After TALK TALK : Solo Works

.O.RANG

Real Name:
Paul Webb & Lee Harris

Country:
UK
Genre:
Electronic
Style:
Abstract, Dub, Ambient
Notes:
Paul Webb & Lee Harris, formerly of Talk Talk; Features guest appearances by Beth Gibbons (Portishead), Matt Johnson (The The), Graham Sutton (Bark Psychosis, Boymerang), Mark Feltham (Talk Talk), Anthony Thistlewaite (The Waterboys)

Herd Of Instinct (1994)

Tracklist:

01 Orang
02 Little Brother
03 Mind on Pleasure
04 All Change
05 Anaon, The Oasis
06 Loaded Values
07 Nahoojek ~ Fogou

Link to download:
http://rapidshare.de/files/23336188/herd_of_instinct.rar.html

"ORANG is a labor of love studio project from ex-Talk Talk members Lee Harris and Paul Webb. Each plays numerous intruments of all sorts, and there are plenty of guest contributors adding bits i.e.: Beth Gibbons, Matt Johnson and others.
It's extremely difficult to describe the music here, they are not so much songs as pieces. Each piece is a stirring soundscapeEach track is involved, exotic, more timeless than contemporary.Brings to my minds ear pictures of a undiscovered tribal-like country of natives, caves, brush, waterfalls, heiroglyphics, and ...?
Some people will love this album, others won't see the point for it's existance. Some of it is calming and relieving other parts are frantic and tempest-like. The overall instrumentation and feel is more organic than digital/electronic.
Of the two ORANG albums, I like this one just slightly more, but they are both excellent, yet very esoteric works."

Fields And Waves (1996)

Tracklist:

01 Barren
02 Jalap
03 P.53
04 Moider
05 Seizure
06 Moratorium
07 Superculture
08 Quondam
09 Forest
10 Hoo
11 Boreades
12 Fields & Waves
13 Untitled

Link to download:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/qsmah9

"O.Rang is the duo of Paul Webb and Lee Harris who were the rhythm section of the band Talk Talk. "Fields and Waves" is their second album following the critically acclaimed "Herd of Instinct." While "Herd Of Instinct" was a kind of ambient-jazz, their new album is denser and more atmospheric.
"Fields and Waves" is a mlange of ambient elctronica, technopop, world music, and primal rhythms. Most of the time the mixture works, creating multi-layered atmospheric soundscapes that can be listened to closely or played as background mood music. The appropriately titled "Fields and Waves" is good meditation music; not the relaxing mind-emptying type of meditation, but the "magic-carpet ride" mind-expanding type that fills your mind's eye with vivid imagery.
The tunes are at times oddly constructed, experimenting with different instruments, sounds, and musical forms. Yet, .O.Rang doesn't get carried away with it and alienate the listener. Holding everything together are strong melodies that range from the exotic to pop. The melodies are catchy and will stick with you, as will the surrounding rhythms and harmonies. Paul Webb's raspy vocals fit well into the swirling music and noise but his poor enunciation leaves you wondering about most words. Same with guest singer Colette Meury's vocals on several racks: great voice, can't really understand what she's singing. Yet, .O. Rang's priority is clearly emotional impact over intellectual meaning. Their music is an attempt to create visual images.
"Fields and Waves" is electronica in the vein of Tangerine Dream and Vangelis rather than say Kraftwerk or Prodigy. It is more than just electronica though, they transcend the genre while reaching back and outward to other musical genres. To their credit, .O. Rang never reduce themselves to mere knob trickery as do some electronica artists. Nor do they engage in the "in your face" trip-hop that is popular dance music today. .O. Rang has a warmth and realness grounded in the primordial elements of music and emotion. "Fields and Waves" is a great album to expand your musical horizons."

about the band:
Bassist Paul Webb and drummer Lee Harris were bandmates for a decade in the influential British band Talk Talk. A year after the band's final release — 1992's critically acclaimed Laughing Stock — Harris and Webb built a studio that they dubbed The Slug. Once the studio was up and running, the duo allowed all sorts of musicians to come in and improvise with them, using the resulting music as source material with which to create the music heard on 'O'Rang's albums. The band's recorded debut was the EP Spoor (1994) followed by two full lengths, Herd of Instinct (1995) and Fields & Waves (1996). The recordings were originally released on Echo Records and later picked up and reissued (except for the EP) in 1997 by Chicago's Hit It! Recordings, followed a year later by the new Remixes. 'O'Rang features Webb and Harris on a variety of instruments, incorporating dub rhythms, various percussion, and thickly layered atmospherics to create a rock music that has been highly praised by U.K. publications such as The Wire, The Times of London, and Melody Maker.

more info:

http://www.epitonic.com/index.jsp?refer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.epitonic.com%2Fartists%2Forang.html more bio

http://users.cybercity.dk/~bcc11425/orang/home2.html the O Rang corner

Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man


Real Name:
Beth Gibbons (Portishead) & Paul Webb

Genre:
Electronic
Style:
Downtempo, Minimal, Ambient
Notes:
produced and arranged by Beth Gibbons and Paul Webb.

Out Of Season (2002)

Tracklist:

01 Mysteries (4:38)
02 Tom The Model (3:40)
03 Show (4:27)
04 Romance (5:09)
05 Sand River (3:51)
06 Spider Monkey (4:10)
07 Resolve (2:51)
08 Drake (3:54)
09 Funny Time Of Year (6:48)
10 Rustin Man (4:18)

link to download:
http://rapidshare.de/files/23306379/beth_gibbons-out_of_season.rar.html

"As collaborations go, the partnership of Portishead's ghostly singer Beth Gibbons and Paul "Rustin Man" Webb (former bassist of '80s pop band Talk Talk) seems an extremely unlikely one. However, as Out of Season shows, the pair have a surprising amount in common, including a love of supremely melancholic melodies and eerily atmospheric backdrops. Ambling quietly from the mournful folk of "Mysteries" through the twilight piano lament of "Show" and the uneasy cinematic sway of "Spyder," Out of Season creates a dreamily sinister otherworld that's both vintage and timeless. Yet, despite relying solely on beautiful bittersweet melodies and acoustic instrumentation to conjure its twisted romance--instead of the usual murky trip-hop beats and studio manipulation associated with Gibbons's dysfunctional songs--the fundamental chill of Portishead is ever present. And that's because, for all the wonderful, sleepy lullabies, it's the haunting isolation she conveys with every note that captivates. Even on the gorgeously hazy lounge tunes "Romance" and "Sand River"--both brimming with Burt Bacharach-style optimism--she manages to sound like Dusty Springfield with a dark and tragic secret. She has an amazingly affecting voice, which makes Out of Season a truly magical album. "--Dan Gennoe

"Out of Season, the new debut album from Portishead's Beth Gibbons and Talk Talk's Paul Webb, has practically left me speechless. These two have really made musical beatitude with this release. I struggle to find anything wrong with it. This album seeps into your psyche and warms your insides. It's achingly beautiful, hopeful, and melancholic from start to finish. Artists of this genre will be scratching their heads for quite some time trying to figure out how they'll top it. Conversely, one might think Out of Season is nothing new, but they'd be wrong. It's a near perfect album, which can't be said in too many cases these days. "

"You know her best as the ethereal voice of Portishead, but in "Out of Season" Beth Gibbons strays away from indie trip-hop into melancholy acoustic pop, jazz and folk, collaborated with Paul "Rustin Man" Webb of Talk Talk. This autumn-toned collection is melancholy and pensive, a bittersweet little gem."