OUSIA - Why Is That A Four? / MEISHA- Meisha
By Fred Mills

While these two dimension-folding releases have, on thesurface, little in common stylistically - Meisha being minimalist and guitar-based,Ousia of a more expansive, electronica-informed bent - the pair does seemto hail from a similar head space. These days, genres are being twistedand transmorgrified at such a rapid pace that you practically need a scorecardto tally up the positions of the veterans, rookies and cheerleaders; neitherMeisha nor Ousia seems unduly concerned with the industry balance sheet,both being far more intrigued by the emotional and spirtual sides to musicmaking... {Meisha Review Omitted} Ousia, formerly known as BlueShift, is, as one suspects, more extroverted by virtue of the quintet'salien-costumed stage attire. Astro-man chic notwithstanding, the musicis otherworldly in the most benign and compelling sense. At times it seemsas if the waves of synth melodies and treated-to-the-point-of-unrecognizabilityguitar tones come bubbling up from some subconscious point, like a hazymemory; other times, massive dynamic contrasts and jagged textures suggestthe onset of a nightmare. Rich, ambient droney tunes contrast with edgier,experimental tracks (the title cut even features a didgeridoo being batteredinto pieces by the snarling ghost of Tangerine Dream) - but all the materialhere has the power to transport the open-minded listener to those placeswhere the imagination runs free.