Band Biographies

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Oryzhein's album was reviewed in some detail by Bob Moore (aka ClemofNazareth), who may want to put this one to bed personally, since it is an artist that has been added to his own sub: http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=169983, but if not, go to http://www.reocities.com/timessquare/adventure/7634/oryzhein.htm (an interview with Oryzhein's guitarist Benjamin Masse by By John H. Barrenechea for the MÚSICA SIN FRONTERAS Prog Rock Webzine in July 2000): 
"Talk of Oryzhein is talking about a sophisticated mix of European and American progressive rock. That is, a merger between theatricality and musical lyricism from the old continent and the avant-garde symphonic conceptions that bloom in the northern part of our continent. Despite the considerable amount of exponents, which include Visible Wind, Klaatu, Maneige, Mind Gallery, Moriodor, FM and many others, the Canadian progressive rock has passed many times unnoticed for ordinary fans, despite the potential to wield their bands. Oryzhein is one of them . The band, from Quebec, was formed in 1994. A year later the group began the process of building. The "Scalaria" album was finally recorded in 1998, condensing eclectic harmonies and bringing together various elements of hard rock , jazz, classical and folk. Imagine a mix between Italian and French progressive sound of the 70's with the visionary freshness of the modern American school. That's Oryzhein, a symphony wandering between two worlds, a band at all recommended lights."

Lots more info in the interview itself:

* Could you tell us about the history of the band and the actual line up?

 Benjamin Masse: Eric (vocals), Marc (drums) and I (guitars) created OryZhein in September 1994. That’s when we started writing the lyrics of our concept album Scalaria. By the following January, we were writing the music for that concept. During that period, we rented an old train station as a practice studio. We lived there for almost six months, studying and working during the day and playing our music at night. Winters are cold in Canada, so by the Summer we were out of money from paying for the heat…Nonetheless, we managed to record a demo of Scalaria in that old train station. To do so, we decided to involve several invited musicians. That demo was ready by March 1996. However, OryZhein wasn’t ready yet to play concerts. We had to find a better line-up to do so. We auditioned several musicians and chose Alirio (bass) and Allan (keyboards) in January 1997. Things picked up. We first played music from Scalaria in a small venue in Montreal, Canada. That small venue was packed, we were part of a line-up that included poets, a harmonium player, and some other freaks. We stole the evening. In order words, people actually listened to us, unlike the others (partly true)…By then, we had a new studio. Actually it was old and creepy. Some compared it to a vestige of a gulag. I lived their alone, praying for the other members to survive on their way to our practices. We recorded a second demo of Scalaria, with the new line-up. We played fine, but the sound was terrible. It sounded like if we played in all the different hallways of "The Chamber of 32 Doors"! From that point on, we played Scalaria in different small venues around Montreal. Each show was different, because we had many versions of each songs, depending on our mood. A year later, we applied for a grant from the Quebec government. We got it and recorded Scalaria in a week at the end of the Summer 1998. Jean-Francois Linteau, who worked for the Circle du Soleil, decided to produce Scalaria. We worked really hard the whole summer to identify the best versions of each songs. We also invited many musicians to play more exotic instruments on the album, such as the bagpipes, the dijeridu and some flutes and saxophones… Since we recorded the album, we have had many successful shows throughout Quebec. They tend to have larger audiences too. We pickup on the fans’ energy and they really show us their appreciation. We’re now working on a new album to come out next Summer, with the same five-member line-up. But, we may also invite special guests for this album.

* "Scalaria" is a precious, sophisticated and full of emotions album. Very theatrical from my point of view. What’s do you think?

Our original aim was to create a musical drama. We wanted each song to represent a different state of mind of Infans, our main character. Like I said, we wrote the lyrics before composing the music. So the intent was to get the music to illustrate artistically each different episode of the story. That’s why for us, the songs form a whole, but each one can also stand alone as its own perspective or insight. 

* Sorry for this commet but perhaps the music of Oryzhein is more European than American.....

Don’t be sorry, we take this as a compliment. I don’t think we specifically set out to have that effect, though.

* What’s the concept behind Scalaria’s name?

It is a quest for the simple truth of having an happy and interesting life even if one has to cope with all the different problems in life. Scalaria can be understood in three ways: a simple medieval story on a character named Infans, who lost his family, then became a knight for revenge, but lost his first battle. Even though, after healing, he learned and applied a vast knowledge about life, his real "enlightenment" transcended even that after he discovered that people could repeat the words of wisdom without understanding them the way he did. The second perspective is a deconstruction of our society through moments of extreme pain or loss, which lift a person outside the routine point of view. These extreme episodes lie disconnected from the narrative of an individual life. Objects or events take on a different meaning either less or more significant as we loose control and the ability to rationalize our life. But at the same time, these extreme episodes have in common that more nearly ultimate perspective on what is important in human life. And so together form a different story, a perspective that alone exceeds society’s common sense. Lastly, the third perspective is the destruction of the earth by plague. Only a small number of people survive and has to rebuilt society on Mars. The allegory is buried pretty deeply under the lyrics! A free t-shirt for those who find all the clues!!!

* Let me see... "Scalaria was recorded on summer of 98, but the start compositions was on january 95..It’s a long time...How can you explain it?

Two things: the original group had a strong vision of the concept which made it hard for everyone to make a finish product that measured up to the vision. Second, all the musicians have made their own contribution, have evolved too, and have contributed to group evolution. Each stage of this evolution has contributed its own part to the album that we released in 1998. And the music continues to grow and change even now.

 * What about the canadian progressive scene? How is Oryzhein perceived on your country?

 In Canada, the music scene is really diverse. There’re very few bands that ever are known by everyone or even a majority of music fans. That being said, we have had a lot of success in reaching the prog fans, especially in Quebec. Those who know of us usually are first impressed at how well we use the French language in progressive rock. One other thing that makes us stand out is that, although we’re true prog musicians, we have innovated within the style as well, by updating it with worldbeat and 90’s underground influences.

* Could you tell us more detalis about the next album?

The upcoming album differs from Scalaria in that the stories are drawn from more contemporary sources. The music reflects this. Our philosophical inspiration remains similar though. You can expect some even longer and more complex works, although there are also shorter but still involved songs. We’re a prog band, or as we call ourselves, a non-pop rock band! A new producer, from France, has accepted to supervise the mess…

* Have you thus found label (s) for your next album? What about Musea Records for example?

Musea Records is already distributing Scalaria, but they didn’t approach us as manager. For the next album, nothing is definite yet. We’re open to any proposals (hint…).

The Musea page for their album is at: http://www.musearecords.com/boutique/anglais/index.php?ficheprod=1&artiste=ORYZHEIN&refp=4870:

"ORYZHEIN is a Quebecois band claiming with force its aphorism "Progressive rock redefined into French... Except one song"! Recorded in 1999, "Scalaria" is a concept-album illustrating the story of our present society interspersed with steady and unsteady periods, as a storm progression. This parable is magnificently played by an excellent quintet waving between epic music, jazz-rock and power-organ trio. It recalls ANGE, CAFEINE or HARMONIUM. Let's notice the presence of MYSTERY's guitarist Michel SAINT-PERE as guest."

They used to have a website: www.oryzhein.com - lots of captures on the wayback machine, but no info to speak of.