Omnia Opera
Nothing Is Ordinary (3lp/black)
There surely aren't many bands that can lay claim to being the primary (or, indeed, only) exponents of an entire genre - but psychedelic legends Omnia Opera can, because, well, they invented it. Back in the early 1980s, when the UK free festival scene was still some years from its zenith, and the second wave of psychedelic bands that would accompany it were still just a metaphorical blotter on the tongues of their founding members, some friends from Kidderminster, UK hit upon the idea of 'plasma rock'. Taking elements of a variety of mind-expanding and progressive music, they distilled them into a uniquely potent and energetic style. Incorporating searing punk-edged acid rock with cutting-edge interstellar synthesis and sampling, and largely staying away from the meandering jams that had mostly taken over the psychedelic form, they preferred instead well-observed politically-edged, socially-conscious and cosmically-inclined lyrics alongside powerful arrangements. Over the next ten years or so, the band would release several albums - initially on cassette only, recorded and distributed by themselves, and selling out time and time again, and later on CD and vinyl courtesy of the legendary Delerium Records. Then, just as it looked as if the band might be making progress into a wider awareness, they split up. Fast-forward to 2006, and the band decided to get together to do a 20th anniversary gig, one thing led to another, and for the next four years they toiled ceaselessly writing and recording what was to become their magnum opus, the album 'Nothing Is Ordinary'. Originally self-released as a double CD to a rapturous reception, it is only now that Greek psych label Sound-Effect Records, great fans of the band themselves, have got behind a mammoth triple-vinyl edition. Meticulously remastered for vinyl by Mark Cawthra at The Infallible Ear, and with packaging to match the original CD release (a stunning triple-gatefold sleeve, with printed inserts to house the vinyl), no expense or trouble has been spared to make this limited edition vinyl an absolute essential for any lover of psychedelic music or acid rock.