Since 2003, La Otracina has been hell-bent on creating highly visionary music that melds sonic ideas from the outer reaches of heavy and weird. The Brooklyn group has released three full-length albums and twelve mini-albums, along with a slew of splits and compilation trackss on labels including Holy Mountain and band founder Adam Kriney's own Colour Sounds Recordings. They have completed eight US tours and one Italian tour, in addition to countless shows in their hometown. Their tireless work ethic and far-reaching musical abilities have earned them a devoted cult following in the underground psychedelic / heavy music world, and their live shows leave fans screaming and fist-pumping in ecstatic awe.
La Otracina's new double-album is the first to feature drummer Kriney as lead vocalist, which catapults the trio into their most cohesive and focused release to date. Reality Has Got to Die showcases the band's mind-blowing ability to evoke the timeless space-rock magic of Hawkwind, the prog-improv wizardry of King Crimson, the fuck-yeah of early Metallica, and the synthesizer mind-warp of Tangerine Dream, all fused in a Krautrock state of mind. This musical journey through deep and heavy sound worlds envokes images of the emerald beyond and the darkest future alien universe, while also staying rooted in the tradition of rock 'n' roll's ever-winding history. But don't confuse this for faux-New-Age blabber--this is street-wise and from the gut, straight from the minds of three men living their art, sacrificing everything and manifesting a boundless sphere of music, ideas, and imagery.
Reality Has Got to Die is a visionary work of sound and concept, steeped in experimentation and creativity, blazing forth with the power of a million minds exploding!
Don't be fooled by the King Diamond-style logo. This liberation of inverted progressive surf rock from psychedelic epithets plays like a fan-fiction account of Dick Dale's meeting with Sonny Sharrock at Amon Düül II's rehearsal space to discuss the "post-rock" epidemic. Unlike so many other instrumental soundtrack bands who employ ho-hum, choose-your-own-adventure tactics, La Otracina sticks to the rails of their own twisting corkscrews and spine-snapping dives. This work does not lend itself to the standard-fare apathy of background music. Blood Moon Raiders is its own ride, with its own ticket, and the doors are locked after take-off. Pinch some headphones to your dome and situate the rest of your form into a beanbag as you navigate the fibrous landscape of a black-light poster. The tracks flow from a subtle new-age contingency to violent bouts with Laotian street gangs. Remember to pack a sack lunch and strap on a machete before mounting this electric buck-bot. Don't fret--the intention has always been to crack open your skull or drown you.
La Otracina was formed in Brooklyn, NY, in the summer of 2003 by drummer Adam Kriney and guitarist Joshua Anzano (now of Tee Pee Records' Titan) to penetrate the deepest and most surreal realms of psychedelia, prog, and krautrock, with an emphasis on exploration. Taking heavy nods from psychedelic forefathers (Flower Travelin' Band, Guru Guru, King Crimson, Neu!, Yes, Agitation Free, Blue Cheer, Amon Duul, etc.), their music is also rooted in a deep understanding and appreciation of free-jazz/improvisation and the wizardry of minimalism-- not to mention the extreme sounds of the Japanese underground. La Otracina's brew of cosmic music is a ride across the galaxy, a slice of magical lemon wedges, a rainbow of crystallized comet dust.
La Otracina is Adam Kriney on drums, Ninni Morgia on electric guitar, and Jordon Schranz on electric bass.
KindaMusik listed La Otracina's Love Love Love 2 CD as one of the top 20 best psychedelic albums of the new millennium, along with releases by Six Organs of Admittance, Bardo Pond, Ghost, and Tower Recordings.