EBN-OZN
| Ēbn-Ōzn | |
|---|---|
| Origin | New York City, New York, United States |
| Genres | Dance, new wave, synthpop, hip hop, pop rock, spoken word |
| Years active | 1982–1985 |
| Labels | Elektra Records, Arista-Ariola, Wounded Bird Records |
| Members | Ned "Ebn" Liben Robert "Ozn" Rosen |
Ēbn-Ōzn (pronounced EEBEN-OHZEN) was a 1980s New York based synth pop duo composed of Ned "Ebn" Liben (synthesizer) and Robert "Ozn" Rosen (organ, vocals). The duo is best known for the 1983 hit single and award-winning music video "AEIOU Sometimes Y."
Ēbn-Ōzn formed in 1981 in New York City when Rosen met Liben through record producer and recording artist Jay Aaron Podolnick (who later founded Villa Muse Studios in Austin, Texas), a friend of Ozn's Australian fashion-model girlfriend. Soon after meeting, they started spending time together in clubs listening to different types of dance music. Ozn was a Broadway actor/singer in the original casts of Shenandoah and Marlowe and had just come off the road from a tour of The Pirates of Penzance with Karla DeVito. Ebn was owner of New York's Sundragon Recording Studios, which he created at the age of 14, and was a founding member of the guitar band Riff Raff (Atco/Warner Brothers). In 1983 they were signed to the London arm of Arista Records-Ariola by A&R wunderkind Simon Potts and to Elektra Records in New York by Bob Krazno, who released their only LP, Feeling Cavalier, and singles "AEIOU Sometimes Y" and "Bag Lady (I Wonder)". The album featured a wide range of musical styles and a sense of humor throughout; it also featured Latin jazz percussion legend Tito Puente.
"AEIOU" became an international MTV and dance club hit, reaching # 20 on the Billboard Club Chart. The single also received significant black radio play and remains a modern rock radio and 1980s music staple. AllMusic writes that the song "combines intelligence, melody, and weirdness in just the right doses. Accompanied by a video that featured the multi-braided Rosen delivering a stream-of-consciousness rap about 'this incredible Swedish girl,' and with a more serious subtext about communication, it became a bizarre but deserved hit."
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