An interview with Eric Landry, member of local band Ooluu
Photo by Matt C.
I’m sitting in a dim, black-lit room in the basement studio of one of the most peculiar Ottawa bands to date. With me are Eric Landry, a University of Ottawa graduate, and Asa Holloh, a fourth-year English major, the lead singer and bassist of Ooluu. Their debut EP Mannequin is being released on Feb. 14.
Any significance behind the date?
“It’s a Friday,” Landry explains, grinning.
On the desk, a miniature Spock and Buddha are having a staring contest, with classical music leaking out of an unseen pair of speakers. “Chopin,” mumbles Holloh when I ask him about it after the interview.
The Fulcrum: Tell me a bit about the band.
Landry: Ooluu is currently me, the vocalist, Zack Thi, guitarist, Ed Zombi, guitarist and human synthesizer/beats machine, and Asa Holloh on the bass.
How would you describe Mannequin?
I think it’s adrenaline pumping and scary, tribal and heavy. Everyone who was involved in the making of Mannequin has put something emotionally into it. It’s a piece of everyone’s soul. When you’re holding a copy of it, you have our demons in your hands.
What was the process of creating that like?
The EP was recorded here in Asa’s basement. There’s so much that’s happened here that I feel like we brought a spirit into existence. We essentially made this album in a haunted place, a place haunted by our own experiences, and our own reflections. Really, what it came down to was that we needed to externalize all of those feelings, and I feel like we did that.
What’s next for Ooluu?
Even though we’re releasing Mannequin now, we’ve started on material for the next full-length album.
So is Ooluu going back underground?
Well, I feel like we have been underground, for us anyway, and we’ve just been working really hard on the EP, but we definitely have some surprises coming. The new material is in a very different mood and a lot less in your face. It’s more about finding power in silences, which is I guess what we’re about to go into after the EP drops.
To the readers who want to know, “Why should I check out Mannequin?”
I think there are a lot of people out there that feel the same way as us and I feel like we’re saying something about the human condition. If you want to hear what a haunted house sounds like, listen to this album. If that’s not enough and you want a simpler reason: it’s been a grey winter, we’re only halfway through, and everyone’s starting to seem pissed off.
Mannequin comes out Feb. 14 at www.ooluu.net.
