Article By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker ‡ Edited By: Leanne Ridgeway
It has been a little over a month since Houston’s Omotai released their conceptual album ‘A Ruined Oak‘ through Tofu Carnage Records. We shared the stream of the album (here), one that weaves an interlocking tale about the Lost Colony of Roanoke (an island off the coast of North Virginia where 115 colonizers vanished under less than clear circumstances that remains an unsolved mystery to this day).
I’ll warn you now that this NSFW (Not Safe For Work) visualizer may not be for those of you that are squeamish. Some of the imagery and implied associations are a bit subliminally disturbing. Archival footage depicts eyes pierced with needles and scalpels, hearts made to pump by machines, and lungs that collapse and expand with air from tubes. Not sure how it all relates to Roanoke visually but the song’s lyrics do address some community’s calamity where nothing but body parts are left remaining.
‘A Ruined Oak’ is out now on 2xLP and digital formats through Tofu Carnage Records; physical copies can be secured HERE and the digital HERE.
You can also find the ‘Making Waves’ comp – all sales of which will be donated directly to United Way Of Greater Houston’s Hurricane Relief Fund for the victims of Hurricane Harvey – at THIS LOCATION.
Omotai will also perform some select live dates soon while formulating tour plans for 2018. Currently, scheduled ones include:
11/25/2017 Cactus Music – Houston, TX [4pm in-store performance]
1/26/2018 The Secret Group – Houston, TX
2/03/2018 Faust Tavern – San Antonio, TX
