The latest from Scandinavian/American improvisational Space Rock ensemble Oresund Space Collective (OSC) is a 3-CD set documenting the February 20, 2015 celebration of the 10th anniversary of the collective’s first live performance. OSC have always had a fluid lineup, with the one constant being synth maestro and chief organizer Scott “Dr Space” Heller. Each CD represents one of three sets performed that evening.

The first set consists of members that started the collective in 2004. The second set consists of members who played frequently in the 2007-2011 period. And the third set consists of members who have played most recently. So many people have played with the band that it wasn’t possible to include everyone. What a problem to have, huh? Because it’s this talented array of like-minded musicians that has helped keep OSC exciting all these years.

Set 1 includes 5 jams in the 12-20 minute range. Open The Skies finds that ultra groovy point on the easy paced rhythmic pulse meets chill-out vibe axis. It rocks out loosely and dreamily in space and has a Bluesy edge that feels really nice. At times it brought to mind a Blues take on Ozric Tentacles. Tasty guitar soloing, synth melody and sci-fi electronics. Ditto for Flyby Guitar Hero, on which the bass takes the rhythmic lead along with light jazzy drumming while the guitars and synths create jamming meditative atmospherics and melodies. Has Anyone Seen Nick? has, at various times, late 60s West Coast Psych, grungy hard rock and jazzy vibes, and all within the trademark OSC Space Rock context. I love how The Man Who Ate Planets starts off like a deep space grooving Shaman call, but after a while starts to rock increasingly harder and gradually takes on an acidic intensity, eventually settling into a powerhouse space rocking groove. And the final Set 1 track, The Last Glide, opens with some lovely Gong influenced gliss guitar before developing into a heavy space rocking jam with some killer ripping guitar leads.

Set 2 also includes 5 lengthy jams, starting with Jamming For Your Mind, an appropriately titled mind-bending trip in space with the focus on acid ambience and rhythmically grooving soundscapes and effects. Stargate 7341 is a high intensity, cool grooving and totally ass kicking Space Prog jam which, as is so often the case with OSC, feels goal oriented and composed yet still loosely improv free flowing. This lineup is really cookin’ now and transitions smoothly to Circular Perimeter which starts off rocking harder with spirited uplifting intensity. I love the combination of Space-Funk guitar and rip rocking solo guitar. After a while it descends into a Space-Bluesy chill-out jam with more killer dual guitar and soaring electronic effects, before ripping it up again for the finale. Absolutely freakin’ awesome! Thankfully there is NO rest for the weary. These guys are on a complete roll as they quickly feel their way into the warp drive, Space Rock blazing Chocolate Orange Candle. The bulk of the tune is seriously heavy rocking, though it eases toward the finish with a nice extended Floydian/Space-Bluesy descent. Ditto for the final track, One More Space Out, which comes roaring out of the starting gate as a high intensity Funk infused Space Rock rocker. Damn, Set 2 is going to be tough to top, with music that stands alongside some of OSC’s all time best.

But we’ve still got Set 3, with 3 tracks, 2 of which are quite long, and the CD notes point out that due to technical issues there were two additional tracks that could not be included. But that’s ok because we’ve still got 70 minutes of music. The fun starts with the 34 minute A Long Night Amongst Friends, which quickly finds its groove as an acidic, droning, exploratory journey that gradually builds in rhythmic pace and rocking intensity. Once again we have killer dual guitars that play distinctive but cooperative roles, a hypnotic thump in your chest bassline, and electronic effects galore. And it just keeps rocking hard for the remainder, never wandering or wavering for a moment. There are of course some twists and turns which the band deftly veer in and out of. One I particularly enjoyed is a keys/synths dominated segment that has a Jazz-Fusion and even a wee bit of a Quarkspace flavor. 34 minutes of space rocking bliss. At this rate I would have hung in there with them all day. Let It Groove is next and does precisely that, with a fast paced Dub-like bassline and fiery drumming that lay the foundation for rocking guitar soloing and more ambient/soundscape guitar licks, plus a jazzy keyboard melody. Things get monstrously acid spaced out intense at times with both guitars soloing, swirling and generally circling the cosmic wagons around each other for what might be some of the most Holy Shit freaked out moments of all three sets. Finally, we’ve got the 23+ minute Find The Way Out Of Here, another high intensity space rocker (with a gorgeous cosmic lullaby segment) that brings the evening to a close.

What a night this must have been! In one of the announcements Scott says that some people came from Germany for the show and thought there was even someone from Greece. Note that the CDs come in a very nicely packaged quadruple foldout digipack with an 8 page booklet with details and photos.

For more information visit the Oresund Space Collective web site at: http://www.oresundspacecollective.com
Stream and purchase the CD or download at https://oresundspacecollective.bandcamp.com
Visit the Space Rock Productions web site at: http://www.spacerockproductions.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

Though Lee Negin has been recording since the early 80s, he was a new discovery for me in 2014, starting with the tongue-in-cheek sci-fi “Technopera” Cheeze Chronicles, followed by the electronic freakiness and cerebral mind massage of Groundless, and then earlier this year he released Terminus, a 20+ minute EP described as a collection of 4 extended dreamscapes: The soundtrack for the 5D movie that “…takes place in the space between your ears.”

Negin’s latest is Surfing Samsara, a compilation of 11 tracks that are ‘singles’ from previous albums. We’ve got four songs from The Cheeze Chronicles: Volume V album. Loan Me a Paradigm is a mind-bending combination of Berlin school electronica and Space-Prog, with fun and freaky voice sample narratives. (Let’s Join) The Twit Parade is a robotic space-dance song that’s just as quirky as it is catchy. Just Saying is similar but more intense and spaced out, with cool New Wave cum Prog keys, soulful backing vocals and a lightshow of alien effects and voice samples. And The Cheeze Spreadz is a Techno-Funk with a Kraftwerk twist single that wasn’t on the original album.

We’ve also got an array of songs from various other albums. Masks is a masterful blend of quirkily pulsating Space-Dance, Gothic vibe, Oriental inflected orchestral elements and hauntingly weirded out voices and atmospherics. And as is so characteristic of Negin’s music there’s a wild glom of effects that are craftily mixed into the whole to ensure order among the chaos. Sterne Drek auf der Autobahn is a cosmic rug cutter that’s part Kraftwerk for the Rave set and part electro tribal dance groover. The Saga Of Cheeze is a get down with your bad alien self Soul-Funk number with raspy vocals and wild lyrics that make for a cool and strange contrast with the ripping robot Psychedelia, electro Space-Funk and multiple layers of soundscapes and effects. George Clinton and James Brown would love this. Jimi Plays Lhasa is a disorienting concoction of tribal drones, ambient waves and effects. The Dance has a cool tripped out morphing of ethnic stringed instruments, trip-hop grooves, symphonics, and (of course!) loads of fun effects. Mandala 1 features more freaky ethnic influences. I like the way Negin brings together ambient and hardcore rhythmic elements. And Piercing The Veil is similar, with cool Indian sitar and tablas and a ripping electro synth solo jamming to a pounding space-rave pulse.

With Negin’s music it’s all about the many parts and pieces and how they are stitched together, with rhythm, melody and Psychedelic/Surreal/Trip-Hop collage all playing equally important roles. Even the most danceable tunes have so much happening at once that surrendering your undivided attention and marveling at the details is your best bet.

For more information visit the Lee Negin web site at: http://leenegin.com
Visit the Passing Phase Records web site at: http://passingphasemusic.com
Downloads Surfing Samsara and other Lee Negin albums at CDBaby: http://www.cdbaby.com/artist/leenegin
Negin’s music is also available at iTunes and Amazon

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

This archival set of music caught my attention because it represents a chapter in the history of Belgian musician Alain Neffe that was previously unknown to me. Neffe was a pioneer in the homemade music/cassette culture underground that emerged in the late 70s and took off in the 80s, becoming a prominent figure with his Insane Music for Insane People compilation cassettes. Neffe also founded some notable band projects, including Pseudocode (which Kosmose preceded), BeNe GeSSeRiT, Human Flesh, and others.

Throughout its history Kosmose had a fluctuating lineup, though the core was always the duo of Neffe and Francis Pourcel. All the music was improvised, with no discussion or preconceived notions of structure. Kosmose gave only 12 live performances, none occurring outside their home base of Charleroi, and these tapes exists only because Neffe recorded most of the band’s rehearsals and performances. The recordings were all made between 1973-78.

The first CD includes 8 tracks of music which reveal that classic exploratory Kosmiche was not exclusive to Germany. Listening to this music one would think this was a German band like Ash Ra Tempel or Agitation Free. But it’s from Belgium! One track features a guitar/drums ambient-soundscape excursion which later veers into a combination of jamming rhythmic minimalism and Prog keys meet Berlin school electronica, and still later we get some really cool spaced out guitar soloing. We’ve got an intense, energetic freakout jam, though at only 4 minutes it doesn’t take the time I would expect to develop and the sound quality isn’t as good as many of the other tracks so a little disappointing in that respect. There’s plenty of wildly Kosmiche Free-Jazz drum propelled jams. I like the exploratory Prog-Kosmiche track with wild fuzzed out keys that give the music a drugged out Ra Tempel meets Soft Machine on steroids feel. Another piece features a combination of heavy rocking Free-Jazz drumming, Sun Ra blasted off into space and 50s sci-fi soundtrack keys and haunting Kosmiche atmospherics. Some of the music isn’t all that far off from Big Band era Alien Planetscapes, which makes sense because Doug Walker was a Space Rock musician heavily influenced by Free-Jazz and Progressive Rock. Another standout is the CD 1 closing track which consists of heavy freak flag flying Arabian tinged Psychedelic Kosmiche with bits of Jethro Tull and Blues-Rock twang.

The second CD includes 3 tracks, all around 20 minutes or more. The first two struggle to justify their length. The opening 22 minute piece has lots of good ideas that run the gamut of elements I described on CD 1, but lacks direction and meanders a bit too much, though there are a couple of killer segments that get very emotionally intense and spaced out. The following 27 minute jam starts off in full deep space freakout mode with frenzied synth runs, soaring pulsating space waves, stinging guitar licks and loads of effects. It’s a solid kick off but things soon mellow and the musicians wonk around in an ultimately futile attempt to fall into a groove. So again we have lots of possibilities and exciting segments, particularly some impressive rocking sound collage, effects and guitar bits, but overall it’s not sustained for 27 minutes. Much more cohesive and stimulating throughout is the 19 minute closing track. It starts off intensely atmospheric, with a gradual but steady Kosmiche Rock with Berlin school vibe buildup. The swirling deep space synth waves, organ, energetic drumming and melodic/rhythmic bass are like a cross between German Kosmiche, Free-Jazz and early experimental Pink Floyd. I love the freaky cosmic synth work within an improvisational Jazz rocking context, and with the strange vocalization and rhythms the music has a Can quality at times.

In summary, what a pleasant surprise to learn of the isolated existence of a Belgian Kosmiche band. Fans of early experimental Krautrock/Prog-Psych/Electronics would do well to check this out.

Sub Rosa has released Kosmic Music From The Black Country in 2-CD and 2-LP editions. Due to space limitations the LPs have fewer tracks. I’ve got the double CD set which is a very nice triple foldout package with a 22 page information packed booklet in French and English.

For more information visit the Sub Rosa label web site at: http://www.subrosa.net
CLICK HERE to go directly to the Kosmose page

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

Last year SlowBurn Records released the self-titled debut by Cobracalia, which started life as the Black Sun Ensemble album that was half-finished when BSE founder and guitarist Jesus Acedo passed away. Former BSE members plus additional musicians forged ahead and completed the swansong BSE album – Behind Purple Clouds – which was released in late 2013. The Cobracalia album was the result of the musicians who completed Behind Purple Clouds continuing to work together and consisted of a complex yet accessible brand of spacey ethnic inspired Prog-Psych orchestra.

Number Three Combo is a musically related but instrumentally stripped down trio made up of former BSE members Eric Johnson on 12-string acoustic guitar and vocals and Joe E. Furno on flute, plus Cobracalia percussionist Carl Hall on ethnic percussion. Those are the principle instruments but there is also organ and electric guitar in supporting roles throughout.

The album opens on a spacey, trippy, ethnic flavored note with The Empty Quarter. Arabian Nights and big production harem dance images are conjured up as the music rocks out, grooves joyously and Psychedelically swirls. The trio take on the Blues standard Driftin’ Blues, which is a vocal number and a very interesting piece which morphs and mixes a folky brand of Blues with dreamy ethnic vibes and potent soundscapes. I especially like the blend of acoustic Blues and floating flute melody. The 12-string soars on the lovely instrumental Sonora, supported by flute and percussion.

From what I’ve described so far would you expect a Black Sabbath cover? There is!! Number Three Combo handle Electric Funeral with finesse as the flute takes on the main riff duties and the acoustic guitar and percussion add the expected ethnic vibe, plus organ and electric guitar adding a bit of beef to the music. Big kudos to these guys for taking a classic and totally making it their own. This may be one of the best covers I’ve heard all year. Beyond the Beyond is another vocal number with an organ, acoustic guitar, flute and ethno percussion combo that sounds really cool with Eric’s Bluesy passionate vocals. Ditto for Lonely Road, which is an Eric Johnson solo piece that puts the spotlight on his nimble acoustic guitar playing and vocals. Citadel is a power rocking Ethno-Prog instrumental that is both uplifting and intense. Last River is an equal parts acoustic guitar, flute, piano and percussion instrumental that segues smoothly into the final track, Born Too Late, which is a vocal tune that blends Eastern and Western influences and Progressive Rock elements to create a darkly intense yet hypnotic and cool grooving finale to this impressive set.

In summary, there’s lots of variety here. I agree with the promo sheet that Number Three Combo will appeal to fans of Psych-Folk and Acoustic/Ethnic Rock, though I’ll add that Progheads with a taste for ethnic influences will find much to enjoy here. And of course those wishing to follow the continuing Black Sun Ensemble legacy will be delighted.

For more information visit the SlowBurn Records web site at: http://www.slowburnrecords.net
The CD and download editions can be purchased at CDBaby: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/numberthreecombo

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

The Dharma Violets are a Cardiff, Wales based dual guitar, vocals, bass, drums, keys, synths, organ, piano quintet who play a blend of Psychedelic Pop and spacey Rock ‘n’ Roll. Random Transmissions is their debut album.

I like the Pop-Psych meets Psychedelic slow-core vibe of opening track Hypnotonic Wave. The vocals are damn good and singer/guitarist Nathan Hazell could easily have paired himself up with something on the more jangly side. But not here… we’ve got floatingly assertive Psych guitars and fun spaced out effects that rock hard yet drift along on a tasty wave of hypnotically catchy melody. I like the combination of melodic song and Psychedelic aggression. Take A Look From The Inside has an equally stick-in-yer-craw melody and even gets downright dancey Rock ‘n’ Roll. Nice touch on the horn section embellishment, underlying trip guitar and cool Kosmiche keyboard lines. I really dig the sumptuous blend of wall-of-sound guitars and trance inducing drift on Butterfly In A Hurricane. The Rock ‘n’ Roll energy level gets kicked up a few notches on Meet Me In The Shadows, with crunchy guitars and spacey keys that inject an interstellar dance party vibe. Awake For A Reason goes even deeper into space, being an intense slab of Eastern flavored Pop-Psych inflected mysticism with a dose of Space-Prog keys for extra measure. The melodic rocking intensity continues on the spaced out Lights On, Nobody Home. As Far As The Eye Can See is the hit single of the set, bringing to mind a seductive marriage of Dream-Pop and 60s Bubblegum. Even the more… dare I say… Alt-Rock songs like Onwards and Upwards and Haywire include Proggy keys and freaky alien effects.

These guys can really write a song, with many of the tunes having a feels like I’ve known them all my life quality on the first spin. The Dharma Violets are a Pop band at heart, and don’t seem to be aiming purely for the Psych audience, but the various Psychedelic, Kosmiche and Prog keyboard elements provide lots for the Space/Psych crowd to enjoy and give the songs a sense of creative adventure without being in any way retro.

To stream and purchase the CD or download visit: https://thedharmaviolets.bandcamp.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

The latest issue of Brent Marley’s excellent Psych Trail Mix HARD COPY zine includes 48 pages of goodies in black & white, very nicely bound, with a glossy front and back cover. Issue #9 is a Butthole Surfers special with lots of band info. We’ve got an interview with band co-founder Paul Leary, a separate interview with Teresa Taylor, a never before published 1988 band interview, band discography, an account of various bootleg concert videos and some fun Butthole Surfers comix.

The mag also includes articles about Terence McKenna, a C.A. Quintet interview with Ken Erwin, album, book, DVD and live show reviews, including an extra detailed review of the latest Chrome album, Feel It Like A Scientist. Very well done and what a pleasure have stuff like this in a real printed mag!

Psych Trail Mix #9 is available for $8 shipping included in the U.S., $9 shipping included to Canada and $12 shipping included to the UK. Anywhere else please email Brent Marley at psychtrailmix@yahoo.com for a shipping quote.

I can tell you from experience that these printed mags won’t last long if you don’t purchase them but note that there is a FREE PDF download edition at the Psych Trail Mix web site.

For more information, ordering and to download the PDF version visit: http://www.helioschrome.com/bhszineorder.html
If you look at the root domain name of this address you see the Helios/Chrome reference. That’s because Brent also runs an outstanding Helios Creed tribute site so check that out too.

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

In late 2014, Census of Hallucinations (CoH) released Imagine John Lennon, a 4-song, 30 minute EP which was a precursor to the new full length album – Nothing Is As It Seems. Consisting of the four songs from Imagine John Lennon plus 5 new songs, CoH founder Tim Jones describes Nothing Is As It Seems as a book of musical short stories with a theme that links them together. Quoting from the press release, Tim explains: “I think that the key word here would be alienation. The deep sadness in the shocking discovery that this is in fact all there is. When you don’t fit into the mold and have had a lifetime of it. The constant hypocrisy both inside ‘The Game’ and out. The reality being presented to us by those that run this planet utilizing scientific ‘experts’ has us living in a Never Never Land, an illusion or even a projected holographic environment where the unfathomable beauty of the universe is denied to us. Cut off from the source of our reason for being here, we stumble around seeking guidance from fools”.

Heavy stuff indeed. But that’s Tim, one of Rock music’s most articulate, sharp tongued, tell it like it is lyricists. Musically CoH have settled comfortable into their ‘MKII’ phase, which began in 2012 with the release of Dragonian Days, the band’s first album in five years, and started to take its current shape with the addition of veteran guitarist John Simms and vocalist/lyricist Maxine Marten on the following year’s Coming Of The Unicorn. The ensuing lineup proved to be such a tight knit unit and created such a uniquely beautiful sound that a phenomenally talented guitarist such as Tim laid his instrument aside starting with 2014’s The Nine, leaving all principle guitar duties to Simms and has focused on writing and vocals. That’s a big decision for a musician. But the result has been a sound that is still distinctly and recognizably CoH while always PROGressively forging ahead.

The songs, melodies and lyrics are trademark CoH. Tim’s voice is unmistakable. Maxine Marten’s and CoH co-founder Terri~B’s backing vocals are dreamily surreal and downright lovely. The production and arrangements, both music and vocals, are accessible yet bewitchingly spaced out and even theatrical. And John Simms’ guitar imbues a cosmic Blues/Jazz style that represents the clearest new dimension aspect of the current CoH sound. I can’t emphasize enough the crucial interplay of music and vocals. Tim is “singing” in a part spoken word style with which he communicates the emotions the lyrics are trying to convey: sarcasm, mockery, whimsy, anger, pain and pure soul… you feel it all. Some of the best moments are when Tim is in full communicative mode, with Maxine and Terri as supporting vocal mystics, and John’s lusciously lyrical guitar seems to be handling the “singing” duties. The Stone Premonitions studio craftsmanship and attention to mix, stitch and arrangement detail is in full force as well, the result being the always impossible to pigeonhole CoH blend of Prog, Pop, Kosmiche, Jazz, Blues and Psychedelia. CoH excel at being wildly adventurous yet totally accessible. I haven’t called out individual songs but I’ll give honorable mention to Tim and Terri’s son James Jones who recites his poem Lost In The Lakes on In Ruins. These folks still sound like NO ONE else but themselves.

For more information visit the Stone Premonitions web site at:
http://aural-innovations.com/stonepremonitions
Visit the Stone Premonitions web shop at: http://www.stonepremonitionswebshop.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

The latest from Omenopus is an 8 song collection meant as an introduction to the band. The Omenopus Compendium Of Souvenirs compiles tracks from previous CDs, some alternative mixes and a new track which features Omenopus covering Kraftwerk’s The Robots. The CD is FREE through the Omenopus web site! (You pay shipping). So these folks obviously want you check them out and I highly recommend that the uninitiated do so.

The core of Omenopus is the trio of Lee Potts, John Pierpoint and Bridget Wishart. Two of the songs are Radio Edits from the 2014 album The Archives. The Archives is a sci-fi tale concept album and an epic in every sense of the word, continually shifting between music, song, spoken word sections, and loads of effects, making for a genuine sci-fi space rock tale. Stand Still is a searing, acid-laced, Space-Metal rocker, and Unreasoning In The Whys rocks hard but also includes beautifully spaced out symphonic dreamy sections, punctuated by high intensity laser blast effects. CLICK HERE to read the full review I wrote.

Four of the songs are from the 2012 album The Plague, a two parter that was a mini concept album that the band described as “one woman’s allegory of England during the 1300’s as the plague and death advance across the land”, plus a 6 song EP titled Scars. My Secret Ghost is a cool rocker with Bridget’s trademark vocals. I love her instantly recognizable vocal style which combines breathy space whisper and theatrical flair. The Plague Part 1 consists of soundscapes and a repetitive looped effect, later joined by Bridget’s EWI wind instrument. Too Soon and Drums Of War were hidden tracks on the album. The former combines drifting melodic ambience and string instrumentation with a slowly strolling electro pulse. And Drums Of War has a Pink Floyd circa The Wall feel. CLICK HERE to read the full review I wrote.

Truth & Lies is a remastered edit from the 2010 Time Flies album. It’s a beautiful song that combines a pleasant melody and Bridget’s distinctive vocals with an electronica driven rhythmic pulse, ambient orchestration, chunky guitar and a lovely violin solo. Lots going on here. Finally, and all Omenopus fans will want to hear this, is an unreleased cover of Kraftwerk’s The Robots which Omenopus take in a very different direction. They retain the Kraftwerk quirkiness of the original, though this is a high tension wire act with searing electro Metal blasts and an army of pummeling effects, but also brief dreamy ambient interludes. VERY cool. Take the band up on their offer.

For more information visit the Omenopus web site at: http://omenopus.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

Sauer Adler began as the Polish duo of A.J. Kaufmann and Kacper Wojaczek, who over a couple years released EPs and albums of mighty impressive lo-fi Prog-Psych songs. A.J. is also a prolific solo artist and poet who regularly unleashes new music and has become a figure I try to keep my ears out for.

When I reviewed the previous Sauer Adler album – 2014-2015 – the last with Wojaczek, I knew A.J. was now working with German musician Radu Rusanu and have been anxious to hear how their sound has evolved, especially given that the last album was the best yet by the previous duo.

Performed in their guises as Doctor Cosmonaut on vocals, guitars, bass and ko(s)mische bicycle, and Crazy Radu on keyboards, guitars and bass, The Munich Tapes “tells the half-mythical z-movie story of a dangerous meeting with men machines backstage of an underground club for Earthlings, and an air ride on a rusted limousine”.

The set opens in Bowie/Ziggy Space-Glam mode with the awesomely titled Break A Leg! (Psychedelic Chicks On Bikes). Kwasarstunde is drugged, spectral, and surrealistically hypnotic. When the guitar starts to solo it introduces a dirty fuzzed edge which is soon joined by freakier effects which sound cool against the contrasting keyboard melody. Hello Utopia! is a kick ass rocker with a wild conglomeration of Psych guitar, whooshing alien effects, soulful organ, and a fist pumping swagger rocking attitude. A Penis Mightier Than The Sword lays down a funky rhythmic pulse over which guitar solos freakily, bringing to (my) mind Snakefinger gone free-wheeling brain-on-drugs Hard Psych. The Sea Song starts off sounding like a Folk tinged tribute to The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour, before morphing into a beautifully trippy and soulful combination of melodic song and Psychedelic space freakout, before returning to the opening theme and ending on a Space-Blues note. This might be my favorite track of the set. I really dig the off-kilter Psychedelic-Space-Doom-Stoner-Metal Fading Insight, with its groovy blend of Sabbath styled riffage and trippy acid-space guitar. Galactic Head (:*)… yes, the symbol is part of the title… is a brief interlude of crazy tripped out effects and swirling soundscapes. Interstellar Blues is a lusciously disorienting mixture of Space-Soul, drugged Dream-Pop and cosmic Blues. I even detect a bit of Psych drenched traditional Oriental theme. It’s Never Gonna Happen, Is It? features more Space-Soul, though it’s all very freeform fun with strange effects and soundscapes. Finally, Use Your Brain is like Van der Graaf Generator in space with a Soul injection and plenty of Psychedelic freakout.

So yeah, I think I’m diggin’ this new team-up between Kaufmann and Rusanu. The lo-fi elements are still present but somehow seem less so, and like previous Sauer Adler efforts they don’t matter one hoot anyway. There’s a lot happening here and it’s all very creatively cool.

To stream and download The Munich Tapes and other Sauer Adler albums visit: https://saueradler.bandcamp.com
LOTS of A.J. Kaufmann albums can be streamed and downloaded at: http://ajkaufmann.bandcamp.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

Church of Hed – “Electric Sepulcher” (Eternity’s Jest Records 2015, CD/DL)

Church of Hed began life as a side project for Quarkspace founding member/drummer/synths maestro Paul Williams during slow periods for his at that time “Mothership” band. The first, self-titled Church of Hed album came out in 2002, followed by the Route 66 themed Rivers of Asphalt in 2011. And now we have the brand new Church of Hed release – Electric Sepulcher.

As Aural Innovations comes to the close of our eighteenth year of publication I have to admit that Electric Sepulcher has me feeling reflective and sentimental. The writing, printing and stapling in my home of the original hard copy zine was inspired by conversations with Paul in his former Oxley Road apartment here in Columbus, Ohio. Quarkspace was in high gear in those years, playing frequent live shows in Columbus and were a regular presence at the Strange Daze Space Rock Festivals. My fondest Quarkspace live performance memory was when they played a killer show of about 4 hours straight at the Thirsty Ear Tavern without ever taking a break and ended up blowing out the bar’s sound system. They were not invited back.

Add to that the Electric Sepulcher cover art by Christian Mumford, the first ever contributor to Aural Innovations, who’s amazing art work graced nearly every printed issue of the mag and I’m feeling pretty damn good.

The first thing visitors to churchofhed.com see at the top of the page is the following description: “Forward looking aural travelogues expressed in progressive, psychedelic electronica and rock. Beats. Loops. Songs. Improv. Large-form compositions. Hyper-kinetic playing. 21st Century Berlin School meets spacerock and prog.”

I’d say that absolutely nails the music on Electric Sepulcher. The album is a luscious instrumental journey that consists of quirky spaced out electronica, Space-Prog symphonics, sci-fi soundtrack and electro grooves. Paul excels at seamlessly blending disparate styles and influences, and the thematic development throughout the set is among his best yet.

The brief introductory Eternal 2 is a surreal mash up of quirky melodic looped, and backward efx’d synths and keys, which leads into the first full song, The Moebius Wave. The commanding piano melody recalls Quarkspace and is accompanied by freaky alien effects which are part of an overall darkly intense orchestral Space-Prog theme. The title track features trademark Church of Hed electronic rhythmic and melodic quirkiness, which sounds very cool when combined with the eerie sci-fi ooh-wee-ooh effects, Mellotronic waves, and Jazz-Prog electric piano melody. Listen close and you’ll hear what seems like a strange array of stylistic components that Paul brings together into a cool grooving Space-Prog-Jazz whole. Glacial is a morphing of 1960s sci-fi TV show theme, darkly rumbling electronica and high intensity Prog. East Of Christopher features more rug cutting electronic quirkiness and sci-fi theme vibes.

Godspeed You Alien Dingo is the 10 minute epic of the set and where Paul’s thematic development skills really shine. It kicks off with a few minutes of meteor shower space synths and cosmic Mellotron wave, before transitioning to a combination of syncopated electronic pattern, alien effects, and a beautiful dual combination of gently pleasant piano and spaced out synth melody. After a while the piano becomes more darkly intense, while effects flitter about and we set into a groove that recalls Berlin School Kosmiche, though the piano continues to lead the way. After settling in for a peaceful landing we launch headlong into the hurly burly of the dance floor space raving House Tron. Trace the Rubycon is a meditative combination of Berlin School quirk and beautifully tinkling melody, but also Quarkspace styled intensity. Finally, Eternal 1 closes the set with a blend of electronica, effects and ethereal voice samples.

Wanting to talk more about the new album and what’s been happening in the Church of Hed and Quarkspace worlds I conducted the following email interview with Paul Williams:

Aural Innovations (AI): It’s going to be hard to ask about the new album without also talking about Quarkspace so I won’t try to separate them. You said you feel this is your most focused Church of Hed album to date because of the lack of distraction due to Quarkspace either retiring or going on hiatus last year. The last Quarkspace album – Spacefolds 12 – came out in 2013. So let’s start with Quarkspace… give us the skinny since Spacefolds 12.

Paul Williams (PW): Quarkspace got really close to completing All These Suns — our first real studio album since Drop in 2001. We were about two-thirds finished with the recording and all that would follow was mixing and mastering — a few months of work. Jay and I talked to a music store owner here in Bourbon country about hosting an album release party and he was honored to be asked after researching our backstory. He was going to have the event catered, provide a light show, and stream the video over the Internet.

Jay and I checked his place out (the first time for Jay, since I’ve been there multiple times) and we discussed PA considerations and everything was a go — this would have happened in the Fall of 2014. I publicized the event (in pencil) on the Quarkspace Facebook page and interest was building and plans were being made.

After that weekend though, Jay stopped returning my phone calls and the same with Darren. I have no idea why, but suspect the effort required in putting together a good live show as well as finishing the album seemed too daunting for them.

We’ve had no contact since then. I left messages to both this May, which would have been a year since our last meeting, but to no avail. Neither are on the Internet. Not returning phone calls is a huge pet peeve of mine, but oh well, we’ll always be musical brothers. They are always welcome to stop by and jam.

At that point, I decided to do a new solo album, which became Electric Sepulcher. I was working on the second Rivers of Asphalt album (more on that later), but was fired up to work on more immediate music. I had been writing material (some with Jay) for a new Quarkspace album after All These Suns, which had been worked on now for eight years and whose centerpiece song (the title track) was something from our late 90s live repertoire.

I did have a few in the spacerock community contact me about helping to finish All These Suns after hearing about the situation, but I really have no interest in doing Quarkspace without Jay, Darren, and Chet. In fact, in hasn’t really been the same since Chet moved to California in 2009. We really should have called it quits then or even in 2004 after Node in Peril came out.

The Spacefolds releases have been a few years behind the actual jam sessions since 2001. Spacefolds 12 includes material from 2008-2009. There is enough material for a few more in the Spacefolds series, but at this point, I have no interest in the archival, mixing, and mastering work necessary for their release. Also these recent jams don’t have Chet, and some of them would require overdubs from Darren, since he only was present for around half of our get togethers.

At this point, any new Quarkspace release — barring something unexpected — would be of a retrospective nature — maybe a two or three-disc overview (which would include some of the tracks from All These Suns) and a two-disc Best of the Spacefolds release? I have zero interest in working on anything like that right now, but if any other record label is interested in releasing them, I’d listen. Short of that, maybe release them on Bandcamp? I have no desire to use Eternity’s Jest’s limited resources for this kind of project. I want to keep looking forward musically, as always, and am writing and producing more stuff than ever — even compared to our most productive period in the late 90s.

Chet and I are in regular contact. In fact, I had to ask him last week for recommendations on strings for Angela’s lap steel guitar, since I broke one when trying to tune it. He continues to care about Quarkspace’s legacy, for lack of a better word. I honestly think the others don’t. It was always more of a social, “let’s get together to jam” type of happening for them. There’s nothing wrong with that.

It was fun while it lasted, but those times are gone — especially without Chet. Jay never was really into spacerock per se, being more of a classic rock and 70s prog fan (he’d be happiest singing and playing in a Beatles cover band); Darren as well. Jay at times expressed frustration about only doing improv when we got together, so we were writing more (I’ve always felt the same way). The irony being that composition takes a lot more time and effort than improv, and in the end we were unable to work as hard as we needed to.

AI: I believe this is the first fully solo album you’ve done? No guests at all. Was that a decision or just the way things worked out?

PW: Oh, there are more questions? 😉

Yes, no guests this time out. It was a bit of a conscious decision, but the circumstances of being in the middle of nowhere also limit who are able to show up for guest work.

AI: If I go back 18 years to the earliest Aural Innovations days, you and I used to get into some interesting “genre” discussions… Space Rock – Prog. Having said that, I love the Church of Hed description on your web site: “21st Century Berlin School meets spacerock and prog”. Because throughout Electric Sepulcher I hear all that and more.

PW: Yeah, that’s a pretty accurate description. I’ve been really listening to tons of music over the past two years, even more so than typical — anything from newer artists like Flying Lotus to older albums from Gram Parsons. I’ve been bingeing on Eno, Tangerine Dream, Mahler, Curtis Mayfield, Camper Van Beethoven, etc. as well. Really, there are too many to mention. All of it inspires me in its own way. Genre is more of a marketing term anyway!

AI: Let’s talk about all the tracks on Electric Sepulcher, starting with the two Eternals which open and close the set. I like the quirky spaced out electronica on Eternal 2 and Eternal 1 is a tasty spaced out and melodic finale with cool voice samples.

PW: These two are based on the same loop I originally wrote for use in another project that never got off the ground. Eternal 2 is the same loop as Eternal 1 but played backwards. Found some voice samples and added some freaky sounds and there you go. Eternal 2 features my Kawai K4 and Moog Sub 37 at the end — my oldest and newest synths in the arsenal. The public domain voice samples add to the vibe. I kept going back and forth about each track’s placement at the front or end of the album, thus “2” being first, and “1” being last.

AI: The Moebius Wave has a symphonic, dark Quarkspace-ish vibe, but also electro grooves and spaced out electronica.

PW: The Moebius Wave is an older “house” loop with loads of trippy sonic work. One day last year I improvised what became the piano melody on the final version. The original was done on my Korg Z1, but I had to relearn it on the weighted 88-key synth I use today — it’s in one of those “hard” modes with a lot of “black” keys.

Since the improvised part was in half-time compared to the beat, I added some drumming on the slower beat; it’s essentially a mashup between a house beat and a slow jam — for worse or better! The Waldorf Streichfett string synth and Moog Sub 37 add to the fun. This track is dedicated to Dieter Moebius.

AI: Electric Sepulcher features classic “Paul” quirky electronica, sci-fi soundtrack, jazzy grooving Prog, and dark sympho atmospherics.

PW: The title track of the album is currently my favorite CoH piece. I wrote the backing loop about three years ago early on New Years Day. Quarkspace jammed on versions of it, but it never got very far. I spent most of the last year developing melodies and other parts to make it shine. The live drum part wasn’t planned, I just improvised one day towards the end of recording and liked it. I really focused on melody writing on this album compared to earlier work — it is a fun and rewarding exercise.

AI: I like the blend of sci-fi soundtrack, dark mellotronic Prog, alien electronica, bits of electro and Van Der Graaf Generator vibe on Glacial. The electro bass pulse feels like a rumbling tank march and it has a super cool high intensity finale.

PW: Glacial features a loop written during a trip to Lake Erie’s Kelleys Island. It is another piece where the final melody composition was vital. This is kind of an Eno-influenced work to my ears, but you correctly notice the Guy Evans Cowbell Beat (TM) in the weirdo bridge section.

AI: East of Christopher has a nice bouncy, spirited, rythmically varied Space-Prog feel.

PW: This track features the oldest beat on the album. I am pretty sure I wrote it when we stayed in Bedford PA on the way out to playing in Philadelphia in 2003. Quarkspace had jammed on it multiple times and it never quite worked. I was really struggling with a melody for this track and was almost going to cut it. The first song from Neu ’75 shuffled up that weekend on my iPod and boom — I was inspired. The Moog Sub 37’s LFO sounds perfect on the melody, so a tip of the hat to Herr Rother et al.

This track is dedicated to Chris Squire. I originally called it East of Nimoy for Leonard (it reminds me of the In Search Of theme), but was mixing it on a Sunday morning a few months ago when I took a break, checked Facebook and saw that Chris Squire died. Since the bass line on it always reminded me of Squire (or Chet channeling Squire), I changed its name. Chris was my first rock star “idol” in high school; I had his page from the Yessongs book on my bedroom wall. Never became a bassist though — yet.

AI: Godspeed You Alien Dingo is the album’s Space-Prog-Electronica-Berlin School epic. I love the thematic variation and transitions. Some of it reminds me of Quarkspace, but with the Church of Hed electronia injection. Well… I guess any time I hear piano here it’s going to remind me of Quarkspace.

PW: Yeah, I love this track. The backing loops were done on my iPad in 2013 — one big giant improv using Arturia’s iSEM and iMini apps and a MIDI keyboard controller with knobs. Over the last year I gradually added the other parts through improvisation and composition. The Sub 37 and Streichfett also shine as well as my piano. Jay has easily inspired me more than any other keyboard player and really encouraged me to get the 88-key weighted synth, both to improve my technique and also so he wouldn’t have to carry his keyboard down here for sessions. It’s a shame he doesn’t know how to use a phone anymore! 😉

The drum track took me a few months of rehearsal to get used to playing the same beat without variation for 4 minutes straight. Over the years, my keyboard playing has really corrupted any traditional drumming style I used to possess. Obviously, this track is dedicated to Daevid Allen.

AI: House Tron screams Space Rave!

PW: Yeah, this one is my nudge and wink to Crimson’s Thela Hun Gingeet or however it’s spelled. The loop is from around 7-8 years ago; it was too weird for Quarkspace. I used to call it Adrian’s House Tron, but House Tron fit better. Once again, the drum track took months of rehearsal to (almost) get it right. My arms almost fell off.

AI: I like the dark Quarkspace piano, tinkling melody and sequenced pattern combo on Trace the Rubycon. It’s got an overall Space-Prog feel with a pleasantly haunting melody and soundtrack feel at times.

PW: This is a newer loop and composition. In fact, Quarkspace did a pretty decent take on an earlier version of this. It uses the Korg iPolysix iPad app for the backing beat and a whole host of my synths throughout. I stole a motif from Rivers of Asphalt 2 to add the second chord progression. It is dedicated to Edgar Froese.

AI: How did you come up with the title Electric Sepulcher? Anything to do with the four in-memoriams I see in the CD notes for Daevid Allen, Edgar Froese, Dieter Moebius and Chris Squire?

PW: I just thought it was a cool title that popped in my head one day and I knew Christian Mumford would have some great artwork that complemented it. So many of my musical heroes kept dying during the final recording and mixing it was starting to freak me out a bit. I had to get it done!

AI: Quarkspace had, at one time, been a Columbus (Ohio) band. Now I don’t think any of you, including yourself, live here. Have you been happy with your move to Kentucky? After I visited the Buffalo Trace distillery last year you said you lived near there so I’m curious if you live in a rural area?

PW: Yes, it is quite rural where we live. It is very peaceful and when combined with all the new (and new to me) music I am discovering and listening to here, it is definitely inspiring.

Dave Wexler and Stan Lyon still live in Columbus as far as I know, but the rest of us are all gone. End of an era, for sure.

AI: I’m interested in the continually evolving nature of formats and distribution. I believe your CDs are available directly from you and through CDBaby, and digital versions available through all the major services?

PW: Yes, I stopped dealing with distributors — other than CD Baby — for the most part in 2001. It was too much work to deal with, especially when we didn’t get paid. I actually got flack from one distro for releasing Drop for free. Matt Howarth handled the wholesaling of Node in Peril as part of our agreement on that project, and Quarkspace have only released Spacefolds albums since then, so it wasn’t a big issue.

AI: Are you selling more CDs or digital?

PW: I’d estimate we sell 85-90 percent digitally these days. I only printed up CDs for the last two Church of Hed albums for promotional purposes — and then I didn’t even promote the first Rivers of Asphalt! I did so much more promotional work back in the day; these days I’m happiest to just do the music and mostly let the people discover it. We do get folks (the smart ones) taking advantage of our “Buy One Get Four Free” deal on our website.

Streaming is cutting into the revenue for all musicians. We do get thousands of streams a month, so I assume people are still discovering the music — why would folks who already own the CD or download stream from a service? The entire Quarkspace and Church of Hed catalogs get streamed regularly according to the data in our reports — even National Steam!

Nonetheless — I have no plans to stop recording music (mostly under the Church of Hed moniker) and am pleasantly surprised we continue to do as well as we do. There’s too much cool stuff still yet to come!

AI: I see on your web site you are continuing work on the sequel to Rivers of Asphalt. The “continuing” indicates you’ve already been working on it. Have you been working on this simultaneous with Electric Sepulcher? Will the sequel be the next Church of Hed album?

Yes, Rivers of Asphalt was originally intended to be a double album — Route 66 and the Lincoln Highway. When it took so long to do the Route 66 album (2003-2010), with all its stops and starts, I decided to do the Lincoln Highway section as a second release. I was working on it regularly up until the Great Quarkspace Flake Out of 2014, when I focused efforts on what became Electric Sepulcher, while still playing some of the motifs and parts when I practice.

It probably won’t be the next Church of Hed album, since it will take a couple of years to finish and guests will be involved. Greg Kozlowski and I have talked about him appearing on this one, plus I have other ideas for guests in mind.

AI: The previous question was actually taken from the second part of a sentence on your web site which reads: “We are also looking forward to starting on new albums”, and the Rivers of Asphalt sequel was an “AND”. What are these other new albums?

PW: I am currently working on The Autumn Shrine EP which will be released around Thanksgiving. It features a new composition, a freaky improv, and two pieces originally slotted for Electric Sepulcher that I cut, not for quality’s sake, but to better balance that album. I have always been jealous of Stereolab simultaneously releasing great albums and EPs, so I hope to follow that model moving forward.

I expect to release other albums that don’t follow concepts like Rivers of Asphalt. I also have plans for a Spacefolds like series of primarily improv material. Whether that ends up following a magazine release cycle like Spacefolds or the work gets folded (pun?) into EPs and other albums remains to be seen.

Unfortunately, I have no plans for live performance at this time. There are simply too many parts on a Church of Hed piece to cover by one person.

AI: Any other news or upcoming activities you care to share?

PW: Folks who are interested in music gear, especially of the synth variety, should check out my TabMuse website (CLICK HERE). I don’t publish enough on it, since I am usually busy in the studio, but there are quite a few reviews and articles currently — including a couple by one Kev Ellis. Other than that, stay tuned to the Church of Hed website and our Facebook page for the latest. Someday I will redo Quarkspace’s website as well.

As always, thanks for listening!

Visit the Church of Hed web site at: http://churchofhed.com
Visit Church of Hed on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/churchofhed
Visit the Quarkspace web site at: http://quarkspace.com

Review and Interview by Jerry Kranitz