"GROW WILD" CD & MP3s AVAILABLE AT CD BABY & iTUNES
Richard Gannaway (stringed instruments, vocals) & Jay Oliver (keyboards, synth samples) are the primary composers, artists & producers of AO...
Miriam Stockley of the U.K. has recently joined as a powerful vocal ensemble & also contributes as co-composer... Rod Houison (Miriam's husband & engineer) overdubs & co-produces all Miriam's vocal tracks... Miriam's South African upbringing is what she attributes to the incredible youthful spirit of her tracks... We were introduced to her work on the acclaimed Adiemus project, "Songs of Sanctuary" & are proud to have her as one of us...
Film score composer & producer, Sandeep Chowta of Mumbai, India is a supporting member of the AO production team & through his resources, we have access to fantastic talent & musical traditions throughout that region...
Andy Georges is a contributing artist (stringed instruments) & occasional co-composer... Other contributing artists are: George Bernardo (percussion), Doug Lunn (bass) & various children’s choral ensembles throughout the world...
Most of the recorded textures (winds, bowed instruments, drums, cymbals, shakers, sticks, bells, rattles, etc.) & layers of world indigeny that define AO's extraordinary rhythmic feel are performed by Jay Oliver via synths, samples & keys...
Richard, Jay, Miriam, Sandeep & all AO's supporting members continue to uphold key elements of it's message & directive, "UNITY"...
Influences
-Cycles, orientations, rhythms & textures of village culture around the globe-
-The singularity of Music, Color, Shape & Movement-
-Youth, the vibrant, unguarded human presence & easiest example of beauty, hyper-intellegence & naturally occuring brotherhood-
-The present cycle of change & its simple need for lightheartedness & tolerance-
-The overwhelming evidence that any natural system, unobstructed, is UNITY...is MUSIC...is LOVE-
Sounds Like
World, but more "Universal"...Like nothing you've ever heard...
Peter Gabriel, Afro Celt Sound System, Deep Forest, Adiemus, Ambient, Solas, Imogen Heap, Sting, Varttina, karunesh... All rolled into one...
AO, "music for a new aeon," is vibrant, cinematic, and intoxicatingly rhythmic
- described by critics as "astonishing" (visit
www.aomusic.com). The
immediate freshness of this sound has a way of making people "feel" something
wherever on the Earth they're from. AO music is a complete hybrid of universal
expression; unlike anything ever produced, and appealing to all ages and genres
of preference.
Rick Gannaway and Jay Oliver grew up in St. Louis, MO. They met in 1988 and
moved to the Los Angeles area in 1989. The AO project began in 1996.
Gannaway toured Western Europe and Canada extensively as leader of the group,
Tiger and the Helix before founding the vision of AO. Oliver's credits
include: Sheryl Crow, The Eagles, Celine Dion, Jimmy
Buffett, Bonnie Raitt, Wynona Judd, Glenn Frye, Joe
Walsh, and Dave Weckl. Oliver has also created something
extraordinary with his colleague William Lenihan. You can learn more at
www.soundscience.us.
AO's message is simple - "UNITY" - and its methods come in four components of beauty:
music, color, form, and movement. A key ingredient in AO's unique expression is
powerful vocal ensembles, sung by children throughout the world. Refrain lyrics
are often a variety of ancient languages or carefully crafted phonetics, chosen
for their "shape." The object is not to hold allegiance to any particular region,
so the impression is fresh and exotic from any place on the earth.
Miriam Stockley fortifies these choral ensembles or sings them exclusively
with her own overdubs. Miriam grew up in South Africa before moving to the U.K.,
where she met husband/engineer, Rod Houison... Miriam and Rod are AO's newest
members (learn more at
www.miriamstockley.com).
In 2000, Gannaway and Oliver produced their first AO compilation called "Grow
Wild." They released it in test markets on NPR radio across North America with
excellent reviews.
In 2001, AO teamed up with Frank Mayor of Artist International Management.
Frank brought AO to China and introduced them to CRC (China Record Company).
Through that encounter, AO was invited to compose music for the 2008 Summer
Olympics in Beijing. The song "On Jai Ya" was written and produced for that
purpose and features Miriam Stockley's first recording with AO. Frank also
brought the group to Indonesia and introduced them to the gamelon tradition...
In 2005, Gannaway and Oliver were invited to Sandeep Chowta's studio in
Mumbai, India. There, they rehearsed, then performed the first-ever AO concert
in Bangalore, India. Sandeep is a well-established film score composer in that
region and a new member of the AO production team.
AO's new music collection is called "Twirl" and will be available in the Summer of 2008...
HEY AO, I HOPE U CAN SEND ME A COMMENT BACK TO LET ME KNOW WHEN THE ALBUM IS OUT AND WHAT SONGS MIRIAM STOCKLEY PERFORMS. I THINK WHAT U GUYS DO IS AMAZING. WE NEED MORE PEOPLE IN MUSIC LIKE AO!.
On Jai Ya is amazing, how healing !! I am so blown away by the beauty of the new songs !!! Thank you so much for the add , and congratulations on the olympics !!
Thanks for your friendship. Your music is so accessible it should do very well. Gotta love it! Feel free to drop by and visit any time... Bigger Better Deal
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