Matheos recruited Moore and Dream Theater's then-drummer Mike Portnoy to perform on what was originally planned to be a Matheos solo album. Matheos and Portnoy originally planned to produce a progressive metal album similar in style to Matheos' work in Fates Warning. Moore changed the music's direction, incorporating electronica into the original progressive metal sound. The band's debut album was released by InsideOut Music in 2003.
OSI was originally intended to be a one-off project, but Matheos and Moore found they both had gaps in their schedules so produced a follow-up. Free was released in 2006, with Portnoy returning to play drums as a session musician rather than a full band member, due to personal and musical differences between him and Moore. Blood was released in 2009, with Porcupine Tree drummer Gavin Harrison replacing Portnoy. The fourth album Fire Make Thunder was released in 2012 by Metal Blade Records, with Harrison once again on drums.
Moore has described OSI's sound as "a new approach to progressive rock", combining elements of progressive metal and electronica. Moore considers the two genres to be "almost natural enemies", and that the conflict between the two genres "keeps [the music] interesting". Matheos cites progressive rock and heavy metal bands such as Genesis, Jethro Tull, Black Sabbath and UFO as influences. Moore described his influences as minimal techno, experimental, electronic musicians and "bands that play live and then chop it up".
Matheos and Moore primarily work alone, exchanging files and ideas by email. The writing process for all OSI's albums has been the same, with Matheos sending Moore an idea "from just a guitar riff to elaborate, almost completed songs", which Moore then edits and sends back to Matheos. Moore, the band's vocalist and lyricist, has described the process of writing lyrics as an "audio Rorschach test". The lyrics on Office of Strategic Influence feature political themes, but the lyrics on later releases are less political, instead being based on Moore's personal experiences. "I'll start writing a song that has a little bit of a world view or political view or something," he said, "but then by the time I'm finished the lyrics it'll be about a relationship or something like that." On Blood, Moore largely abandoned his earlier stream-of-consciousness approach to writing lyrics, in an attempt to make the lyrics more coherent. "I didn't want it to be like 'Oh, you get your own impression of the lyrics. Everybody has their own idea!' I wanted to have an idea that I wanted to communicate, and something communicable," he explained.
Moore has acknowledged the narrow range of his vocals. He considers his vocal style to "[come] from how I feel when I’m singing, when I'm in the zone of writing lyrics and recording which, a lot of times, comes as the same time. It's sort of an introspective time. A lot of the material lends itself to that kind of voice and that kind of spirit."
2. Osi is the stage name of Israeli-born jazz singer Osi Lewin (pronounced Oh-See). To date, she has only released one studio album, 'Whisper Not', in 2003. The album is a collection of multilingual songs.
Osi is best known to New York cabaret audiences for her riveting star-turn in the Dick Barclay production of PIAF, a tribute to the great French singer Edith Piaf. Osi also appeared for a year-long run at the Hampshire House (in the Plantation Room) where she honed her Brazilian repertoire. Both shows influenced this debut album, titled after the song by the great jazz composer Benny Golson. Osi’s bright voice illuminates the Weiss/Shearing standard, Lullaby of Birdland, and the Rodgers & Hammerstein ballad, Love Look Away, and melts us with the searing Piaf song, Rien De Rien.
Born in Israel, Osi was raised in Israel and for a short time in Los Angeles. She currently makes her home in New York City. Whisper Not was produced by Ray Passman and Emmanuel Mann for LML Music.
Kicking
OSI Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Last night
I was on the visitor's side
And I know you felt it
Deep end
Three A.M.
And if it rings again
I think I'm gonna break it
Don't start telling me
Love is a symphony
Point that phone at the floor
Sure
You can fire anyone else in our neighbourhood
Haven't we've been through this before?
That's my bedroom door you're kickin'
Kickin'
Kickin'
Kickin'
For star sanity
Trapped on a memory
Trapped under water and coal
We drift like refugees
Tossed 'round-roughly
And scream at the border control
It's easy
Just start kickin'
Kickin'
Kickin'
Kickin'
Don't start telling me love is a symphony
Don't start telling me love is a symphony
Don't start telling me love is a symphony
Don't start telling me love is a symphony
The lyrics to OSI's song Kicking in 2-3 are quite open to interpretation. The song seems to be about a tumultuous relationship, replete with conflicting emotions, passion and pent up frustration. The first stanza seems to depict an instance where the singer is torn between love and anger. The line "Four times, last night, I was on the visitor's side" could mean that the singer was visiting the partner, but also feeling like an outsider in the relationship. The line "And I know you felt it, deep end" could be alluding to the fact that the partner is aware of the dissatisfaction the singer feels.
The next line "Three A.M, And if it rings again, I think I'm gonna break it. Again again" is one that many will find relatable. It could be interpreted as the singer getting frustrated by late-night calls from the partner, and wanting to break away from the cycle of conflict. The chorus seems to be a plea for the partner to stop kicking the door, an action suggestive of anger and agitation.
The second verse speaks to the banality of love and relationships. The line "Don't start telling me love is a symphony" could be a comment on how society has romanticized love to the point that it is no longer authentic. The song then takes a political spin in the lines "Trapped under water and coal, we drift like refugees, Tossed 'round-roughly and scream at the border control." This could be a commentary on global issues happening at the time of the song's writing, but it also ties back to the notion that conflict and forced migration are a result of our inability to coexist harmoniously with others.
Overall, the song's lyrics seem to be relatable, given that almost everyone has experienced relationship strife and political struggles in their lives. It's left to the listener to interpret them in their unique way.
Line by Line Meaning
Four times
The singer was on the visitor's side four times last night.
Last night
The events of the song happened the previous evening.
I was on the visitor's side
The singer was not part of what was happening.
And I know you felt it
The artist is aware that the other person felt their presence.
Deep end
There was a strong emotional response from someone involved.
Three A.M.
The events took place at three in the morning.
And if it rings again
The singer is anticipating a phone call or other disturbance.
I think I'm gonna break it
The artist is considering taking dramatic action to stop the disturbance.
Again again
The artist is repeating their intention to take action.
Don't start telling me love is a symphony
The artist is rejecting the idea that love is harmonious and beautiful.
Point that phone at the floor
The singer wants the other person to put down their phone, possibly to stop a disturbance.
Sure
The artist is agreeing with something that has been said or done.
You can fire anyone else in our neighbourhood
The other person has some kind of power in the community.
Haven't we've been through this before?
The singer and the other person have a history of conflict or disagreements.
That's my bedroom door you're kickin'
The other person is aggressively trying to get into the singer's personal space.
For star sanity
The artist wants to maintain their mental health.
Trapped on a memory
The artist is stuck on a particular event or feeling from the past.
Trapped under water and coal
The singer feels weighed down and surrounded by negativity.
We drift like refugees
The singer and the other person are aimless and lost, like people who have fled their homes.
Tossed 'round-roughly
They are being moved around roughly, possibly by forces outside of their control.
And scream at the border control
They are fighting against something that is keeping them apart.
It's easy
The artist is suggesting that it is easy to take action against the other person.
Just start kickin'
The singer is encouraging the other person to fight back.
Don't start telling me love is a symphony
The artist is repeating their rejection of the romanticized view of love.
Don't start telling me love is a symphony
The singer is repeating their rejection of the romanticized view of love.
Don't start telling me love is a symphony
The singer is repeating their rejection of the romanticized view of love.
Don't start telling me love is a symphony
The singer is repeating their rejection of the romanticized view of love.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: JIM MATHEOS, KEVIN MOORE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Troy Carpenter
A most underrated prog supergroup.All 4 albums are stellar.
mein
It's so criminal that this band had almost zero recognition and isn't known at all outside of prog rock/metal communities
sknowbird
Kevin Moore is beyond compare. Matheos and Portnoy are the perfect accompaniment.
Russell Heldt
This is some of the best music ive heard in all my 57 years.
Berthold Dwinger
A great band more people ought to know about
Damion(Lifted Legend 710)
surprised this doesn't have more views reminds me of the eels and a bit of techno
Peter Dimoff
Don't start telling me love is a symphony
point that phone at the floor
shall I
Brilliant. Brilliant. Brilliant.
Srdjan Vukić
Cult sound. IMMORTAL sound. Unique from all aspects. One of my favorite drugs.
William Ware
Still jamming this
Bennett
so good...........!