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<p>Psycheclectic Records, this new record label brings you the music of James Angell and Obscured By Clouds, revolutionizing and evolving our experience through rare and eclectic music</p>
<p>Music, CDs, MP3, Reviews, Shows, Bios</p>
<p>Psycheclectic Records, this new record label brings you the music of James Angell and Obscured By Clouds, revolutionizing and evolving our experience through rare and eclectic music</a>
<p>new label, record label, independent, indie, music, film, portland, oregon, james angell, obscured by clouds, garmonbozia, rock, alternative, electronic, eclectic, progressive, psycheclectic, psychedelic, bands, nick drake, pink floyd, king crimson, roger waters, syd barrett, david gilmour, tangerine dream, portishead, beck, sea change, doors, jim morrison, red eye distribution, garland appeal, the new yorker, john donohue, kcrw, chris douridas, eric matthews, wnyc, john schaefer, radio, xm satellite, paul mccartney, david bowie, all music guide pick, john taylor, matthew greenwald, magnet magazine, alternative press, pop and politics, oregonian, steve hanford, chris isaak, tony lash, James Angell will be available for interviews. For interview times, questions, information, guest lists, mailing list send us an e-mail label@psycheclectic.com. Psycheclectic Records PO Box 8133 Portland, Oregon 97207. Paul McCartney and Dennis D’Amico have selected the first track “Ooh Love” for the Garland Appeal’s upcoming compilation CD. Angell will perform his songs live with a full orchestra backing him with the Garland Appeal. “The underground classic of 2002” as Angell’s new release was aptly named by this All Music Guide Pick, was also well reviewed by The New Yorker “...Angell returns with an album of ambitious orchestral psychedelia, "Private Player," that's earned justifiable comparisons to the hallmark of the genre, Love's "Forever Changes." Alternative Press shouted, “With its beautiful tunes and emotive vocals ‘Private Player’ introduces a major new talent.” Magnet Magazine also gave praise. John Taylor (Duran Duran) has now joined the band performing with Angell in January 2003. Interestingly, David Bowie has also personally voiced his intent to make a bid and potentially sign Angell to his independent label, ISO. Angell -- a fixture during the frenzy of the early 90's northwest music explosion, has performed, written and recorded with such P-town notables as Courtney Taylor-Taylor (The Dandy Warhols), Eric Matthews, Tony Lash (Heatmiser, Elliot Smith), Daniel Riddle (King Black Acid) and Thee Slayer Hippy, producer and drummer of the notorious heavyweight punks, (Poison Idea). After years of group effort he finally embarked on what so many had been asking for, a solo album. He dropped out of the scene, had a daughter, designed and built a house in the woods and purchased enough recording gear to make this record. He sat in his kitchen with a piano, a synth, a mic and finished producing "Private Player". Beneath these arrangements lies a gritty soul, a sound track for the subconscious giving everyday events a cinematic gravity. One of the most interesting and ultimately valuable new records to come out of 2002, James Angell's Private Player is akin to Love's Forever Changes in terms of overall elegance and strangeness. It becomes, in the end, a brilliant exercise in modern day psychedelia. Angell's music is unique in that he wields influences as far-flung as jazz, soul, pop and psychedelic music - often all at the same time. The result is an intoxicating, narcotic voyage, yet has all the luster of a classical piece. It's not 'easy listening' nor is it probably intended to be. Angell's lyrics are both freeform and literate, and combined with the multi-layered arrangements, create a cinematic, almost Bosch-esque atmosphere where the lines of sanity, reality and fantasy are often blurred. For an example of this, the listener is directed to the third track, 'Ed Blue Bottle', which puts all of these elements together. Unsettling -- yes indeed...beautiful listening, absolutely. Aside from the beautiful 'Treat Song' featuring guest trumpet player Eric Matthews, the album's highlight may be epic closer, 'Sweet Bell'. With it's eerie, child's voice providing an introduction to Angell's vocal before surrendering to a dissonant soundscape that can only be compared to Tim Buckley's "Lorca" album, this is one of the album's greatest moments. "Private Player" is an experience that needs to be played and re-played several times preferably in a row, before the listener can fully realize how much music is really happening. In this way, it challenges the listener to become involved. This is not always a popular thing to do in these days of doubt and limited attention span, but is indeed necessary. The underground classic of 2002. Matthew Greenwald AMG - All Music Guide Pick 4 1/2 Stars! The Knitting Factory Sept 16, Tonic Sept 15: The singer-songwriter James Angell comes out of the Portland, Oregon, scene that gave birth some ten years ago to the Dandy Warhols... (he was the front man of a band called Nero's Rome with the Dandy, Courtney Taylor as drummer.) After dropping out of the music world to raise a daughter and build a house, Angell returns with an album of ambitious orchestral psychedelia, "Private Player," that's earned justifiable comparisons to the hallmark of the genre, Love's "Forever Changes." John Donohue from The New Yorker. ...Angell's piano, songs & vocals-the latter sounding at times like the whispered sing-speak of Ira Kaplan or Freddie Mercury subdued by the purr from a pack of affectionate house cats-that row this skiff of an album over placid waters. "Dear Dying Friend" chugs along to the rhythm of an electronic camel, becoming friendlier with each chorus, the synthesized push-and-pull finally giving way to a more organic version of this lugubrious tempo. "Treat Song," with Eric Matthews' muted trumpet, lopes along like the heart of Saturday night as Angell lullabies his daughter into dreams of spaceships and log-perched ponderances. "Ooh Love" is a tease, flirting and breaking promises. Angell hangs onto slow, elastic cadences and comes up with an album just odd enough to have never given bloated and pallid arena pop such as ELO or Elton John any trouble, though he often sounds like a smarter version of both. Bruce Miller from Magnet Magazine. This is "Baroque orchestral rock that'll make you feel like you're smashed on absinthe. How is it? With its beautiful tunes and emotive vocals 'Private Player' introduces a major new talent. Kindred spirits: David Bowie, Tim Buckley, Rufus Wainwright..." David Segal from Alternative Press. Once in a while, a song gets under my skin and stays there. But rarely does an artist create eight songs that seep into my psyche at the same time. That is the achievement of James Angell's latest disc "Private Player." This is music to trip to, swoon to, and jump into. And the more I listened to it, the more I got sucked into its sublime entropy. Layering is the drug here. Every piece seems to derive its influence from a different musical archetype, but there is nothing formulaic about the tracks. Try to identify the sound and you will fail. It's as if someone threw Bowie, Eno, Pink Floyd, Kate Bush, Radiohead and Tim Buckley into a blender...and then threw out the recipe. James Angell honed his nonconformist attitude after burning out on the frenetic Portland, Oregon music scene and on a deal with Capitol Records for his then band Nero's Rome. He says he can't think about the record industry because that's what screwed him up before. He couldn't think anymore about writing what naturally appeals to an audience. He wanted to get back to trusting his gut instincts and not listening to A&R guys who were mostly interested in second-guessing the mass market. So he dropped out and retreated with his wife Erin and daughter Astrid Zora to a house in the woods that he built with his own hands. During his Whitmanesque idyll, he found the hunger to make music again. The album is appropriately called "Private Player," because he says he crafted songs that appeal to himself, especially to the self he was as a child. He explains, "Kids can smell bullshit a mile away. They respond intuitively." In his self-imposed exile, he developed a sound that he describes as "4th dimension"--strongly rooted in reality, but boldly exploring a world hidden in the subconscious. He wanted to position musical ideas together that aren't supposed to stand side-by-side. Enlisting the help of musicians like Eric Matthews, Tony Lash, brother Theo Angell, former bandmate Tod Morrisey, and even his daughter, Angell fleshed out his musical fantasia. The isolation is about to pay off. Chris Douridas, the highly influential DJ of KCRW, has already named James Angell a "new ground-breaker" and interviewed him on the nationally broadcast show "Spinner's New Ground" at the end of April; All Music Guide called "Private Player" the "underground classic of 2002." Eventually he would like to have the luxury of a record company behind him, so that he can support the right band to replicate onstage the sound of "Private Player." But for now, he's going to hit the road playing solo piano shows around the country and building the groundswell of support for his genre-busting sound. From the wandering of "Who's Wakin' Me Up?" and the heartache of "Treat Song" to the sweet sentimentalism of "Picture Perfect" and the psychedelia of "Sweet Bell," James Angell provides a complete and unusual journey. Listening to Angell's music is like watching a 1960s Kubrick film: you witness a landscape so odd, lush, disturbing, and visceral that you emerge with a hypersensitized experience of the immediate world. In fact, much of "Private Player" presents the listener with a cinematic experience, where the sounds conjure pictures that haunt and seduce. The official release date is June 2002, but it's available online at www.jamesangell.com. Or if you're in LA, go see James play and you can pick up a CD there. And tell him Tanya sent you. Tanya Selvaratnam from PopAndPolitics.com "About 21/2 years ago I thought, 'How did this happen? I'm living next to my parents . . . What am I going to do?' " James Angell says, remembering the epiphany that brought him back to making music. "I knew I had to start doing music again. I thought, 'I do not want to be in a band, I am not doing that again.' Angell learned about the realities of band life with Nero's Rome. In the mid-1990s, Nero's Rome was one of Portland's most promising bands, with Angell handling piano duties and sharing vocals with Tod Morrisey. The group's stirring mixture of epic rock and new wave flair inspired Capitol Records to offer a deal. "It was heartbreaking," recalls Angell, "going back and forth, getting a deal, A&R guys getting fired, new president firing everybody and deals going out the window. It was pretty harsh." After Nero's Rome made a second album, a development deal was cut with Mercury Records but, Angell says, the money was mismanaged. With the well dry and his wife pregnant, Angell retreated to his parent's property in the woods south of Portland. There, he designed and built his house and also worked as a carpenter (he's now building Super Digital's new facilities). But, as might be said, you can take the musician out of the music but you can't take the music out of the musician. Angell began feeling the need to create again. "I've got a big upright piano out here," says Angell, "and I just started writing tunes. I got some recording gear and started tracking. Once I got the songs down with some vocals so I could get an idea of what I wanted to do, I started calling in various players to do this and that." That list includes such local luminaries as Tony Lash, Eric Matthews, Daniel Riddle, Phil Baker, Steve Hanford and even former band mate Morrisey. Angell also asked for contributions from his brother and sister and young daughter, Astrid. The resulting CD, "Private Player," is a lovely listen, though at times a bit unsettling, combining influences as diverse as Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd, The Beatles and Tim Buckley. Angell's compositions are sweeping, unhurried and embellished enough to keep the surprises coming without becoming cluttered. Angell's understated, breathy voice is the ideal complement, and, overall, this is music that comes from an artistic rather than commercial drive. Which is not to say that "Private Player" doesn't have "legs." Influential Southern California radio station KCRW made it one of its picks and has invited Angell to perform on the air in April. All Music Guide has just given the album a fawning four-and-a-half-star review for its 2002 publication; and Magnet magazine is slated to do a story on Angell's music. Scott D. Lewis from The Oregonian Arts & Entertainment PAUL McCARTNEY: James Angell’s song “Ooh Love” from the “Private Player” album released on Psycheclectic Records and Garmonbozia's song "Soon" have both been selected by Paul McCartney and Dennis D’Amico (Guitarist with Paul and Development Director) for the Garland Appeal’s second compilation CD. The Garland Appeal’s mission is to raise awareness of early diagnosis of breast cancer. Stephen Connock & Paul McCartney founded the non-profit organization in honor of Linda McCartney. They aim to raise funds through music, “Fighting Cancer Through Music.” More information here: www.garlandappeal.com, or www.mplcommunications.com. DAVID BOWIE: What would you do if David Bowie called you and said that he’s been listening to your album every morning for weeks now? What if he told you he wanted to make a bid on your album for his independent label...so what if he figured out how to dial a phone? www.davidbowie.com LIVE IN PORTLAND, OR: Saturday, January 4th: JAMES ANGELL'S CD RELEASE FEATURING THE FULL BAND INCLUDING JOHN TAYLOR (DURAN DURAN) AT THE CRYSTAL BALLROOM (LOLA'S). Players include John Taylor (Duran Duran), Tony Lash (Heatmiser, Elliot Smith), Kevin Cozad (Neros Rome). THE NEW YORKER: "...Angell returns with an album of ambitious orchestral psychedelia, "Private Player," that's earned justifiable comparisons to the hallmark of the genre, Love's "Forever Changes." ALTERNATIVE PRESS: "With its beautiful tunes and emotive vocals 'Private Player' introduces a major new talent ... Baroque orchestral rock that'll make you feel like you're smashed on absinthe." Sound like a good time? 8:30 pm doors open, 9:00 pm show. Tickets $10 advance on sale November 30, 2002, at www.ticketmaster.com and the Crystal Ballroom box office. (21 and over.) Location: 1332 Burnside, Portland Oregon www.mcmenamins.com/Crystal/. LIVE IN NEW YORK CITY: Sunday, September 15th: James Angell performs at The Tonic in New York City. Location: 107 Norfolk Street NYC, NY 10002 www.tonicnyc.com. Monday, September, 16th @ 2:00 PM EST: James performs live on WNYC's 'Sound Check' with John Schaefer in New York City. www.wnyc.org/shows/soundcheck. Monday, September, 16th: James performs at The Knitting Factory in New York City. Show starts at 9:00 PM EST. Location: 75 Leonard Street NYC, NY 10013 or www.knittingfactory.com. Sunday, September 20th: James performs at The Fez Ballroom in New York City. Show starts at 10:00 PM EST. Location: 380 Lafayette Street NYC, NY 10003 or www.feznyc.com.
LIVE IN LOS ANGELES: Saturday, April 27th at 12:00 PST: Live performance & interview of James Angell on NewGround with Chris Douridas. This national broadcast will be carried on 89.9 FM KCRW in Los Angeles and on Radio@AOL. The performing musicians will include Eric Matthews on Trumpet & Flugelhorn and Phil Baker on Bass. You can also listen to the interview at www.jamesangell.com. Tuesday, April 30th: The Spaceland in Los Angeles. Stage Time: 11:00 PM, 1717 Silver Lake Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026. Thursday, May 2nd: The Silver Lake Lounge in Los Angeles. Stage Time: 9:15 PM, 2906 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026. RED EYE DISTRIBUTION: Street Date of September 24th, 2002 for James Angell's 'Private Player' release. We have signed a distribution agreement with Red Eye in the United States. CHRIS ISAAK: Thursday, August 8th: James Angell opens for Chris Issak in the Bend, Oregon Amphitheater. Psycheclectic Bio: Got independence? And music for your eclectic psyche? Yes, we hold our truths more self-evident... And what is this shift of technological power into the hands of individuals going to do to the large record companies? How big is this universe, or better yet -- how microcosmic can we get? What is that hidden space in our souls that holds those memories of our favorite songs? How do you find the source of that eclectic feeling from your past with the elusive impact it has upon your future? Too much good music is never experienced — and we wanted to make a stand. Psychecleticism is derived from the impact these eclectic events have upon our psyche, and how they impact our future. The psyche’s ability to absorb the impression of the eclectic while being blind to its origin is beguiling. By re-engineering the limitations of the term ‘psychedelic’ with the psyche’s eclectic undertow, we’ve created a form that does not limit us to psychedelia’s timeline -- rather it expands the experience of all things psycheclectic. A path diverged…and a while back we asked, “If a band fell in the forest would they make a sound?” Now we are asking, “If you could see the forest through the trees, would it still be made of wood?” The ever-expanding attention span of musical taste has a wider audience to fill this new bandwidth. The foundation named in memory of Linda McCartney known as The Garland Appeal has played a welcome and effective role in our humble beginnings. With help from Eric Matthews and Dennis D’Amico we have two of our flagship bands appearing on the next Garland Appeal release. Both James Angell & Garmonbozia are featured on this release. Planning is underway for the Pasadena Symphony to back these performances with orchestrated parts. GARMONBOZIA - ‘BOOM!’ Pending 2004: This prolific magnet of star-crossed vibes was unearthed in our back yard, and it doesn’t get any better than that. Like the guy who discovered the world largest diamond -- by its flashing brilliance in the sun – Garmonbozia is from the same vein. We sent this sample CD off to just a handful of tastemakers, and several of them phoned back just two songs into the album. The Garland Appeal and McCartney Publishing Limited were very enthused by what they heard. The first album ‘Boom!’ is due out in 2004. Can you believe it? We can’t. JAMES ANGELL - ‘PRIVATE PLAYER’ SEPT 24, 2002: James Angell’s debut has warmed the hearts of musicians and music lovers everywhere. With 4½ Stars for this ALL MUSIC GUIDE - PICK it was named, “The underground classic of 2002.” THE NEW YORKER: “...Angell returns with an album of ambitious orchestral psychedelia, "Private Player," that's earned justifiable comparisons to the hallmark of the genre, Love's "Forever Changes." ALTERNATIVE PRESS: "With its beautiful tunes and emotive vocals 'Private Player' introduces a major new talent ... Baroque orchestral rock that'll make you feel like you're smashed on absinthe." Sound like a good time? Angell has pushed forward with six new songs and is preparing for the next release…his greatest work. ALL MUSIC GUIDE – “Angell’s music is unique in that he wields influences as far-flung as jazz, soul, pop and psychedelic music - often all at the same time. The result is an intoxicating, narcotic voyage, yet has all the luster of a classical piece.” “One of the most interesting and ultimately valuable new records to come out of 2002…” Even Courtney Taylor (Dandy Warhols) prophesizes, “Every hipster and poser is going to be ripping from it to save their souls." Out of the revolution we stand in your favorite local haunt. Psycheclectic Records was spawned in 2000 with a local artists’ intent. …A label by musicians for musicians. A spark perhaps for a foundational movement to better protect musicians and their works. We provide for our artists’ future…join us. We are always open to hearing music here. And in that purpose we hold true that what is ‘good’ in music is the strength of the progressive movement toward better music. Is it a waste of time to lead the parade posturing and shouting aloud regarding how bad some music may be? How about keeping the ego to ourselves (thanks) and getting to the point. The critics may have spent the last ten years defining what’s bad… Since then, we’ve missed the opportunity to build the foundation of what is good in music. Perhaps we’ve grown to simply not care what critics don’t like anymore… If you’re unhappy with the music scene, it’s more than likely the result of people not defining what is good in music. What you like and why you like it is really all that matters. We’re extending our reach by placing timelessness first. You won’t get any limitations from us. -William Obscured Psycheclectic Records </a>
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