Kata Rokkar Presents: Oso and Benjamin Henderson
Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009
Performing music with roots in Americana, containing deep intertwining layers of melody, rhythm and time reminiscent of Eastern Europe, Oso is creating rock music that’s moving beyond the boundaries of genre. Described as ‘technical folk’ and ‘math-rock world music’, Oso makes music that blends the intensity of sweeping compositions with the intimacy of heart-felt vocals.
With ‘a circus-like sense of theater’, Oso’s performances connect with people due to the sheer energy and emotion of the experience, reaching music lovers of all cultures and ages. As often as they play loud ‘plugged-in’ shows at music venues, Oso performs on the street, setting up with acoustic instruments whenever, wherever—Phil on a unicycle, Tim at a child-sized drum set, Nick and Andrew sharing a battery powered amp—always able to deliver exciting music, flexible to any sonic situation. Employing these guerrilla tactics, Oso has made music in cities across the United States and Europe, even performing— with Phil atop his unicycle—on a moving bus in South London.
Oso began out of the rubble of Chicago post-rock group Volta Do Mar in 2003. The band has been performing in California since 2004, and throughout the US since 2005. During the summers of 2007 and 2008, Oso had residencies in the UK, playing extensively in London, Glasgow, and Edinburgh, as well as short stints in Berlin and Istanbul.
Based in Santa Barbara, CA, Oso has shared the stage locally with such notable national touring acts as Dengue Fever, Extra Golden, Deerhoof, and Kaki King. Friday they will find themselves at Oakland’s Flux 53 promoting their amazing prog-folk masterpiece, 2008’s Kuno Esama.
You can purchase tickets to the show here. Show starts at 8pm with a BYOB policy. I suggest you take advantage of it.
You can also pick up (download) their latest album Kuno Esama here.
Oso – 
Impact Falconry from Kuno Esama (2008)
With his follow up Get Me Wrong EP, Benjamin Henderson is quickly accumulating devoted fans as well as an unusually hefty amount of critical kudos with his debut, last year’s Dirty Bodies, and subsequent other releases under his current band The Good Hustle and his past project, Delta Activity. There’s something about Henderson’s muse that defies words and logic, something to these songs that hints at a deeper connection to the cosmos than most of us share. Every singer-songwriter tries their best to enjoy their work and at the same time separate themselves from being typecasted as a generic ’singer-songwriter’. Add Benjamin Henderson to the list of artists that have achieved that; an astonishing talent whose future work promises to bring us to exciting new places. It’s Henderson’s gift for melody that ultimately carries the day, littering the EP with slyly entrancing tunes that recall the pleasure of old campfire songs. It’s enough to cure even a hardened cynic.
You can listen and purchase Get Me Wrong here.
You can see Benjamin Henderson open for Oso at our show at Flux 53 on Friday night with ex-Delta Activity drummer Anthony Olyaee.
Benjamin Henderson – 25 Siren from Get Me Wrong EP (2009)
