Oz Fritz

Grammy award winner Oz Fritz has worked as an audio professional, music producer, and sound architect for over 45 years.  Starting out in live sound reinforcement, Fritz transitioned into studio recording after moving to New York in the mid ‘80s. Highlights of his career include a long-time collaboration with producer/musician Bill Laswell.  They have worked on over 120 projects together in the recording studio, live concerts and remote field recordings with such artists as Ginger Baker, Iggy Pop, The Ramones, Herbie Hancock, George Clinton, Tony Williams, Elvin Jones, Sonny Sharrock, William S. Burroughs, and Bob Marley. Other studio engineering credits include Tom Waits, John P. Hammond, Miles Davis, and Primus.

His multi track field recordings include the acclaimed Master Musicians of Jajouka album Apocalypse Across the Sky in Morocco, extensive work in West Africa, and the Jali Kunda cd and book documenting music of the griots (African oral historians) organized by Foday Musa Suso and Laswell.

Reading Cosmic Trigger at the age of 21 permanently reversed his synapses leading to a life-long study of magick and various other brain change technologies as well as an enduring interest in anything written by Robert Anton Wilson.

At a seminar in the late ‘80s Fritz asked RAW about the necessity of going to an esoteric School. The answer he received, “I think it would be a good idea.” RAW suggested his friend E.J. Gold’s Fake Sufi school with the caveat, “get out before it’s too late.”

At one of their initial meetings Gold mentioned that “the Bardo can be navigated by sound,” a comment that led to another recording trajectory capturing street sounds and the acoustics of sacred spaces with two track digital recorders. Oz has done this in such diverse locations as France, England, Portugal, India, Japan, Australia, Mongolia, China, Uzbekistan and Egypt – most famously, the King’s Chamber in the Great Pyramid of Giza. In 2004 he released a collage/collection of his favorites on the Belgium Sub Rosa label. The album, All Around the World drew mixed reviews. One person said: “I am more than convinced this disc can transport your psyche and soul to regions you will never otherwise experience in this lifetime.” Another wrote: “Pure garbage. Milking a goat would be more fun.”

Link to album:Oz Fritz: All Around the World

In 2012 Oz developed a strong interest in the French philosopher Gilles Deleuze. His studies led to him to recording a video series of commentaries on one of Deleuze’s most difficult books, The Logic of Sense. https://www.youtube.com/@ozfritz539/videos

Fritz lives in Nevada City, California. He has a blog which includes a potpourri of music industry war stories, book reviews and philosophy called The Oz Mix.  https://oz-mix.blogspot.com/.