Twenty-three years…. Did Ed think it would last this long? “I hoped we would last twenty, so twenty-three is fine by me, still plenty to be getting on with”. Something of an understatement really; album number thirty close to completion and a hectic tour schedule to contend with. Despite never signing to a major label they have sold over a million records and are in constant demand, they rarely need to look for work, especially on the festival scene. “Festivals have always come looking for us actually, right from the very early days when we started blagging our way on to stages. We can’t really do anymore than we are doing, we are doing two this weekend, this one (Eastern Haze) and one in Greece, and last week we played North Carolina in America and Quebec, Canada. We do a festival every weekend through the summer and we really physically can’t do any more than we do. The jet lag makes life interesting at festivals though”.

Joie Hinton, original keyboard guy, joins the band on stage for the Blow Out Festival, cardiff

A million albums is not bad for a band that in many circles are considered immensely unfashionable, just goes to show what fashion knows. Tribe of Cro and Omnia Opera have recently reformed, Hawkwind are now running their own festival, space rock spectaculars are being organised and of course there is Eastern Haze, a veritable smorgasbord of space rock delights. Are we seeing a resurgence in psychedelic space rock? Ed thinks we might be, “I sincerely hope so. I am starting to enjoy festivals again, I don’t go normally, lets hope the scene is back and we can meet up with all our friends”.

Talking of old friends, over the years members of the band have branched out in all sorts of directions, but on the whole they have kept in touch with the mother ship. Arguably the most famous of the ‘Children of the Ozrics’ is Eat Static, the techno/trance outfit formed by Joie Hinton (Veteran of that 1984 nucleus) and Merv Peplar, but we also have had over the years The Ululators, Nodens Ictus and Wooden Baby. Noden Ictus released space lines in 2000 and played at the 2006 Pongmasters Ball…. Are they alive again? “Yeah, we are doing the occasional gig, when Merv and Joie are around we do things, we do enjoy doing that, we will do a bit of recording and if anyone asks us to do a gig we will but we don’t get asked very often”. Oi Promoters! … ask em!

With members wandering in and out of the band, surely some of the new recruits find it difficult to get their heads around the complex rhythms that pulse out of the Ozrics. “Yes, it can be a problem actually, for instance some tracks have been written with a particular drummers technique in mind and sometimes another drummer will find they don’t have that as part of their ‘thing’ and find it very difficult to play certain tracks. But there are so many people involved we have got five different line-ups now, and they are all going to be here at Eastern Haze in some shape or form, which is nice”. The ability of the band to play songs is not the only live barrier they have to deal with, some studio tracks are simply too complicated to play live. “Yes, definitely. Sometimes for human reasons but normally for technological reasons, some tracks just cannot be reproduced live.”

Technology and skill are not the only problems they have to deal with live. When we interviewed the band back in 1996 Ed told us, “With all the music we have recorded, all instrumental and complex, we do sometimes lose track of what is going on, but the thing is, when you are in the sort of state where you forget what you are playing you are usually on autopilot anyway, so we always make it through to the end of the set in one piece.”

At this point our conversation is cut short, as we all have to rush outside to rescue our boots from old fashioned natural rain. Technology plays a big part in the Ozrics sound but some technology can be a double-edged sword. “Downloading and home recording doesn’t do us any favours, but then again if there was a gig that I particularly enjoyed and someone has taped it and years later they come up and tell me they have a recording of, it is handy”.

The stage is too far away, Eastern haze 2007

As we sit there, Ed’s other half and Ozric keyboard player, Brandi, gets excited. She has been fiddling about with the keyboard during the interview. All of a sudden she hits upon a new riff she is compelled to share with the rest of us. An honour indeed for us, not only are we interviewing them but we are witnessing the creation of a future track. Maybe.

The Ozrics have influenced many people over the last two decades, but others have also influenced them. Ed is a big admirer of Steve Hillage, who was making off the wall weirdness going back to the beginning of the 70’s. These days Hillage can be found performing with his latest project, System 7, sometimes supporting the Ozrics. “It’s quite ironic really, I always thought it would be the other way around. We were in Japan a year and a half ago on this little island and tropical storms prevented us from playing that particular day but the next day we did this gig and Steve Hillage played with us for the first time, which was great honour for me and great fun”.

Another big influence were 70’s Krautrockers Kraan. They reformed in 2000, and have been gigging once more. “I have never seen Kraan and I really wish I had seen them in a certain era, but I would love to play with them now” At this point Vini, organiser of the Eastern Haze and occasional bass player with the Ozrics (not to mention member of Grooveweird), jumps in to say Kraan are booked for Eastern Haze in 2008, which creates much excitement and a promise that the Ozrics will be on the same bill at last. Once Ed has calmed down he continues, “I Phoned up Hellmut Hattler (Kraan Bass Player) when we were in Germany once, he suggested I call round for a coffee by e-mail, but for one reason or another it did not happen”. Looks like a meeting is on the cards though!

Ozrics attack all five senses, and your brain, live eastern haze 2007

The Ozrics are more than just a festival band though, indulging in mammoth touring schedules. “I like festivals and gigs, they both have a different appeal. I like festivals when it is not raining and I really like the sound of playing outdoors. Sometimes a badly built gig venue can be so boomy it is not much fun to play and it hurts my ears… I have only got two and I want to keep them both!”

As the interview draws to a close the band have to start thinking about going on stage. Vini, who has been sat quietly in the corner during most of the interview, starts chatting with Ed about tonight’s set. As we mentioned, he is not a full time member, so as we climb out of the caravan, having successfully missed the only rain shower of the weekend, Ed and Vini embark on a surreal a cappella version of a track that Vini is not sure of, and it actually sounds quite good. Maybe all the techno wizardry is not needed after all, Ozric Tentacles unplugged anyone?

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