Wino & Conny Ochs - Heavy Kingdom

“Hi everyone I’m Penfold.   Welcome to Penfold’s Wildlife Adventures.  In today’s episode you’ll follow along as I try to observe the legendary Wino and his latest musical accomplice Conny Ochs in their natural environment, the Heavy Kingdom.  That’s right friends!  I’m travelling deep into the heart of the Heavy Kingdom, and I don’t know what I’ll find once I get there.  All I know for certain is that I have to go.  This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!  Join me won’t you?”

“Welcome back friends.  My crew and I touched down at an airport near the outskirts of the Heavy Kingdom about an hour ago.  Once we retrieved our camera equipment from the tarmac we passed through customs and met up with our guide.  His name was Gunther, and boy did he ever look the part!  He was dressed in all black from head to toe.  Black shoes, black denim jeans, thick black belt with an enormous silver animal skull buckle, worn black leather vest over worn black t-shirt.  Couple that with his unkempt hair, multiple piercings and omnipresent sneer.  This was obviously one heavy dude.  Nobody messed with Gunther.”

“We drove in Gunther’s vehicle, which to my estimation was more like a tank, through the Kingdom’s treacherous landscape.  Navigating several deep ravines filled with enormous boulders fallen from the towering mountains looming overhead was rather intimidating.  Thankfully, we eventually cleared the mountain range and emerged into an expansive savannah.  Everyone took out their cameras when we noticed several herds of large animals grazing in the distance.  If we were not on such a tight schedule I would have asked Gunther to stop his half-track.  It’s too bad, but the photos turned out great!”

“A short time later the sun began to disappear below the horizon.  As the day turned to night, Gunther pointed out lights emerging from the darkness far out in front of us.  He informed us that those lights came from the capital city of the Heavy Kingdom.  I couldn’t believe it.  We were almost there!  Sure enough, as we got closer to our destination the lights got brighter and brighter.  More numerous too.  When we were still several miles away I could easily make out the gigantic ring of skyscrapers that effectively formed the capital city’s border.  Passing beneath these sky-conquering structures we entered into a virtual labyrinth of streets and alleyways.”

“Thank goodness for Gunther.  Left to my own devices I would never have been able to find my way around this bustling city.  Fifteen minutes later our guide stopped the vehicle and pointed to his right.  I turned in my seat to see a small building sitting between two skyscrapers.  The front of the building was unadorned except for a neon sign indicating the door was open.  I thought Gunther was kidding me, but he insisted that the men we were looking for would be inside.  Trusting our guide my crew and I exited the vehicle and entered the building.  Sure enough, there on a slightly elevated stage were two men with guitars in hand standing in front of some speaker cabinets.  Could it be?  Yes!  Yes it was!  It was Wino and Conny Ochs!”

Good day waveriders.  Truly, I mean that.  This is a good day.  Scratch that.  This is a great day!  What fills me with such positivity?  Simply this.  I’ve listened to the stunning new Wino & Conny Ochs album Heavy Kingdom.  Stunning might not be a strong enough descriptor in this case.  I’m really not interested in mincing words right now.  Heavy Kingdom is firmly planted in my list of the best albums of the year, and it’s staying there.  Allow me to persuade you as to why you should all feel this way too.

If you are a regular visitor to The Ripple Effect I’m one hundred percent certain that you do not need me to explain who Scott “Wino” Weinrich is, or explain that this man is a legend in several heavy metal circles.  His work in bands such as Saint Vitus, The Obsessed, The Hidden Hand, Shrinebuilder, Spirit Caravan, etc. speaks for itself.  Conny Ochs on the other hand might be an unknown quantity.  I was introduced to this talented young German artist in early 2011 when I had the opportunity to review his solo debut album.  Raw Love Songs drilled the name Conny Ochs permanently into my brain with its elegance and emotional resonance.  I love that album!  So how did these two artists meet and decide to write music together?

The genesis of Heavy Kingdom occurred back in 2010.  That was when Conny Ochs opened up for Wino on his solo acoustic tour in support of Adrift, his latest album.  As the story goes, the two artists immediately found musical kinship and by the end of the tour they were performing with each other onstage.  I suppose I would call that a pretty good indicator for future collaboration.  Not wasting any time the two recorded an album of material near the end of the tour entitled Labour Of Love.  Honestly, I had no idea about this album until I had done some research for this writeup.   Fast forward to 2012 and we have Heavy Kingdom.

Allow me to reinforce my position.  Heavy Kingdom is a magnificent album!  These two musicians have put their heart and soul down on each of these eleven songs.  Conny Ochs’ soulful, haunting vocals perfectly complement Wino’s gruff, weathered voice when he is singing lead (and vice versa).  The only other instrumentation on these tracks is their guitars.  That’s it.  No bass.  No drums.  No strings.  It’s just two guys with their guitars laying down some serious music.  Perhaps it is due to this simplicity that these songs sound so incredibly honest.  They’re beautiful.  They’re moving.  They’re heavy as all get out!  You can ask me to pick a favorite out of the bunch but you’re wasting your breath.  I’m telling you it can’t be done.  Different songs offer different observations and provoke different emotions.  One day I’ll favor a song like “Heavy Kingdom”.  The next I’ll favor “Dark Ravine”.  The point is that every song on this album is a winner.  It’s true.  I watched the entire ribbon ceremony online.

Waveriders you have to hear this album!  If you’re a follower of Wino or Conny Ochs this is a mandatory listen.  If you are a fan of honest musical expression, pick up a copy of Heavy Kingdom immediately.  While I can’t make the claim that this music will change your life, I can promise that it will definitely alter your listening habits.  Whatever you are listening to now will have to make room for Heavy Kingdom.  My apologies go out to those albums that fall by the wayside.

--Penfold

Conny Ochs - Raw Love Songs

“Honestly!  What do I pay you for Penfold?”
“I’m doing my best boss.”
“Your best?  This is what you call your best?  I send you out over a month ago to find me the next big thing, and you fail to locate one bankable artist.  You call yourself a talent scout?”
“Mr. Im-Basil, I don’t know what you mean.  I have found several high quality singers and songwriters recently.  Haven’t you received any of the music samples I’ve sent you?”
“Of course I have.  The employees in the mail room actually know how to do their job.  Unfortunately, that is not something I can say about you.”
“But the samples…”
“Rubbish, the lot of them!”
“Rubbish?  You can’t be serious sir?”
“Look Penfold.  I want you to listen to me very closely.  Son, I’ve worked in the music industry since before you were born.  Why, I started in this business around the time that disco was king!”
“But the artists I…”
“Don’t interrupt me, son!  As I was saying, I’ve been in this business a long time.  I’ve seen the ups and the downs.  I’ve seen formats come, and I’ve seen formats go.  Do you know what I’ve learned in all of that time Penfold?”
“No Mr. Im-Basil.”
“I’ve learned how to spot a winner.  Winners, without exception, all share common traits.  One; they are physically attractive.  Two; they sound very similar to someone who is already successful and thus will be easily palatable to the listening public.  And three; most importantly they are young, naïve, or desperate enough to go along with any and all instructions from me…the record company.”
“I’m sure you’re correct sir.  But what about Conny Ochs?  I really liked his music.”
“Yes Penfold.  I’m sure you did.  Trouble is…you appear to be the only one.”
“How do you know that sir?”
“It’s easy son.  We sent Conny Ochs’ album, Raw Love Songs, out to our market research company for a battery of tests.”
“Tests, sir?”
“Yes.  We rely on our market research more and more to let us know what song or artist will become a hit, and which won’t.”
“How did Conny Ochs fare?”
“I won’t lie to spare your feelings Penfold.  He failed the tests.  First, we asked a hundred males, ages 15 to 21, whether they would buy an album entitled Raw Love Songs.  Five out of the hundred said they might.  Most of them said titles like that were for girls.  Next we asked a hundred females, ages 14 to 19, whether or not they believed a German guy could conceivably win American Idol.  A whopping two out of the hundred thought that that was possible, but their votes were discounted when it was discovered they were wearing lederhosen.  Finally we asked two hundred people, males and females of various ages, what they thought of Mr. Ochs’ song “Good House”.  They listened while waiting in line for Starbucks drinks.  By the time they received their orders and exited the line, most people could not remember anything about the song.  Those that did could only form responses such as, “Yeah, it was okay”.  The bottom line here Penfold is that I asked you to find me the next Justin Bieber, and instead you offer me the next **************.”
“Who?”
“Exactly.  You’re fired.  And take your music samples with you.”
“Fine!  I will!  And don’t worry Mr. Im-Basil.  I know exactly who will appreciate Conny Ochs and his music.”

Ah, there you are my fellow waveriders.  I can’t adequately express how happy I am to see you after my recent corporate ordeal.  You’ve heard about it?  Yeah, it’s lunacy!  After I received my walking papers, I stormed out and came straight here to let you in on the goodness that is Conny Ochs, and his album Raw Love Songs.  You’re going to love this guy, I know it!

Conny Ochs is a German singer/songwriter with talent to spare.  While he is a member of the rock ‘n roll band The Baby Universal, Raw Love Songs marks his first official solo release.  And it is indeed a solo release.  The vast majority of the album is simply the man, his voice, and his guitar pumping out ultra-catchy melodies that stick in your head like a high grade epoxy, or carry you away like an heir loomed magic carpet.  Yes there are occasions when those basic elements are accompanied by some sound effect or additional instrument, but the spotlight never wavers from the star of the show.  There is significant beauty in this simplicity.

If there is anyone out there concerned that the lack of musical contributors might lead to songs that mirror one another, rest assured.  There is plenty of variety on offer here.  Not only do the songs that make up this album run the gamut of emotions, they also differ compositionally as well.  We’re talking varied running lengths, tempos, dynamics, time signatures…the works.  Trust me.  The listener can easily discern one song from another.  This is one of the great strengths of Raw Love Songs.  The greatest strength of the album however, is Conny Ochs himself.

This young man’s voice is extraordinary.  If you can, ignore the lyrics that he is singing for a moment.  Think of his vocals solely as the second instrument playing a duet with the guitar.  The point of this exercise is to comprehend just how emotive the vocals really are throughout the album.  Words are unnecessary.  The listener can easily understand the emotion Mr. Ochs is trying to convey simply by listening to his vocal tone.  Sometimes it’s light and airy, and other times it’s urgent and foreboding.  Another aspect I appreciate about the vocals is how interchangeable they are in my mind.  What I mean to say is that while they work so very well in their present context, I can easily see them fronting a full band’s musical output.  In my opinion, that’s a pretty special trait.

As you might have guessed, I don’t believe there is a weak song to be found on Raw Love Songs.  My personal favorites are the soothing “Good House”, the rollicking “Angels and Demons”, and the tender “Waiting For The Monster”.  The fact that there are seven more standouts to be discovered on this album is icing on the cake.  Mmmmm…delectable cake.  My fellow waveriders.  If you are looking for some new, honest, and wholesome music, or if you just need a break from all that ultra-heavy metal out there look into Conny Ochs and his album Raw Love Songs.  You won’t regret it.  And if there are any metal heads out there who still question how good this album is, I have one last piece of information you might find interesting.  Wino likes this guy’s tunes (Conny Ochs opened for Wino on his acoustic tour), and they are working together on new music to be put out in the future.  Yep…thought that might convince you.

--Penfold

Buy here: Raw Love Songs
Buy here mp3: Raw Love Songs