Hæretici 7o74 is a duo of Ovro and Niko Skorpio. Joining forces, the artists bring together the more meditative and ritualistic elements of their solo works, blending it to something completely new and allowing the artists to take on roles other than those in other projects. Hæretici 7o74 concentrates on live performances, enjoying the organic and interactive feel of playing live, with the often surprising turns and twists so integral to live experiences.
The duo started out at Placard #7 Festival in Helsinki (May 22nd, 2004), with Ovro and Niko Skorpio playing together as SkorpiOvro in between their solo sets, creating a smooth transition from one set to the next. This collaboration was well received, both at the event and in the reviews of the released gig recording (Ovro & Niko Skorpio: Live in Placard #7, CD on Some Place Else). The Wire’s Nick Southgate had this to say:
“The standout track, however, brings both artists together on ‘Dreams Which Burn’, a telling title for a piece where Ovro’s paranoid and unresolved soundscapes are buffeted by Niko’s sonically fiercer leanings to produce a disturbingly scorched nightmare.”
Next live performance of the duo, this time as Skorp-i-Ovro, was at Triangelic Trepanations @ Living Room, Turku (Nov 6th, 2004). Utilizing finger cymbals, a bass guitar and a synth in addition to computers, the duo created a hypnotic, ritualistic and somewhat disturbing soundscapes. Or, as one participant of the event put it:
“I felt like I was blindfolded and tied to a pillar on a weird death-ritual type of event in some cold wet subterranian cave spending my last moments just pissing myself with dread, but that was just when I closed my eyes. And I’m generally not the type of person thinking this kind of shit much.”
December 4th in 2004 saw Skorp-i-Ovro live at a private book release party, hosted at the Living Room. The small audience was kept captive by the trance-inducing set, generating comments on the lines of “I don’t know where I went, but you took me somewhere strange!”
After a break in dueting, Niko Skorpio and Ovro re-emerged under the current name Hæretici 7o74 for Placard #8 Festival in Espoo, Finland on June 23rd, 2005. This set was titled Re-setting the Sun in honour of the Summer Solstice. The duo took the audience on a tour of the World from the USofA in the west to the Far East on the way of sound. This particular gig made one member of the audience to break into dancing – with his headphones on! October saw Hæretici 7o74 perform three times in one weekend, twice in Helsinki (squat-come-punk-club Vuoritalo and ex-porn movie theatre Kokoteatteri, respectively) and once in their “homebase” Ostium in Turku. All three sets were different from each other, each designed for the venue they took place. The duo played an intense and rough set at the punk club venue, while the theatre gig was delivered with the band members sitting down, facing each others and incorporating Western Tradition ritual elements to their performance and music.
Hæretici 7o74’s activities in 2006 began with a gig at Vastavirta-klubi, Tampere, late January. This splendidly-received set was recorded live and released as an EP called Haeretici, Schismatici, Excommunicati on Some Place Else.
In May 2006 Hæretici 7o74 performed again in Helsinki, before travelling to Riga, Latvia with the Finnish Industrial band Älymystö. On these two gigs, their latest as of writing this, the duo added theatrical elements to their performance and stepped out from behind their machinery to vocalize. They put more emphasis on their voices for chanting mantras, fusing these with extensive sampling, live sound manipulation and dramatic curve. This, combined with powerful stage presence, made these two gigs their most intense and theatrical performances to date. Recording of the performance held at Club Depo in Riga was released as an EP called Heard Flayings, again on Some Place Else.
Hæretici 7o74 continue to produce material and rehearse for future performances. While they remain a group devoted to live performances, releases of studio work will be considered, should there be a record label interested in releasing their material. Hæretici 7o74 are also interested in producing soundtrack material for movies, and they remain open for ideas and suggestions of all kinds.
—Biography (2006)
Further activities
2010/03/21 —
Hæretici 7o74 will perform live at Lumous Festival, Tampere, Finland, on Saturday 10th of July.
2010/02/05 —
Hæretici 7o74 appear on SilKMilK 4, which is an art book & compilation dvd/cd published in Australia by renowned artist/magician Orryelle Defenestrate-Bascule. The exclusive H7o74 track Panspermia was composed and recorded in December 2009.
2008/12/23 —
Hæretici 7o74 are currently working on a definitive studio version of the work titled n/um. Composed and designed autumn 2008, this work was premiered live in Helsinki, November 2008. The studio version is likely to turn out somewhat longer and more elaborate.
Live Performances
2010/07/10 – Lumous Festival, Tampere, Finland
2008/11/22 – BAF Club, Helsinki, Finland
2006/10/14 – Noise vs Glamour, Helsinki, Finland
2006/05/27 – Club Depo, Riga, Latvia
2006/05/25 – Factory, Helsinki, Finland
2006/01/27 – Vastavirta, Tampere, Finland
2005/10/23 – Kokoteatteri, Helsinki, Finland
2005/10/22 – Ostium, Turku, Finland
2005/10/21 – Vuoritalo, Helsinki, Finland
2005/06/23 – Placard 8, Espoo, Finland
2004/12/04 – Living Room, Turku, Finland (as Skorp-i-Ovro)
2004/11/06 – Living Room, Turku, Finland (as Skorp-i-Ovro)