Paul Ortiz
Encyclopedia
Paul Antonio Ortiz is a guitarist
and musician
from Colchester
, UK
. He is most famous for his work under his solo project name of Chimp Spanner. Both his 2004 album Imperium Vorago
and his 2009 album At The Dream's Edge are entirely self produced in Ortiz' home studio. Ortiz also composes for computer games, advertising, television and radio, and his clients range from Red Bull
to Dolby Laboratories
.
and melodic elements, whilst also demonstrating his guitar virtuosity. Chimp Spanner has often been labelled as Djent
, although most listeners consider his music as being progressive metal. 2004 saw the release of his debut album Imperium Vorago
, which as well as being self financed and produced, was also distributed by Ortiz himself, without the backing of a distribution company. Ortiz released his second album entitled At The Dream's Edge in December 2009. The album is available to buy in a physical format and as a download.
On 5 March 2010 Paul Ortiz's project Chimp Spanner signed a deal with Basick Records to release the album 'At the Dream's Edge', which was officially released April 10, 2010.
With the signing to Basick Records, Ortiz began to perform live under the Chimp Spanner alias. The live Chimp Spanner lineup consists of himself, guitarist Jim Hughes, bassist Adam Swan (also of Monuments) and drummer Boris Le Gal.
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
from Colchester
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
, UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. He is most famous for his work under his solo project name of Chimp Spanner. Both his 2004 album Imperium Vorago
Imperium Vorago
Imperium Vorago is Chimp Spanner's first album, independently released in January 2005. When Chimp Spanner signed to Basick Records, the album became available on the iTunes store.-Track listing:#"Clarity in Chaos" – 6:32#"Spirals" – 4:43...
and his 2009 album At The Dream's Edge are entirely self produced in Ortiz' home studio. Ortiz also composes for computer games, advertising, television and radio, and his clients range from Red Bull
Red Bull
Red Bull is an energy drink sold by the Austrian Red Bull GmbH, created in 1987 by the Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz. In terms of market share, Red Bull is the most popular energy drink in the world, with 3 billion cans sold each year. Dietrich Mateschitz was inspired by an already...
to Dolby Laboratories
Dolby Laboratories
Dolby Laboratories, Inc. , often shortened to Dolby Labs, is an American company specializing in audio noise reduction and audio encoding/compression.-History:...
.
Chimp Spanner
Ortiz categorises the work under his Chimp Spanner moniker as an ambient/progressive metal project, combining heavy guitars with ambient textures, electronicaElectronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
and melodic elements, whilst also demonstrating his guitar virtuosity. Chimp Spanner has often been labelled as Djent
Djent
Djent is a heavy metal music subgenre that emerged as a spin-off from progressive metal. Coined by the band Meshuggah, it was popularized through the internet by Periphery, specifically guitarist Misha Mansoor. The word "djent" is an onomatopoeia for a heavily palm-muted, distorted guitar chord...
, although most listeners consider his music as being progressive metal. 2004 saw the release of his debut album Imperium Vorago
Imperium Vorago
Imperium Vorago is Chimp Spanner's first album, independently released in January 2005. When Chimp Spanner signed to Basick Records, the album became available on the iTunes store.-Track listing:#"Clarity in Chaos" – 6:32#"Spirals" – 4:43...
, which as well as being self financed and produced, was also distributed by Ortiz himself, without the backing of a distribution company. Ortiz released his second album entitled At The Dream's Edge in December 2009. The album is available to buy in a physical format and as a download.
On 5 March 2010 Paul Ortiz's project Chimp Spanner signed a deal with Basick Records to release the album 'At the Dream's Edge', which was officially released April 10, 2010.
With the signing to Basick Records, Ortiz began to perform live under the Chimp Spanner alias. The live Chimp Spanner lineup consists of himself, guitarist Jim Hughes, bassist Adam Swan (also of Monuments) and drummer Boris Le Gal.
Blessed Inertia
In October 2009, Ortiz unveiled a new project under the name Blessed Inertia. Classed as technical progressive metal on its Myspace page, Blessed Inertia is a more straightforward, guitar-driven project. Ortiz states that Blessed Inertia will be his live band, and although currently instrumental, will incorporate a vocalist at a later date. Alongside Ortiz, Blessed Inertia currently only consists of one other member, Chimp Spanner's live guitarist Jim Hughes. Both Ortiz and Hughes are cited as playing guitar, bass and drums.Monuments
Ortiz was a live guitarist for Monuments (another group signed by Basick Records) before Monuments secured Olly Steele (formerly of Cyclamen) as their full time second guitarist.Equipment
Ortiz uses various Ibanez 6, 7 and 8-string guitars. He also owns a custom Bernie Rico Jr. 8 string with 28 frets and a Kahler tremolo. Unlike most "Djent" artists, he does not tune down, preferring to stick to standard tuning. However, he did experiment with using a 7 string tuned a whole step down on At the Dream's Edge (these songs are played in standard tuning live). His home recording suite consists of Line 6 Pod units (X3, HD500), Native Instruments Guitar Rig 4 Pro, Steinberg Cubase Studio 5, Propellerhead Reason 5, Native Instruments Kontakt 4 and an M-Audio FW410 soundcard. He uses Superior Drummer, a software drum simulator made by Toontrack, to program drums for his Chimp Spanner releases.As Chimp Spanner
| Date of Release | Title |
| 2004 | Imperium Vorago Imperium Vorago Imperium Vorago is Chimp Spanner's first album, independently released in January 2005. When Chimp Spanner signed to Basick Records, the album became available on the iTunes store.-Track listing:#"Clarity in Chaos" – 6:32#"Spirals" – 4:43... |
| 2009 | At The Dream's Edge |