Australis (musical project)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Australis | |
|---|---|
| Image:Australis logo.png |
|
| Background information | |
| Origin |  United States |
| Genre(s) | New Age Ambient Electronic World |
| Years active | 2004 - present |
| Label(s) | Indie Artist |
| Website | Australis' Official site Australis on MySpace |
| Members | |
| Oscar Aguayo | |
| Notable instrument(s) | |
| Synthesizer Piano Percussion Zampona Charango Zurna Darbouka |
|
Australis is the name for the Electronic New Age musical project by multifaceted Peruvian-born composer/producer Oscar Aguayo, although this name is often used to refer to him directly.
He named his project "Australis" (which in Latin literally means "from the South") because that word symbolizes his origins and the places where he received his primary musical influences.
Contents |
[edit] History
Australis was officially created as a musical project in the U.S. on August 2004. In January 2005, he won the "2004 Morpheus Music's Best Independent Artist" award with material released only to selected online radio stations.
His debut album "Lifegiving" was independently released on May 2005.
By early 2006 "Lifegiving" was re-released in Southern Asia by the Orange Music record label. In August 2006 two tracks from Australis' debut album "Lifegiving" were included in the New Vibes Music's compilation Echoes of Tuvalu.
At the present the work for his second release, "The Gates of Reality" is arriving to its final stages and, unofficially, it is intended to be released by early 2008.
[edit] Style
Under the wider New Age genre, his music styles include Ambient music, World music, Electronic music, Ethnic music, Symphonic music and Soundtrack. Among other adjectives, his musical signature has been described as melodic, intense, contagious, emotional and meaningful.
Australis' style is characterized by very rich instrumentation present even in his most simplistic pieces; very melodic and clearly defined leads built over solid tonal bases (consisting of deep evolving pads or full orchestral arrangements); and engaging rhythms, often ethnically influenced.
Instrumentally, Australis' music uses the expected electronic synthesizers and samplers, bringing unusual and interesting sound effects to blend with the main musical body. However, much of his material also exhibits classical instruments which include piano, strings (violins and ensembles) and winds (clarinets, oboes, etc). Additionally, he also includes exotic instruments for his more ethnic/world material: native winds and strings (zampona, charango) from the Andes regions of South America, and also from the Middle East (zurna, darbouka, etc).
Another interesting characteristic of Australis' music is the dissimilar styles he explores and compiles in his discs. For example, the album "Lifegiving" starts with a very soft, relaxing, nature-driven title track; but then the second track carries a completely different more electronic flavor. Then the third track comes and it has yet another color that deeply reminds of a dramatic soundtrack. Later on the disc other styles will also be represented, which include quasi-techno-dance "Fire Tamer", classic orchestra "The Enchantment", and the ethnic "Sacred Earth".
According to an interview he did for Lost Frontier late 2005, this gathering of styles is a consequence of the messages he is trying to convey through his music: "I don't pay as much attention to styles as to the messages I am trying to communicate."
Judging by the samples available at the Australis' official website, it appears the upcoming album "The Gates of Reality" follows this same approach comprising a wide range of styles that go from the purely electronic, to the epic, to the ethnic.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Released Works
- Lifegiving (May 2005)
[edit] Contributions
- Echoes of Tuvalu (Compilation, various artists - August 2006)
[edit] Unreleased Works
- The Gates of Reality (to be released in early 2008)
