Oliver John Wisdom (8 March 1958 – 23 August 2021) was a British musician, and clothing producer, who lived in London. From the 1990s he recorded under the name Space Tribe.

Early life and education

Olli Wisdom was the eldest son of Anthony Wisdom and his wife Charlotte (''née'' Hartstein) and grew up in London and in

Monmouth Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8 ...

, Wales. He went to school in London and at

Hereford Cathedral School Hereford Cathedral School is a private, co-educational boarding and day school for pupils of ages 3 to 18 years, from nursery to sixth form. Its headmaster is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The school's premises a ...

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

Career in music

In the early 1980s Wisdom was the singer in the theatrical

glam Glam is a shortened form of the word glamour. Glam or GLAM may also refer to: Film * ''Glam'' (film), a 1997 experimental drama film Institutions * University of Glamorgan, founded in 1913 and merged into the University of South Wales in 2013 ...

and gothic rock group

Specimen Specimen may refer to: Science and technology * Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount * Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository f ...

, and co-founded and ran The

Batcave The Batcave is a subterranean location appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is the headquarters of the superhero Batman, whose secret identity is Bruce Wayne and his partners, consisting of caves beneath his personal r ...

, London's weekly goth club-night at the

Gargoyle Club The Gargoyle Club was a private club on the upper floors of 69 Dean Street, Soho, London, at the corner with Meard Street. It was founded on 16 January 1925 by the aristocratic socialite David Tennant (aristocrat), David Tennant, son of the Ba ...

. Before forming Specimen and opening the Batcave, Wisdom was the

frontman The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

for the

punk band Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid ...

The Unwanted. Their most popular song was a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer, actress, film producer and author. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato) and is known for her 1965 signature hit " These Boots Are Made for Walki ...

's "

These Boots Are Made for Walkin' "These Boots Are Made for Walkin' is a hit song written by Lee Hazlewood and recorded by American singer Nancy Sinatra. It charted on January 22, 1966, and reached No.1 in the United States ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and in the UK Singles Chart. ...

". After the Unwanted, Wisdom joined Metroz for a few months. Wisdom was a pioneer of

psychedelic trance Psychedelic trance, psytrance, or psy is a subgenre of trance music characterized by arrangements of rhythms and layered melodies created by high tempo riffs. The genre offers variety in terms of mood, tempo, and style. Some examples include full ...

for many years. After Specimen split up, in 1986 he went travelling in Asia and in 1989 he came to

Ko Pha-ngan Ko Pha-ngan (, , ) is an island in the Gulf of Thailand in Surat Thani Province of southern Thailand. Ko Pha-ngan has two sister islands: the larger Ko Samui to the south and the smaller Ko Tao to the north. * Estimated perimeter: (estimated 10 ...

in Thailand, where he first encountered the electro-driven wild psychedelic parties on the beach. He stayed there for two years DJing and set up a small studio to make tracks for the parties before moving to

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

, India. Over the next four years, Wisdom spent his time mostly in Goa, but started to travel elsewhere, DJing at parties in Japan, Switzerland, the UK and the United States. In 1993, with his brother Miki, and Richmond, he started Space Tribe clothing in

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

. In 1995, the first Space Tribe tracks were hatched in the studio with Simon Posford (Hallucinogen/

Shpongle Shpongle is a psychedelic music, psychedelic electronic music project from England that formed in 1996. The group includes Hallucinogen (musician), Simon Posford and Raja Ram (musician), Raja Ram (one of three in The Infinity Project). The duo ...

). Wisdom moved to the rainforest in

Byron Bay Byron Bay ( Minjungbal: ''Cavvanbah'') is a beachside town located in the far-northeastern corner of New South Wales, Australia (in Bundjalung Country). It is located north of Sydney and south of Brisbane. Cape Byron, a headland adjac ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and set up the Rainforest Space Base studio. Space Tribe released its first album, ''Sonic Mandala'', on Spirit Zone in 1996. In 2004 Space Tribe Music was set up as a record label, providing an outlet for Space Tribe releases and compilation albums. Space Tribe also made many tracks in collaboration with other artists such as GMS, CPU and

Electric Universe Electric Universe is a psychedelic trance project from Germany formed by Boris Blenn and Michael Dressler in 1991. Their first EP release, ''Solar Energy'', was an instant hit with the underground trance scene and is often credited with putting th ...

, working under the name ESP.

Personal life

Wisdom had one daughter, born in 1996. He died on 23 August 2021, at the age of 63, and was buried at

St Pancras and Islington Cemetery St Pancras and Islington Cemetery is a cemetery in East Finchley, North London. Although it is situated in the London Borough of Barnet, it is run as two cemeteries, owned by two other London Boroughs, London Borough of Camden, Camden (formerl ...

on 13 September.

Discography

Specimen Specimen may refer to: Science and technology * Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount * Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository f ...

* ''Batastrophe'' (

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gotteh ...

, 1983) * ''Azoic'' (

Jungle Records Jungle Records is a British independent record label established in 1982, specializing in punk rock, post punk, gothic, and alternative releases. From 1982 to 1986, they also operated as a record distributor and were associate members of t ...

, 1997) * ''Electric Ballroom'' (

Metropolis Records Metropolis Records is a record label that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania ...

, 2007) * ''Alive at the Batcave'' (Eyes Wide Shut Recordings, 2008) * ''Wake the Dead'' (Batcave Music, 2013)

Space Tribe

*''Sonic Mandala'' (

Spirit Zone Records Spirit Zone Recordings was an independent record label releasing Goa trance, psychedelic trance, progressive trance and ambient music. Founded in 1994 by Wolfgang Ahrens (a.k.a. DJ Antaro), the label has been defunct since July 2005. Some of the ...

, 1996) *''The Ultraviolet Catastrophe'' (Spirit Zone Records, 1997) *''The Future's Right Now'' (Spirit Zone Records, 1998) *''2000 O.D.'' (Spirit Zone Records, 1999) *''Religious Experience'' (Spirit Zone Records, 2000) *''Shapeshifter'' (Spirit Zone Records, 2001) *''Heart Beat'' (Spirit Zone Records, 2002) *''Time S-T-R-E-T-C-H'' (Spirit Zone Records, 2004) *''Collaborations'' (Space Tribe Music, 2004) *''Thru the Looking Glass'' (Space Tribe Music, 2005) *''Electro Convulsive Therapy'' (Space Tribe Music, 2008) *''Continuum Vol.1'' (Space Tribe Music, 2011) *''Continuum Vol.2'' (Space Tribe Music, 2011) *''Peak Experience'' (Space Tribe Music, 2011) *''Space between Atoms'' (Space Tribe Music, 2021)

ESP

*''Electric Space Phenomenon'' (Space Tribe Music, 2006) *''Sensory Overload'' (Space Tribe Music, 2007)

Alien Jesus

*''Open Your Eyes'' (Space Tribe Music, 2010) *''Time Machine'' (Space Tribe Music, 2012) (EP)

Mad Tribe

*''Spaced Out'' (TIP Records, 2015) *''Amazing Tales from Outer Space'' (TIP Records, 2017)

References

External links

Official Space Tribe websiteSpace Tribe discography @ Discogs
*
AllMusic listing
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wisdom, Olli 1958 births 2021 deaths 20th-century English musicians 21st-century English musicians British psychedelic trance musicians Burials at St Pancras and Islington Cemetery DJs from London Electronic dance music musicians English electronic dance music DJs English male singers English people of Austrian-Jewish descent English punk rock singers English record producers English trance musicians Goa trance musicians British gothic rock musicians Metropolis Records artists Musicians from London People educated at Hereford Cathedral School Singers from London Sire Records artists