Mary Ocher

Mary Ocher ("Oh-chur") is a recording artist, performer, poet, director and visual artist. Ocher was born Mariya Ocheretianskaya on November 10, 1986 (Russian: Мария Очеретянская, Hebrew: מאריה אוצ'רטיאנסקי) in Moscow. She legally changed her last name to Ocher at age 18. An only child to a voice- and puppet theater actor (of the Obraztsov theater) father and an unemployed engineer mother, both of Jewish/Ukrainian descent. Her family immigrated to Israel in 1991 at the height of the Gulf War, first to a kibbutz in Negev and several months later to Tel Aviv where she grew up and lived until the age of 20. She was forced to change her name to Miriam for several years while attending a religious Jewish school, from which she nearly got expelled. In false hope for scholarly artistic recognition, she continued on to a secular art high school to study film, which she then left, disillusioned with the education system at the beginning of the 12th grade to pursue music. Ocher's maternal grandmother, Julia's, late husband is the Russian-Jewish historian/author Natan Eidelman. Alix, Mary's father, was named after an SS officer who saved his father's life during WWII. Her mother, Elena took part in the mapping of the moon in the 1970s in Moscow. Acutely aware of the prevalent nationalistic narrative in her surrounding, along with early childhood experiences growing up a migrant in an acutely xenophobic environment, Mary's work was tinged with a political undertone from the very beginning. Mary started writing songs as a child. Her first studio recording was at the age of 14 with Idan Raichel. By 19 she formed Mary and The Baby Cheeses in Tel Aviv; A raw folk-punk combo featuring, among other instruments, a theremin and a metal heater for percussion. The band soon gained a small cult following within the local music press and among other musical projects from the circuit. Within two years the band relocated to Berlin, where Mary remained. In its Berlin reincarnation, the band produced several DIY releases. Their tour merchandise included silk screen-printed socks and b-stock dildos salvaged from a sex toy factory dumpster. Mary's first solo release originally came out on CDR and was sold on the streets, where she used to perform age 20-23. War Songs was eventually re-recorded at a recording studio and released on "Haute Areal". The album was shortly followed by a limited edition untitled white 7", which sold out quickly. Her second solo album, EDEN, recorded with King Khan of King Khan and the Shrines and The King Khan and BBQ Show came out on Buback in 2013. EDEN ranked No. 12 in Intro Magazine's list of Albums of The Year of 2013. Her third full length release, the debut album with her two drummers "Mary Ocher + Your Government" was released on the legendary krautrock/experimental label Klangbad (led by Faust (band)'s Hans Joachim Irmler). Its follow-up "The West Against The People" was recorded at the Faust Studio with Irmler and released shortly after. The album features an essay analysing the sociopolitical climate at the time, it also features collaborations with Die Toedliche Doris and Felix Kubin. A special edition of the album grants access to further tracks that were revealed gradually throughout 2017. The album was initially announced in Fact, with the tag line: "Prediction: one of the best albums of 2017". Bandcamp listed the album #51 on their "100 Best Albums of 2017". The second edition of the record was pressed within three months of its release and Ocher went on to perform in some 30 countries within 2 years of its release. The video for "Arms", one of the album's singles, caused a minor controversy with its imagery of Israeli soldiers wandering casually in public spaces and posing with their guns, it was nominated for a MuVi award at Oberhausen film festival (2017), and selected for the Cologne Women's Film Festival (2018). "The Faust Studio Sessions and Other Recordings" followed shortly, featuring collaborations with Hans Unstern, and Julia Kent on a Robbie Basho cover. The first new Mary Ocher release since the pandemic was "Approaching Singularity: Music for The End of Time", recorded at Palazzo Stabile in the north of Italy and mixed with Mike Lindsay of Tunng in Margate. The recordings feature collaborations with Barry Burns of Mogwai, composer Roberto Cacciapaglia, Red Axes, and a homage to Delia Derbyshire. The album is accompanied by a 9 page essay on the future of humanity, determinism and identity politics. Followed shortly after by "Your Guide to Revolution", its sister release, recorded at the same sessions and released along with the text "A Guide to Radical Living - A no nonsense guide to living comfortably with just enough: Why wealth needs poverty and how not to play along". "Your Guide" featured variations on Dorothy Ashby's "The Rubaiyat", based on the poetry of Omar Khayyam, the record was chosen by The Quietus as "Album of The Week", by Bandcamp as one of the best records of the year, and received the German Record Critics' Award as The Best Album in the Electronic/Experimental category. The two albums were soon followed by a collection of b-sides and remixes titled "Palazzo Stabile Sessions: Remixes and B-sides" released July 5, 2024. Palazzo Stabile Sessions: Remixes and B-sides (2024, a collection of rarities, digital) Your Guide to Revolution (2024, LP/digital, Underground Institute) Approaching Singularity: Music for The End of Time (2023, LP/CD/digital, Underground Institute) Power and Exclusion From Power (2023, digital EP (Underground Institute)) MOOP! (an autobiographical comic book, drawn by 23 international artists - 2020, Underground Institute) Faust Studio Sessions and Other Recordings (2017, 10"/digital: Klangbad/Sing A Song Fighter, Tape: Related Records) The West Against The People (2017, LP/CD/digital, Klangbad) Arms / remixed (2017, remixes compilation, digital) Mary Ocher + Your Government – Self-titled (2016, LP/CD/digital, Klangbad) 7" – Man VS. Air/Thunderbird (2015, double A-side, limited edition vinyl W/ Your Government) The Fictional Biography of Mary Ocher– The home recordings (2006–2015 - double anthology) (2015, digital) I, Human (remixes EP) (2014, digital, Buabck) EDEN (2013/2014, second edition: 2015) (EU: Buback(CD, digital), Haute Areal(LP) US: Hairy Spider Legs(CD), Related Records(TAPE)) 7" (2012) (aka "Man of 1000 faces") (limited edition vinyl, Haute Areal) War Songs (2011, CD/digital, Haute Areal) Interview Magazine (German edition) chose Ocher as their Superstar of October 2013 (offline). ARTE's Into The Night with Ocher and Sasha Grey (2013) A couple Mary's tracks are featured in the horror film Ava's Possessions, the soundtrack of which was curated by Sean Lennon. The series Between Two Drummers, a friendly nod to Between Two Ferns was created as part of Mary Ocher + Your Government album promo. Among the guests were Nina Hynes, Ned Collette and Molly Nilsson. SWR's production Art's Birthday televised a full length performance of Mary Ocher + Your Government premiering new tracks live (2019). A sold-out show with Your Government at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, followed by sold out shows at SO36 and Berghain Kantine. Along many solo and band tours (incl. a 9 week / 50 date North American tour), Mary toured Australia with Ned Collette + Wirewalker and Germany with 1000 Robota, The Great Hans Unstern Swindle, Die Goldenen Zitronen and German bestseller author Sibylle Berg, alongside actors Katja Riemann and Matthias Brandt to promote Berg's book Vielen dank für das Leben ("Many Thanks for Life"). Other shows were alongside Silver Apples, Kirin J. Callinan, Lucrecia Dalt and many others. "Your Guide to Revolution" was featured as "Album of The Week" by The Quietus and listed as an Essential Release and "Best Albums of Spring 2024" by Bandcamp. Selected festivals: SXSW, Reeperbahn, CTM, Fusion, Pop Montreal, Le Guess Who (curated by Animal Collective), Steirischer Herbst. 2008-2014: The