Why Fozzielogic?
Fozzielogic was started in 2009, as a solo project for Sydney-based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, John Berry. John had his first music lesson on a Drawbar Organ, in 1979, at the tender age of 6 and almost hasn’t put an instrument down since that day. While a wide variety of instruments have appeared on Fozzielogic releases over the years, from odd homemade percussion, through to trumpets and layered soft-synths, guitar remains at the heart of almost all Fozzielogic music; whether that be subtle finger-style acoustic and classical arpeggios, jazzy riffs or soaring guitar solos. What can’t be made better with a guitar solo, I ask you?
While the music has always come fairly easily in the world of Fozzielogic, sometimes the lyrics have not. During the lead-up to recording the album ’Making Mountains’, John collaborated with another Sydneysider – songwriter and producer Kate Donnelly, whose contributions have included the lyrics to the haunting ‘Mr Wolf’ and invaluable production and lyrical assistance across the entire suite of songs. This has seen Fozzielogic move past its humble solo origins.
Shouting at Angels
So, in John’s dingy Sydney apartment – come studio, he set about recording a bunch of songs that had been plaguing his thoughts for the previous twenty years. It seemed fairly obvious after a couple of months that there was a distinct theme developing and he decided that just like his heroes of 1970s prog-rock, that the album would need a concept to glue it together. That concept mirrored his changing mental state at the time, juxtaposed against the change from night to day – a story that took twenty-four songs to tell. If you get a spare 1h 40min, I encourage you to have a listen.
All the lyrics are posted here and you can most certainly buy, download or stream at the usual locations, including but not limited to the familiar providers below.
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Making Mountains
Making Mountains is the follow-up to 2010’s Shouting At Angels. While this album is unmistakably Fozzielogic, it contains a very wide-range of musical styles, sown around the edges. It also eschews some of the thousands layers from previous works, in order to produce a crisper, easier-listening album. However, the core elements remain, such as: intricate acoustic guitar and piano, floating synths and soaring guitar solos. Current fans will not be disappointed, while the music is now vastly more accessible to new ears!
The lyrics and themes on Making Mountains are a little lighter than the original offering. However, while the level of despair has abated, it has been replaced by a good dose of frustration, anger and of course, love. The themes range from dealing with annoying bus commuters, on Cat’s Got Your Tongue, to indictments of actions of parts of the Catholic Church in Shining A Light, through to all the positivity that comes from meeting your person, on Storm. These are themes we can all relate to.
All the lyrics are posted here and you can most certainly buy, download or stream at the usual locations, including but not limited to the familiar providers below.
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Dream a Little Nightmare
A third album was squeezed out much quicker than the previous two and while the songs have continued down a similar path to Making Mountains, a sonic middle path has been found, between the complex arrangements found on Shouting At Angels and the sparsity of Making Mountains.
Thematically, Dream A Little Nightmare has gone down a political path. It follows one person’s journey through dealing with the current worldwide political situation, from outright external blame to introspective acceptance and sharing of the outcome as they slowly awaken.
All the lyrics are posted here and you can most certainly buy, download or stream at the usual locations, including but not limited to the familiar providers below.
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Fallacious Folly
A fourth album was recorded during a rare sabbatical from day-jobs, rather than squeezed in on nights and weekends. As a result, it has a more cohesive appeal to it.
Thematically, it is largely reflective of topics more relevant to most, including the struggles of office politics, depression (and the way out), feelings of inadequacy and imposter syndrome to mention a few. Really, the writing came out of the reason for the above-mentioned sabbatical. So, hopefully something we can all relate to.
The album is heading far more in the direction of 2010’s Shouting at Angels, with the arrangements becoming far more complex, which will probably appeal especially to our original fans. If you’re a fan of the later work, we have attempted to find a middle-ground, by squeezing many of the songs into more accessible lengths. However, we still made room for a couple of six minute oddities. How could we not – this is Fozzielogic. We can’t have pop songs on the album!!!
All the lyrics are posted here and you can most certainly buy, download or stream at the usual locations, including but not limited to the familiar providers below.
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Taciturn Tales
The fifth album, like many others of its time was written and recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially influenced by the early stages of lock down. While not all the tracks are about the pandemic, they are certainly influenced by it, or our reactions to it.
The music continues a natural progression from Fallacious Folly, mixing occasional elements of folk and jazz into the usual guitar, analogue synth and pad-driven rock songs all will be used to, from the inception of Fozzielogic, some twelve years ago.
Lyrically, there are no surprises and nothing is obvious. So, we hope you enjoy making your own take on the songs!
All the lyrics are posted here and you can most certainly buy, download or stream at the usual locations, including but not limited to the familiar providers below.
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If you have any questions, or just want to get in touch, I thoroughly encourage you! Hope to chat, soon.