Mark O’Leary was born and raised in Cork, Ireland. Being primarily auto-didactic on guitar until he attended Musicians Institute in Los Angeles California when he was 17, later graduating.
Since, he has performed in over 30 countries and worked with some of the main voices in contemporary music culminating in touring Europe as a member of Paul Bley’s last trio.
Mark started to work with environmental recordings, recording machines and sounds from the National Sculpture Factory which ultimately were released on Creative Sources as Fabrikraum. This recording is influenced by German Industrial music of the early 1980’s albeit, with the bifurcation of an an ambient texture to the conception.
The next project in this idiom was 4 Urban Landscapes which exhibits location recordings in several areas of Cork City with the juxtaposition of poetry and sounds of artisans at work against an ambient background, this idiom has culminated in two subsequent releases on TIBProd. Italy (TPI), Urban Nature and Markets, both produced by Label owner Daniele Santini with elan.
This schematic was transported to Istanbul for a collaboration with Turkish musician Erdem Helvaciouglu culminating in the fine release Istanbul.
Seascapes Vol I and Seascape Murals, both TIBProd. Italy releases follow a maritime paradigm, with some excellent accompanying art illustrations.
Creative Sources release entitled Skyshifter featuring Mark with Günter Müller which was in a post industrial dark ambient configuration and this aesthetic started to be incorporated into the music more.
Live in Istanbul on TIBProd. feature elements of it, the superlative releases Waiting and The Synth Show on Leo records also features elements of this patina, but for the magnum opus in this genre one must examine the finely distilled portmanteau of Astral Fishing recorded in Helsinki with Olavi Louhivuori and Teppa Hauta-aho displaying a pastiche narrative that even Brian Eno might find enchanting.
Waves III, recorded in Los Angeles is the acme of ambient pastoral impressionism, akin to a seagull navigating the cartography of an enchanting ocean inpiring meditative contemplation, III to differentiate from II which was a recording by Guy Manuel of Daft Punk.
Project Apollo a superb paean on TIBProd. Italy, which originated as a result of a concert performance celebrating the Anniversary of the Apollo Landing on the Moon. Mark recorded with Jeff Herr on drums and Soren Kjaergaard on Keyboards, thus infusing and integrating a kaleidoscope of sounds featuring; astronauts, mission control and communications into the project.
This unit also recorded a very fine recording entitled Antarctica which was recorded in Youghal Anglican Church and crystallized into an ambient apogee and one of the most successful releases for Mark on TPI.
Norge – Italia, curated and in collaboration with Daniele Santini pays homage to the expeditions of Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and Italian inventor/innovator General Umberto Nobile traversing the North Pole by dirigible.
A selection of the music on TIBProd. Italy has been remixed by Daniele Santini and is available on TPI under the moniker Remixes as well as on several highly acclaimed compilations.
Elektronische Musik and the recently released Elektro are more in the minimal electronic music category, both featuring the superb pronounced production nuances of Mr Santini.
For a scintillating exposition of Scandinavian noir one can sample The Keeper of the Northern Lights.
Future releases Just Watch Me and The Lighthouse both on TPI, featuring Daniele at the production helm and will showcase new advances, including strings, piano and voice.
With a symbiosis of engaging artwork and an apotheosis of music production TPI is one of the leading Net labels in the music market space in this zeitgeist.
TIBProd. Italy 