout each track. Some notes on each track follow:

1. "Twilight Pilot" has a very Tangerine Dream, Klaus Shultze-like sequence, with mild hi-hat and kick percussion. It reminds me a lot of Tangerine Dream's "Ricochet" album at times. Nice pace, and forward-leaning groove.

2. "Otherworldly Journeys" begins and ends with a strong nod to Jarre's "Oxygene", but with a middle that evokes more of the Ozrics, sans Ed Wynne on guitar. Slow and un-intrusive for those times when you want to chill, but not fall asleep.

3. "The Loneliness of the Deep Space Traveler" begins with eerie vox, leading to a bright pad lead of a simple 4-note repeated melody. Spacey, percussion-less, loneliness. About half way through, it transitions to a pounding bass sequence and drum kick with a slowly evolving mellotron-sounding lead -- the kind of mellotron where you hold the keys down 'till the tape runs out. Drumming kicks the piece into a nice groove with a punchy synth lead. Listen to this with headphones while sitting at a sidewalk cafe watching the young hipster crowds stroll the Boulevard Saint Germain in Paris while downing a big 3-Monts Flanders ale.

4. "Oracle Eye" starts with some spooky, haunting sounds, but quickly transitions to a bubbly synth backdrop with drums, and lots of different synth lead patches. Interesting, but a little bit of Ozrics rambling here.

5. "Delphi Ceiphi" opens with vox, synths, rhythms, and simple melodies that remind me of Kraftwerk, with a little bit of a spacey guitar lead ala Klaus Shulze or Tangerine Dream. But about half-way through, everything changes abruptly -- almost like it's a different track (only the overall tempo stayed the same). But just when you thought David drifted off to something new, the reprise happens! Same tune after all. Slick.

6. "Colours Become Shapes", a 25 min opus, begins with troubled voices echoing off the color-splattered walls of a mad house. Imagine the colors leaping off the wall, morphing into flying cars, complete with Jetson exhaust plumes, as they bloop-bloop past your ears. Eventually this all fades into some droning arrhythmic Tangerine Dream for a few minutes, before a voice emerges, citing Huxley's "The Doors of Perception". Bright arpeggiated sequences take over, lending a very Ricochet feel again. I love this part! The driving sequences eventually fade at around the 21 minute mark (which is where I would have preferred the piece to end) and then continues with a reprise of the troubled voices that began the piece.

This album deftly avoids many of the cliche' motifs of synth-driven music (e.g. endless repetition of sequences or endless droning) in favor of nicely interwoven, rhythmic, melodic sequences. Overall, a solid 4 stars.