OMFO // Omnipresence
AY CD 22 (EAN 881390202225)



Music from Omfostan

Omnipresence is the opus magnum of the explorer and discoverer OMFO. Years of travelling far and wide, making hundreds of recordings, delving into ancient musical cultures, learning to play strange and unfamiliar instruments, have culminated in this experimental electro-acoustic masterpiece. An unprecedented combination of sound and instruments takes us on a journey through time and space, captivating the imagination from the very first moment.
His first album on the Essay Recordings label, Trans Balkan Express, put OMFO in the international spotlight. Sacha Baron Cohen (aka Borat) even chose two tracks from the album for the soundtrack of his latest film. On his second album, We are the Shepherds, OMFO led a virtual flock of sheep into orbit and let the shepherds make music in zero gravity.
After that, he concentrated on developing his stage performance according his maxim of “back to the archetypes”. Collaborating with artists and musicians from around Eurasia is his greatest passion; traditional cultures and their connection with cosmic metaphysical forces his greatest inspiration. OMFO wants to introduce western audiences to what he regards as the “intrinsic modernism of the Orient”. This includes extending the listener’s experience of music beyond the boundaries of mere entertainment and taking it into the realms of ritual.


His Primitive Equations project, with DJ Goldfinger – a series of events featuring the music and art of indigenous people – uses “field recordings” accompanied by video projections of related images. In October 2007, thanks to the Aga Khan Music Initiative in Central Asia, OMFO was able to visit Tajikistan, where he had the opportunity of working directly with musicians from the remote Pamir mountain region of Badakhshan. This led to a series of multimedia events throughout Europe and Central Asia: Falak - the Heavenly Music on Stage. It is from this wealth of experience that OMFO has drawn the inspiration for his latest album. In his quest to resolve the issue of traditional cultures and their role in the age of technologies, Omnipresence is a catalyst for the fusion of these two seemingly irreconcilable concepts. At the same time, OMFO continues to work in the field of film music, mainly creating soundtracks for the video installations and performances of leading Kazakhstan artist Almagul Menlibayeva, whose work will been shown again at the Venice Biennale this year.

Tracklisting
01. Tipsy Djinn
02. Sindbad the Spaceman
03. The Sorcerer
04. Expedition East
05. Pamiri Dub
06. Baghdub
07. Arabesque
08. Windhorse
09. Tajik Equations
10. The Lost Polyphonics
11. Pagansonic
12. Caravanserai
13. Siberian Abracadabra
14. Almasti
15. Kashgar Chai
16. Beauty Mark
17. Native Nocturne
18. Opium
19. Omnipresence

All tracks music & lyrics by German Popov/Edition Essay,
except track 16 : M: A. BabayevL: M. Tursun-Zade


Artist’s Website: www.omfo.net/
Videos, Podcasts, Photos: http://omfo.net/pr/