Eric Anders & Mark O'Bitz : Singer-Songwriter Duo
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"This is a powerful album ... bold ... the sadness of what we're going through today ... set to music."
"This haunting masterpiece is a chilling exploration of the mysterious and thought-provoking, a sonic tapestry that will send shivers down your spine and leave you questioning the very nature of reality."
Javier, Vents Magazine
"The songs ... cover a trio of topics: political, philosophical, and sentimental, and convey a sad feeling, an aura of melancholy, as if confronting an impasse, like a wall, around which you can neither advance nor retire nor sidle away.... Although suffused with a sense of gloominess ... [this album] is ineffably beautiful ..."
Randy Radic, v13
"[Anders/O'Bitz continue] their knack for truth-seeking introspection and poignant, moving themes set amidst a folk-Americana styling.... The build-up here is fantastic, reminding fondly of Neil Young."
Mike Mineo, Obscure Sound
"An evergreen project, a conscious one to reflect upon at certain times in life."
Manny King John, Grungecake
Contrapasso
Another Anders/O'Bitz/Butler Project
Released April 1, 2024​
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Produced and Mixed by Mike Butler
Mastered by Jamal Ruhe
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“Contrapasso” (or, “contrappasso” in Italian) comes from the Latin “contra” and “patior,” meaning "suffer the opposite.” In Dante's Inferno and Purgatorio, “contrapasso” is the punishment of souls "by a process either resembling or contrasting with the sin itself."
Eric chose this name for the EP because the songs are all critiques of the American “inferno” we are living in today–where Americans are either enslaved by or oppressed by the ridiculously stupid beliefs of a racist and cultish minority of hundreds of millions.
The Americana-rock style and the thematics of these four songs were all inspired by the Anders/O'Bitz/Butler single from 2020, "Careful Now My Son," about which music critic Will Oliver wrote:
“Careful Now My Son" captures a folk and country-themed rock sound that takes the inner turmoil of the past year and captures it in a fashion that feels raw and passionate."
“Careful Now My Son” was not intended as much a reflection of the “inner turmoil” of the pandemic as a warning about the existential threat posed by Trumpism. The four songs on Contrapasso are a reflection on the cultishness of Trumpism, in addition to America's original sin of slavery--two very connected aspects of America's present and past–since the MAGA cult could be considered the New Confederacy and the old Confederacy was very much a form of Christian Nationalism, which has been on the rise for the last four decades.
“Bells Toll” is a reflection on Frederick Douglass’s observation that the Christian bells would ring along with the bells of the slave auctioneers. White Nationalism and Christian Nationalism have always gone hand-in-hand.
This EP features the amazing production and musicianship of Mike Butler who, in addition to producing and mixing, plays almost all of the instruments. Eric and Mark are very grateful to have worked with Mike since 2020’s American Bardo.