OU (band)

Last updated
OU
Origin Beijing, China
Genres Progressive metal [1]
Progressive rock [2]
Years active2021–present
Labels InsideOut Music
MembersLynn Wu
Zhang Jing
Chris Cui
Anthony Vanacore

OU (pronounced oh) is a progressive metal band from Beijing, China, consisting of singer Lynn Wu, guitarist Zhang Jing, bassist Chris Cui, and drummer Anthony Vanacore. Their most recent album, II: Frailty, was released in April 2024. [3]

Contents

History

OU was formed by drummer and primary songwriter Anthony Vanacore, an American ex-pat who is fluent in Mandarin and originally moved to Beijing to work as a music teacher. [4] [5] Vanacore recruited guitarist Zhang Jing and bassist Chris Cui, both veterans of the local rock and jazz music community in Beijing, and later added singer Lynn Wu. [6] The band lists Devin Townsend, The Gathering, and Radiohead as primary influences. [7]

The band signed with the German label InsideOut Music before ever playing live. [8] They are reportedly the first Chinese rock band to sign with a western record label. [6] The head of InsideOut, Thomas Waber, described OU as "Very unique and modern, but still familiar sounding, a rare find these days!" [9] InsideOut released the band's debut album One in May 2022. [2] [10] Lynn Wu gained notice from critics due to her completely Mandarin lyrics and experimental style; several reviewers have compared her singing to Bjork and Kate Bush. [11] [12] [13] The album was also praised for mixing the band's primary progressive metal sound with jazz, electronica, and ambient styles. [6] [14]

OU gained the attention of labelmate Devin Townsend, who signed on to co-produce their second album. [7] [1] The album II: Frailty was released in April 2024, with Townsend contributing backing vocals on the song "Purge". [14] [15] Lynn Wu again earned praise from critics, with one reviewer describing her performance on the album as " tak[ing] it somewhere stranger and more unsettling". [1] Another reviewer praised II: Frailty because "it’s effortless to fall prey to the polyrhythmic hypnosis that OU has mastered," [14] while The Prog Report called the album "one of the year’s most unique releases." [3]

Members

Discography

Albums

Related Research Articles

Progressive metal is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral or quasi-classical compositions of the latter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devin Townsend</span> Canadian musician (born 1972)

Devin Garrett Townsend is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He founded extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad and was its primary songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist from 1994 to 2007. He has also had an extensive solo career and has released a total of 28 albums across all of his projects as of 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strapping Young Lad</span> Canadian metal band

Strapping Young Lad (SYL) was a Canadian extreme metal band formed by Devin Townsend in Vancouver in 1994. The band started as a one-man studio project; Townsend played most of the instruments on the 1995 debut album, Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing. By 1997, he had recruited permanent members; this line-up, which consisted of Townsend on vocals and guitar, Jed Simon on guitar, Byron Stroud on bass, and Gene Hoglan on drums, lasted until the band's dissolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese rock</span> Music genre

Chinese rock is a wide variety of rock and roll music made by rock bands and solo artists from Mainland China .Rock music as an independent music genre first appeared in China in the 1980s. Typically,Chinese rock is described as an anti-traditional instrument, a music that defies mainstream ideology, commercial establishment, and cultural hegemony. Chinese rock is a fusion of forms integrating Western popular music and traditional Chinese music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gene Hoglan</span> American drummer

Eugene Victor Hoglan II is an American drummer, acclaimed for his creativity in drum arrangements, including use of abstract devices for percussion effects and his trademark lengthy double-kick drum rhythms. Though his playing style is very technically demanding, he retains high accuracy at extreme tempos, earning him the nicknames "The Atomic Clock" and "Human Drum Machine".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tang Dynasty (band)</span> Chinese rock band

Tang Dynasty is a Chinese rock band formed in 1989. They are often credited as being the first Chinese heavy metal band.

<i>Alien</i> (Strapping Young Lad album) 2005 studio album by Strapping Young Lad

Alien is the fourth studio album by Canadian extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad. It was released on March 22, 2005. The album was written by Devin Townsend and Gene Hoglan over a six-month time period. The album reached No. 32 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and No. 35 on the Top Independent Albums chart.

<i>Gretchen Goes to Nebraska</i> 1989 studio album by Kings X

Gretchen Goes to Nebraska is the second studio album by American rock band King's X. It is a concept album based on a short story written by drummer Jerry Gaskill. Having received strong critical praise and fan support, Gretchen Goes to Nebraska is considered among the best work of King's X and a seminal record within the progressive metal genre.

Inside Out Music is a German progressive rock record label originally based in Kleve, North Rhine-Westphalia, and dedicated to the publication of progressive rock, progressive metal and related styles. In 2009, it formed a partnership with Century Media Records and moved its base of operations to Dortmund, also in North Rhine-Westphalia. In August 2015, Century Media was acquired by Sony Music and became its premier label for progressive music.

<i>Ocean Machine: Biomech</i> 1997 studio album by Devin Townsend

Ocean Machine: Biomech is the second studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, originally released as Biomech under the name Ocean Machine. The album was released in July 1997 via Townsend's label, HevyDevy Records.

<i>Beijing Bastards</i> 1993 Chinese film

Beijing Bastards is a 1993 drama film by Sixth Generation director Zhang Yuan, and is one of the first independently produced Chinese films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kavus Torabi</span> Iranian guitarist

Kavus Torabi is a British-Iranian musician, composer, record label owner and radio broadcaster. A multi-instrumentalist, he is known for his work in the psychedelic, avant-garde rock field. Torabi was one of the founding members of the Monsoon Bassoon, was a member of cult progressive rock group Cardiacs, and fronts and plays guitar for the current lineup of legendary psychedelic band Gong.

<i>Ki</i> (album) 2009 studio album by Devin Townsend Project

Ki is the eleventh studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and the first album in the Devin Townsend Project series. The album was released on May 25, 2009, on Townsend's independent record label HevyDevy Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aeon Zen</span> British progressive rock/metal band

Aeon Zen are an English progressive metal band formed in 2008, led by founding member Rich Gray. They have been praised and heavily featured in the international music press, labelled by Classic Rock Magazine as 'a strong contender for best newcomer at the very, very least' and, additionally, as Progression Magazine’s selection for "debut album of the year".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mystery (band)</span> Canadian rock band

Mystery is a Canadian rock band formed in 1986 by multi-instrumentalist Michel St-Père. The band released their eponymous debut EP in 1992 with Raymond and Gary Savoie on lead vocals, followed by their first album Theatre of the Mind in 1996 and then Destiny? in 1998, both with Gary on lead vocals. In 2007 the band released their third album Beneath the Veil of Winter's Face with singer Benoît David who would record two more studio albums with the band: One Among the Living in 2010 and The World is a Game in 2012. In 2015 the band released their sixth album and first with current singer Jean Pageau Delusion Rain, followed by Lies and Butterflies in 2018 and Redemption on May 15, 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randy Slaugh</span> American music producer and composer (born 1987)

Randy Slaugh is an American music producer and composer. He has worked with artists such as Jelly Roll, Skillet, Sleeping With Sirens, Yelawolf, Architects, The Amity Affliction, Periphery, David Archuleta, TesseracT, Devin Townsend, and Four Year Strong, and is a member of Kscope's cross-continental music group White Moth Black Butterfly. In recent years, he has worked on music for television series on Netflix, CBS, NBC, ABC, Hulu, Discovery, ESPN, VH1, and MTV, for video games such as Free Fire, and for ad campaigns for Bombas, NBA, Levi's, and KMC Wheels. Slaugh is part of the Producers & Engineers Wing Committee for The Recording Academy, and a member of the Sundance Institute, Music Producers Guild, Society of Composers & Lyricists and the Heavy Music Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vola (band)</span> Danish progressive metal band

Vola are a Danish progressive metal band formed in Copenhagen in 2006. Having gone through a number of lineup changes earlier in their career, the band currently consists of three Danes, Asger Mygind, Martin Werner (keyboards) and Nicolai Mogensen ; and one Swede, Adam Janzi (drums).

<i>Revel in Time</i> 2022 studio album by Star One

Revel in Time is the third studio album by Arjen Anthony Lucassen's progressive metal project/supergroup Star One, released via Inside Out on 18 February 2022.

<i>Troika</i> (DVirgilio, Morse & Jennings album) 2022 studio album by DVirgilio, Morse & Jennings

Troika is a collaborative album by progressive rock/metal musicians Nick D'Virgilio, Neal Morse and Ross Jennings under the moniker D'Virgilio, Morse & Jennings. It was released through InsideOut Music on February 25, 2022.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Everley, Dave (25 April 2024). ""OU frequently sound like they've beamed in from the 25th century." Devin Townsend-approved Chinese metallers OU take prog metal into strange new worlds on II: Frailty". Metal Hammer . Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  2. 1 2 Ewing, Jerry (14 March 2022). "Chinese prog rockers OU release teaser for upcoming album "one"". Prog. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  3. 1 2 ProgReport (2024-04-22). "OU - 蘇醒 II: Frailty (Album Review)". The Prog Report. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  4. ↑ Whisperer, Dolphin (2022-05-05). "Ou - one Review". Angry Metal Guy. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  5. ↑ "Lingüa Brütallica - Episode 28: Lynn Wu and Anthony Vanacore of Ou (Beijing, China) | Lingua Brutallica". Lingua Brutallica. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  6. 1 2 3 "CD Review – OU – One". Spirit of Progressive Rock. 2022-06-01. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  7. 1 2 "China's OU Release "Dark" Music Video; DEVIN TOWNSEND To Produce New Album". BraveWords. 20 February 2023. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  8. ↑ Ewing, Jerry (2023-02-20). "Chinese proggers OU share video for latest single Dark 暗". Prog. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  9. ↑ Ewing, Jerry (2022-02-28). "Chinese prog rockers OU sign to InsideOut Music". Prog. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  10. ↑ "Progressive Metal Band Ou Sign to Inside Out Music [China]". Unite Asia. 2022-03-01. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  11. ↑ Shelton, Connor (2022-05-17). "OU - one (Album Review)". The Prog Report. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  12. ↑ McCarthy, Laura (2022-05-05). "ALBUM REVIEW: One - OU". Distorted Sound Magazine. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  13. ↑ "Ou – One CD Review | SonicAbuse". 2022-05-29. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  14. 1 2 3 Whisperer, Dolphin (2024-04-26). "OU - 蘇醒 II: Frailty Review". Angry Metal Guy. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  15. ↑ Ewing, Jerry (2024-03-04). "Chinese prog metallers OU return with second abum 蘇醒 II: Frailty". Prog. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.