Old Man River
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | INDIE
Music
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REVIEWED 23.09.10
Trust is a must! Old Man River AKA Ohad Rein has big expectations to live up to in following the success of his debut offering Good Morning, which spawned the big radio-friendly singles La and Sunshine. There is no doubt that the expectations are high and fans can rest assured that this album is well worth the time to feast upon and experience.
While there aren’t the big singles on Trust to compare to the debut, it does show that Rein is continuing to move on and put his best foot forward in trying to find music nirvana. Rein’s recent pilgrimage to India is a significant influence on the album and the chimes that are heard before In This World remain a constant right through. The feel of this album is quite calming and well measured, almost to the point where I should be burning some incense in the lounge room.
The magic on this album is unveiled on gems such as You Am Me and Our Love Will Win, which would make the lovestruck a little gushy inside. Comparing both Old Man River albums side by side they actually complement each other quite well; the debut maybe a little more Beatles inspired as opposed to Rein this time going more a Bob Dylan feel. The theme of the importance of culture stands out on Trust, particularly with India, Norway, Shanti Aaye and Religion, where Rein goes all exotic and uses a wide range of instruments – fifteen, in fact.
The closer Kaiyumas Lullaby is a rather dreamy conclusion and for me Trust can be touted as a successful follow-up to Good Morning, but whether the rest of the world thinks so will be a matter of time. - RIP IT UP
Soon after the breakthrough success of his first album Good Morning, in 2007, Sydney based Singer Songwriter Old Man River disappeared.
He won the blued and roots work of the year APRA award in 2009 for his gloriously psychedelic track Sunshine and has been gaining momentum on the Australian airwaves.
But for a while OMR, also know as Ohad Rein was gone. Or so it appears. Turns out he was in Italy. And Japan and South Korea, where his debut soared to heights that surprised Rein, more than anyone. Now he's back with Trust. As he told one interviewer "I feel like a hungry bear coming out of hibernation and I love it." Rein's enthusiasm is obvious on Trust; the album bursts with life and joy.
Like his debut, the album is warm, richly melodic and infused with Eastern instrumentation. There are some unexpected turns. On Shanti Aaye, Rein is accompanied by Indian singers the Shanti Choir, a couple of traditional Indian stringed instruments, the santoor and sarangi and vocalist Hamskia Iyer for a verse in Hindi. Somehow it works and entrances as a Western Pop Song. Rein also treads a more traditional indie- pop path/ Norway ( I Like it Like this) is an instantly hummable radio - friendly, guitar - driven single. Trust was recorded in Sydney, Tel Aviv ( rein spent much of his childhood in Israel) and Mumbai, and it shows. The Sound is sunny, (gently) spiritual and sitar - filled ; a perfect album to usher in summer. - THE AUSTRALIAN - 2010
Old Man River has a style with a warm and unique voice that ensures his songs remain distinctly different than anything else around at the moment. Old Man Rivers debut offering will tell you a story, make you sing, and bring a smile. - Drum Media
This Beatles-esque romp befits a man of the world, with sadness suffocating beneath the brevity of this pop tune. Celebrating everyday aspects of life, we still hear a longing for death - an amazing talent to watch for the future. - Brag Magazine
One of the most interesting things about Old Man Rivers fascination of 60's pop, with eastern influences is that it is often dark. Being trapped by your own optimism and longing for the sun are recurring themes on this brilliant debut. Modest, lovable and effective. **** 4 stars. - Rolling Stone Magazine
TROUSERS
Welcome to our latest candidate for single of the year. This gorgeous song recalls all the greats including The Beatles and Bob Dylan, melding laidback folk rock with '60's psychedelic pop. And there's something truly irresistible about steel guitar and handclaps. Old Man River - Ohan Rein to his mates - is a Sydney-based singer-songwriter with a captivating and soothing voice, the kind of vocals anyone can sing along to. Another standout track on the EP is 'Table For 2', a beautiful slice of musical romance. - THE DAILY TELEGRAPH - June 15, 2006
In late 2004, Old Man River - singer-songwriter Ohad Rein - did what most musicians dream of: he made his debut with a song so infectious and joyful that it became a hit on radio and TV. Over the course of the summer, Rein's psychedelic folk-pop tune 'Sunshine' became the song that people couldn't help singing or humming along with. At one point, it was the most-played song on Triple J. It also carried across to TV, where it was used in advertisements including one for women's underwear. Not that Rein had the experience of turning on the tube and hearing his song. "I was actually away, I was overseas and I don't have a television anyway," says the 27-year-old. "I underestimated the power of television - once that was aired, everybody I knew called me and said, 'I've heard this song on television.' I was like, 'Wow, television.'" Rein, it turns out, is more travelling hippie than anything else. He was born in Sydney, raised in Israel and, since completing his three years of compulsory military service there, has spent most of his twenties wandering the globe. As soon as he was released from the army he made for New York City, where he regularly busked in the subway and Central Park. It was there he had the ultimate surreal moment when he came face to face with Yoko Ono. "I used to sit on one of the benches in Strawberry Fields and play Beatles tunes. One day I'm playing 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' and really getting into it and closing my eyes, and when I opened them Yoko Ono was in front of me. I was like...uh..ah..Yoko Ono! She gave me this smile and like this sign of approval, like, 'yeah, keep it up'." After a year in New York, Rein headed to Varanasi in India to learn to play the sitar. The experience had a lasting effect - Eastern influences still swirl through his groove-laden sound. He eventually found his way back to Sydney and it didn't take long to hook up with childhood friends Edo and Nadav Kahn of Gelbison. "We hadn't seen each other in 15 years," he says. "I just remember rocking up to the place they were staying at in Bondi - I think they were staying at Ben Lee's place - and there was this instant connection." Then Rein and the Kahns joined forces with Luke Steele from the Sleepy Jackson to form Nations by the River, who released a 2004 album. "The connection between the four of us was really special. There was so much love during the recordings and the shows afterwards, and I think that spirit's all in the album. You can hear it." - THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD - Metro June 30 - July 6
Discography
Sunshine - EP (independent 2004)
Holes In The Valley - album (Astralwerks/EMI 2005)
Trousers - EP (independent 2006)
Good Morning - Album (SonyBMG March 2007 - Australia / Italy / Germany / Japan)
You're On My Mind - EP ( Stop Start - EMI April 2010/ Australia)
TRUST - Album ( SONY June 2010 - Japan)
Photos
Bio
After the success of his 2007 debut, Good Morning, you might have expected Ohad Rein, aka Old Man River, to record a quick follow-up and capitalise on his growing popularity. Instead, the enigmatic Sydneysider has kept music lovers in suspense: over the past three years, hes barely played a show on Australian soil. With no new tunes on the radio and no gigs to attend, youd be forgiven for thinking that Old Man River had dropped off the face of the Earth.
But Rein has been far from idle. The years since 2007 have been some of the busiest of his life, full of international adventures, business developments and personal triumphs. Music has taken him all over the world to countries like Italy, Japan and Korea, where Good Morning has been a chart-topping success; and to Israel and India, where he found the inspiration to write an albums-worth of new material. Back home, he signed a new publishing deal with J. Albert & Son, won the APRA Award for Blues & Roots Artist of the Year and he connected with a new record label, Stop Start (EMI), who were passionate about his grand vision for the new album. And in mid-2009, he and his partner welcomed their first child into the world. So in many ways - new beginnings, for this amazing talent.
Now, Rein is finally set to return to the spotlight with Trust an album that builds on the foundation of Good Morning yet sounds like nothing hes done before. Its a glorious collection of pop music, infused with global sounds and held together by ambitious, widescreen production. The sunny melodies and lyrical honesty that defined OMRs early work are still present, but theres also a new sense of maturity that makes these songs resonate more profoundly.
This album is very different in the sense that everything became deeper, says Rein. The sound is much richer. There are a lot more textures and elaborate production on this album... I feel like I've let myself open up on this album and expose more personal layers
Listening to Trust is like taking an exhilarating, cosmopolitan journey. The album was written while Old Man River was on the road in Asia, Europe and America, then recorded over a 12-month period at studios in Sydney, Tel Aviv and Mumbai. A cornucopia of musicians from all corners of the globe contributed to the records full-bodied sound, and Rein enlisted several renowned producers to helm the recording sessions.
For the first album, I was limited by budget and other constraints, he says. I didnt realise a lot of my aspirations. But this time I was following a philosophy of what would I do if I was free to do ANYTHING I dreamed of so even though I was paying for the recording I funded it like I was on a major label.
Trusts behind-the-scenes talent includes producers Wayne Connolly (You Am I, Youth Group, Sarah Blasko), Ori Avni from Israel, and legendary Indian record-maker Daman Sood (Jagjit Singh, Abida Parveen). Ive always had this dream to go to India and record something, Rein explains. I thought it would happen further down the road, but while I was recording, I started thinking all these existential thoughts: Who knows if theres going to be a next album? Whats the point of sitting and waiting? Lets live the dream now.
He continues: So we went to India and we managed to track down this producer guru that I'm a great fan of. He used to be really big in the 60s and 70s and responsible for the finest works in Indian music history, but hes not producing any more: hes a born-again Christian. Hes the pastor of a church now. But he was happy to do this recording, as a one-off. He's quite a character and looks a bit like the Indian equivalent of Marlon Brando.
Finally, OMR flew the Trust master tapes to the USA, where Tony Hoffer (Beck, Air, Phoenix) mixed the record and tied together its many disparate strands on the key cuts from the album.
Back in Australia, Rein set to work assembling a touring band that would do the new album justice. He took these new players out on the road in May for a low-key run of shows, and is planning more extensive touring in the months ahead. I always felt like the band could improve, technically, he admits. This new band is amazing: the kind of musicians Ive always dreamed of playing with. The live show sounds about a trillion times better now.
Everything about this album is more professional, he adds. This time, were doing things properly.
2010 is shaping up to be the year that Rein reaches a new level of connectedness, both with those who already follow his music and with audiences he has yet to touch. Hes ready for mainstream success but hed be just as happy with cult status. Music is a beautiful industry, he says, because it puts you in your place. When we toured Good Morning, we could play to 20,000 people at a festival in Italy one week, and then play to five people at a pub in Bunbury the next. Its like one day youre a king, and the next da
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