|  |  |  |  |  |  | | | | | | Bio of the Artist | “A capriciously eclectic assembly of… really great sounds. Wonderful musicianship. A fresh approach. Freaky production techniques and thick stinky vox bordering on toothsome.” Public magazine
“It’s a given these days that a singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist with the right gear can achieve remarkable things… Justin Ossher certainly has.” Drum Media
“Justin is further proof that Australia is producing some excellent pop music. “Strength Of Your Command” is too refined for an immature ear.” Anthony Bates Moozikoo Radio Nashville
“He sailed his electronic ship of psychedelic fools straight into the souls of the audience… frontman Justin Ossher is destined for rock stardom” Drum Media
“There’s something magnetic about Ossher’s delivery and depth of emotion. There’s no holding back with this guy. The band’s sound thunders through the heart” Vibewire
My new project Symbols (produced with Sam McNicol) is a mix-up of filthy electro rock infused with reggae breaks and pop sensibility. People say we're like The Killers meets One Day As A Lion meets Tricky but it's more like the cosmological black hole that occurs when a quirky David Bowie crosses that cellular division with Trent Reznor. My writing is influenced by a large repertoire of music and genres, but some modern ones include Radiohead, Bob Marley, Rage Against The Machine and Frank Zappa. I’m breathing a new eclecticism into my music and my project this year breaks through a style of soul-filled, urban, post-folk mix-up with rock-electronica. I'm bridging my previous projects in a new style and sound that features instrumentation as diverse as acoustic and electric guitar, the inimitable band-member-in-a-box, the almighty MPC, Vocoder, Touch Synths and whichever weird instrument (and musician) joins in on the night.
My last album, Stereo Gold (produced with Brett Creswell - produced Sick Puppies), enjoyed lots of aussie airplay, holding 3 spots in the top 10 of Triple J's Unearthed roots charts, high rotation on FBi radio, plays on NOVA, PBS in Melbourne, Gold Coast radio, and numerous online radio stations from Sydney to Nashville, New York to Moscow, and a growing fan base all over the world (a special thanks to all of you who joined me on number one music - stick around for lots more!).
On a freezing winter morn at home in Connecticut, when I first heard Janis Joplin sing I asked my dad, who is this guy? He said, this is Janis Joplin and her band Big Brother and the Holding Company. I think my mistake in identifying her gender was my first indulgence into the world of voice. I was eleven years old.
I wrote my first song in High School in Sydney (Australia) and after writing about a hundred more, formed my first band based around a dozen songs I wrote for that purpose. As my reading habits changed and by the time I formed my first band I was more interested in the classics and non-fiction then ever before. Reading beat poets and Hunter S and listening to more and more music infused my music with subversion and I tried to develop my early rock style into something more relevant to our time.
I wrote as a poet but found my sense of rhyme and rhythm always fit well in song. My natural instinct for improvising melodies suited my love of the blues where I could jam out whatever words came to me in a song like way. I looked up to John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Miles Davis, Marylin Manson, Maynard Keenan and the debauched, reckless loving excesses of the rock lifestyle.
Now I write to express myself and share my desire for uninhibited expression with the world. I write about everything I take in and I haven’t yet found a theme I can stick to as everything I experience; humanity, emotion, oppression, existentialism, inspires me in some way.
I've persistently and enthusiastically embraced exciting and sometimes volatile performance, playing formats from acoustic residencies to blistering rock shows around Australia.
My new Ep is due out very soon and the new sound is currently featured here at number one music.
Stay tuned for a blistering year and all things J Ossher. If subversion and difference
interest you feel free to book me and my band by email at info@justinossher.com | | |
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