Charles the Osprey
Play Radio
Listen to Charles the Osprey Radio,
featuring artists like Paucity, De Gonzague, Shy, Low, Long Forgotten Scenes and more…
4,912 plays (308 listeners)
Charles the Osprey’s moment of infamy was brief and bittersweet. After a show early into the band’s tenure as kings of instrumental math-rock in their hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan, they found a note on a bar table written by a woman who “really enjoyed your obvious LACK of musical talent” (her emphasis). “It also really helps to play your bad music really, really loud. Give me a call sometime.” The document was featured on the popular Web site passiveaggressivenotes.com and later in a book published by the site’s creators.
The woman was right about one thing – they are loud, often intimidatingly so to uninitiated ears. To describe Charles the Osprey as an anomaly within its music scene does insufficient justice to the band’s brilliant weirdness. The drum-and-guitar duo’s methodical execution of brain-melting instrumental spazz-rock is likely without peer anywhere. In 2007, Derek Lancioni – a prolific drummer who has performed in bands such as Just For Kicks, Go Josephine and Winnie Cooper – teamed with studio-rat guitarist Rafael Ohli to form Charles the Osprey. The duo, Charles to friends, began as a theoretical exercise: If two immensely gifted musicians attempt to perpetually challenge each other on a technical level, can substantial art be created in the process? Lancioni and Ohli’s songs employ nonfancy guitar and drum sounds, but cover impressive dynamic territory as they weave through thickets of changes in time and tempo, some fluid, some jarring, all compelling. The hypothetical question underlying their existence has been answered with a resounding yes.
The woman was right about one thing – they are loud, often intimidatingly so to uninitiated ears. To describe Charles the Osprey as an anomaly within its music scene does insufficient justice to the band’s brilliant weirdness. The drum-and-guitar duo’s methodical execution of brain-melting instrumental spazz-rock is likely without peer anywhere. In 2007, Derek Lancioni – a prolific drummer who has performed in bands such as Just For Kicks, Go Josephine and Winnie Cooper – teamed with studio-rat guitarist Rafael Ohli to form Charles the Osprey. The duo, Charles to friends, began as a theoretical exercise: If two immensely gifted musicians attempt to perpetually challenge each other on a technical level, can substantial art be created in the process? Lancioni and Ohli’s songs employ nonfancy guitar and drum sounds, but cover impressive dynamic territory as they weave through thickets of changes in time and tempo, some fluid, some jarring, all compelling. The hypothetical question underlying their existence has been answered with a resounding yes.
Top Albums
-
Consider
Charles the Osprey
Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $8.99
- 7digital $9.99
- iTunes $9.99
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search
Shoutbox
-
xThisisdisaster This band has changed my life.
-
lakorony Welcome to group «The Band of Two Man»
-
zuh_desperado splendid math band!
-
makemegoldagain Love the Wiki entry almost as much as the band.
-
PissedJeans Love this
-
oksokol the debut album is pretty great.
-
treekillerelite Luv it, its like the only jazz punk band ive ever heard.
Top Listeners
-
zombex
Top Listener
-
yeauxerik
Top Listener
-
4utomatic4
Top Listener
-
Jdimaggio
Top Listener
More Information
- Labels
