“ IN THE EARLY DAYS , WE WERE ONE OF THE ONLY BANDS PLAYING otherwise completely electronic raves and getting away with it,” says Ozric Tentacles guitarist and synthesist Ed Wynne, the only remaining original member of the influential U.K. space-rock ensemble founded in the mid ’80s. “The kids liked the intense rhythms combined with the stroboscopic synths, and the ridiculous noises also made them smile.” Wynne coaxes his ultra-psychedelic atmospherics and trance-y solo tones from vintage Ibanez Artist and JEM guitars and a Boss GT-3 effects processor plugged into a ’78 Marshall Super Lead 100 and matching 4x12 cab. “Accompanying sequencers requires extremely tight rhythm playing, and it can also be tricky crafting guitar tones that don’t sound cluttered when mixed with the clean sounds you get with pure synthesis—and perhaps that’s why there are so few guitarists playing electronic music,” he says. “It can be difficult convincing a room full of bouncing ravers that guitar is a good idea, in which case you have to mash ’em flat with as much psychedelic stuff as possible!” The band’s 30th album, The Yumyum Tree [Snapper], was released in late 2009.