Franc O'Shea

Born in Swaziland, Africa, Franc O’Shea also spent time living in Indonesia before moving to the UK where he took up the electric bass at the age of 12.

In the early 90s, O’Shea was a member of Batu, whose mix of Brazilian Samba and Acid Jazz saw them recording for the Big Cheese label and Island Records, performing major concerts such as Glastonbury Festival, Le Bataclan (Paris), the Paradiso (Amsterdam), as well as supporting Jamiroquai which was televised on ITV.

O’Shea went on to perform and record with a host of artists including Steve Howe (Yes), Lisa Moorish, Beverley Martyn, Bah Samba, as well as appearances on MTV, the Richard and Judy Show, and VH-1.

O’Shea released his first solo album Esprit (1999), highlighting his diverse compositional skills which featured top Jazz players such as Nigel Hitchcock, Gerard Presencer, Byron Wallen, and Liane Carroll.

Although Esprit included elements of O’Shea’s interest in Global music and spiritual matters, with the release of his second solo album Alkimia (2006) these influences came to the fore spotlighting his immersion in Flamenco, Eastern, African, and European Folk music. Recorded in Spain, Alkimia featured Jorge Pardo, Juan Manuel Cañizares, and Rubem Dantas, renowned both for their solo work and their collaborations with Paco de Lucia and Chick Corea.

Following Alkimia, O’Shea returned to the UK to develop his careers as both a music educator and author, where along with his private teaching practice he maintained a Principal Lecturer role at BIMM University. From 2009-2017, O’Shea wrote the advanced theory column for Bass Guitar Magazine.

As an author, he also contributed articles to O.T.O. Lodge journals Sorath (2010) and the AMeTh Lodge Journal (2017), with the latter being an exposition on Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot deck.

O’Shea’s recording focus continued in 2024, where he co-produced and played bass on Shakti Faye’s debut single ‘Hear the Wind’, with an album planned for the future.

O’Shea also has several book publications in the pipeline including an in-depth volume on Musick and the Occult. His longstanding interest in Magick and the ritual use of Sacred Medicines is the inspiration behind his forthcoming book on esotericism and Entheogens.