Photo by Brian Young
The OO-Ray is the alias of Ted Laderas, an improvisatory and experimental cellist from Portland, OR. A systems biologist by day, he extends his experimental attitude to exploring the outer possibilities of the cello, often distorting, looping, or pitchshifting his instrument beyond recognizability into waves of reverberation and extended drones. Inspired by the gauzy textures of My Bloody Valentine, he call his style “shoegazer cello” or “chamber drone”. His music explores the realms of electroacoustic, shoegazer, and ambient.
Utilizing the versatility of the cello and his electronics, he has long-standing collaborations with Marcus Fischer (12k), Le Berger, Stephen Vitiello (12k), and Robert Donne (Anjou, Labradford, Kranky), having collaborated on albums, short pieces, and soundtracks.