Dave Wolff

Oort Smog is a two-member progressive rock project comprised of Patrick Shiroishi and Mark Kimbrell, of the Los Angeles quintet Upsilon Acrux. Both the band and the project play what is termed “brutal prog,” complex instrumental progressive rock with more intensity and passion than usual. The difference is that Oort Smog is strictly a saxophone/drum ensemble. The idea of starting Oort Smog was to create music that hadn’t been done by prog-rock bands, as opposed to placing emphasis solely on perfection and hero worship. Shirioshi and Kimbrell listen to progressive rock, progressive metal and black metal, sharing the ambition of Death, Meshuggah, Deathspell Omega and Mayhem of expanding music beyond its reach. The band was also heavily inspired by Sam Hillmer from Z's solo project, and John Coltrane and Rashied Ali's sax-drum duo record Interstellar Space. To read about the band and find their Bandcamp profile, check out the interview at the link below:

https://aeafanzine.blogspot.com/2019/06/interview-with-oort-smog-by-dave-wolff.html