Omar Rodriguez Lopez Quintet

The Omar Rodriguez Lopez Quintet (ORLQ) was an American experimental/psychedelic/prog-rock ensemble established by Omar Rodriguez-Lopez in 2005 as his first solo project outside The Mars Volta when he lived and worked in Amsterdam, Netherlands. ORLQ featured Money Mark (of Beastie Boys fame) on keyboards and three of TMV's recent members: bassist Juan Alderete, Adrian Terrazas on reeds and percussion, and Omar's younger brother, Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez on drums. Even though the Quintet only had one album released under its name, the same core group recorded most of Omar's "Amsterdam cycle" albums and appeared on several other records. By 2007, a newly-formed Omar Rodriguez Lopez Group succeeded the ORL Quintet, with Thomas Pridgen joining on drums and Cedric Bixler-Zavala appearing as the intermittent lead singer. (Several ORLQ members later reunited in Omar's Quartet and "New" Group.) In 2005, Omar Rodriguez Lopez temporarily left the United States and relocated to the Netherlands, where he recorded four solo albums, known informally as the "Amsterdam cycle." The Quintet initially came together backing Omar on the European tour to promote the inaugural album, his self-titled CD/LP, co-released by Dutch label Willie Anderson Recordings with Gold Standard Laboratories. In November, the Quintet recorded the second "Amsterdam" album with several guest members, which came out two years later — CD/LP. (Most of the material for 12" EP with Damo Suzuki was also recorded on the ORLQ tour in November 2005, even though the subsequent GSL release in January 2007 credited the Omar Rodriguez Lopez Group instead.) Another collaborative project that came out in 2007 on Willie Anderson Recs, 12"/CD EP, was similarly recorded with the Quintet but credited only to Omar and Lydia Lunch (listing individual band members). In November 2007, the Omar Rodriguez Lopez Quintet presented its debut and only album, — the third part of Omar's "Amsterdam cycle." Initially, it was released by Infrasonic Sound on 2×LP, followed by a CD version in March 2008, co-published with Willie Anderson/Rodriguez Lopez Productions. The album featured an alternative live version of "Jacob van Lennepkade" (the centerpiece of Omar's self-titled album named after the street where he lived in Amsterdam) recorded during the 14th November 2005 concert in Kortrijk, Belgium. Another live track on the Quintet's album, "Vondelpark Bij Nacht," also initially appeared on the s/t CD. ORLQ lineup Omar Rodriguez-Lopez — guitars Juan Alderete de la Peña — bass Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez — drums & percussion, keyboards Adrián Terrazas González — tenor sax, bass clarinet, flute, percussion Money Mark Ramos-Nishita — keyboards & synths