new psych : review page

Cuneiform Rec.Djam Karet : Recollection Harvest (US,2005)***°

This 13th release of Djam Karet is dived in two parts. The main part with the album title has the recognisable Djam Karet style, which is a sophisticated rather improvisational instrumental music with something which will be generally described as being influenced by King Crimson, in a more relaxed progression compared to the new Scandinavian examples. What is strong about Djam Karet is not their inventive or compositional cleverness, but a group sound with an almost organic completeness, a recognisable style which the group has built up during the years. The second part however is something different and is somewhat surprising. Like the main title suspects there are exotic elements used and improvisations of some new instruments seem to be the starting point for a similar organic result once the composition is recorded. We hear more than once an 8-string lute (called bazuki), and some Indian sounding percussion just here and there, without ever making a real fusion attempt or something more than an individually chosen, coincidental exotic nature, developed by chance and improvisation, remaining in its own eclectic musical planet. A fine release which keeps intact a rather abstract expression and vision, just like the previous albums, unless its clear touch of more exotic experiment.

Audio : "The March To The Sea Of Tranquility", "Dr. Money", "The Packing House",

"The Gypsy And The Hegemon", "Recollection Harvest", "Indian Summer",

"Open Roads", "Requiem"

Homepage : http://www.djamkaret.com/

with this album : http://www.djamkaret.com/disc-rh.php

Label page : http://www.cuneiformrecords.com/bandshtml/djam.html

Detailed info : http://www.progarchives.com/Progressive_rock_discography_CD.asp?...

Other reviews : http://www.progressor.net/review/djam_karet_2005.html

& http://www.aural-innovations.com/issues/issue32/djamkar4.html

& http://www.intuitivemusic.com/content/view/1803/29/

(or http://www.intuitivemusic.com/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=1803)

& on http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=19670

& http://www.dprp.net/reviews/200557.html#djam

& http://www.kyndmusic.com/monthlyissues/december05/mickspicks.htm

& http://www.onewaymagazine.com/inthebin_17-727.html

German review : http://www.ragazzi-music.de/djamkaret05.html

next album ->

HC Prod.Djam Karet : The Heavy Soul Sessions (US,2010)****

Djam Karet's latest album is a well composed progressive rock album dominated by heavy guitars and similar wild sounds from keyboards like organ, mellotron and digital synths, with use of ebow and 5-string bass guitar, this holds perfectly the middle between a psychedelic groove and improvised jam session working with tightly arranged harmonies, the band cooperating like one entity in a comparable area. One of the tracks is an interpretation of an early Richard Pinhas work from 1982's release “L'Ethique” which sounds pretty progressive and impressive too. There's a heaviness adapted, but also no element really dominates ever. A mature electric guitar based album.

Homepage : http://www.djamkaret.com/

The Wild PlacesMany Bright Things : Many Bright Friends (US/UK,2005)***'

Psych fan Stan Denski, in cooperation with Michael Piper, both long time collectorstended to make from Many Bright Things a kind of Supergroup. In reality it is a assemblage of recordings Stan Denski collected over a period of three years with some of his favourite musicians. Never the less he succeeded ino making collector’s items from the two earlier limited edition releases by the collective project, involving all those for who all participated.

The longest track is “East West”, based upon John Coltrane’s idea of fusion, bringing the Indian raga into a western bluesrock context. (This I guess refered to the The Paul Butterfield Blues Band and their album "East West" where possibly one of the first times some electric raga guitar idea appeared into a rock band). This is in fact a bluesrock jam, with various solo’s, starting with Larry Demver (Windopane) who’s solo sounds like a cross between Santana and early Hendrix, followed by a very different personality guitar style, by Nick Saloman (Bevis Front). The next and shorter track, “The Silver Witch” is sung by Alisha Sufit (from former sitar psychfolkrock group Magic Carpet, which had a collector’s item made in 1974). This is especially nice thanks to the mandolin performance of Frank DeFina, making Alisha sound solo at her best (-and much better compared to her latest album effort in a songfolk style-). Also “Minor Parade For 18 Strings” has again an Indian association, provided by the effect of the electric tambura and tabla combined with quick pickings on 12-string by Stan Denski, combined with the lead guitar by Paul Major. “I am not a collector potato” is a somewhat disturbing-the psychhead-let-go an effect, which was almost created there on the album anyway. Jello Biafra narrates his thoughts with some frustration, with a droning voice -unlike his effective earlier voice, full of fire, in the time from his intellectual punk band Dead Kennedy’s-. Even when the track remains in a bluesy psychedelic sphere, it is disturbing hearing him confront blind lovers of psychedelia and money-urging collectors, especially when his thought isn’t really hitting the true essences of things, it surely is less to the point within the context of this musical concept. It then sounds like it's coming from someone who is almost expected to have some comments at hand, and who also acts according to these expectations, even when he isn’t hitting the real essence with his urge. Last moody track is a kind of additional audio bonus gift by Stan Denski, which is a guitarspin in CGCGCF, associating guitarists like Richard Bishop, with some additional e-bow guitar and some delay as experimental effect.

The CD makes sense in some way, and gives some satisfaction, on the other hand it might not have gone very deep into the essences it recalled, that it still leaves me with just a bit of a superficial feeling. The music recalls some psychedelia and bluesjams from the seventies, as well as early neo-psych from the nineties.

Label page : http://www.thewildplaces.com/

Info : http://www.psychedelic-music.net/pmdb/db3/db_band.php4?id=106

& http://www.fusetronsound.com/label.php?whomart=MANYBRIGHTTHINGS

Other review : http://indieworkshop.com/music/2258/

& http://www.oor.nl/albums_details.asp?typeId=&id=1979&albumType=1

Earlier releases of the band reviews :

http://www.aural-innovations.com/issues/issue5/bright.html

Nasoni Rec. Sula Bassana and the Nasoni Pop Art Experimental Band : vol.1 (D,2006)***

Nasoni Records celebrates their 10th birthday with this special release with participation of various of their bands (Sula Bassana, Weltraumstaunen, Johnson Noise, Blumenwunder,..), lead by Sula Bassana. The project’s band name refers to The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, a late ’60 psychpop band. I’m not sure how much it refers really to such a band, because the rhythms are much slower and dronerythmic and everything is from an improvised nature. Often the bass/rhythm part is a bit too calm for this, and too repetitive, even here and there post-dub-like to be from a comparable creative compactness as ‘60’s bands like The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band. We hear lots of great acidic guitars and spacey keyboards. The only ’60 reference I can see is that the psychedelic tracks are kept relatively short. Drums and bass on various tracks were recorded separately the year before, which you can hear, because they tend to be going on in their own calm spaces. The music is improvisational psychedelic, moody, somewhat swinging even, and enjoyable.

Label info : http://www.nasoni-records.com/seiten/records/sula_nr048.html

Homepage : http://www.sulabassana.de/ with info : http://www.sulabassana.de/records.html

German review : http://www.sulabassana.de/popart1.html

Nasoni Records interview :

http://www.aural-innovations.com/issues/issue32/nasoni01.html

West Coast Pop Experimental band page : http://members.chello.nl/cvanderlely/wcpaeb.html

& http://www.sundazed.com/artists/wcpaeb.html ; new, 2009 album reviewed on next page->

Strange Attractors F/i : A Question for the Somnabulist (US,2003,re.2006)**°'

F/i were one the pioneering American spacerock bands, based in Milwaukee, with a number of releases done which evolved from tape to LP to CD history, as being fashionable in the underground scenes. They now have over 20 years of history. F/i began as a trio with Richard Franecki, Greg Kurczewski, and Brian Wensing. Franecki parted ways in 1990 to form Vocokesh and record solo albums. His return to the group in 2002 was celebrated with this release. In this case the group consisted of Richard Franecki, Grant Richter, Darwin Grosse and Brian Wensing. Only one track has Rick Hake on drums instead of Grosse, and additionally John Helwig on bass.

Most of the presented tracks are basically loose jams, but there’s some variety in the tracks, especially in the first half of the album, as if this album starts as a bit of a best of. F/I makes use of, besides a jam effect, a pattern which I call “the ‘90’s psychedelic style”, which is especially effective on “Uber-Wizards..”. This style uses the recognisable slow movements, few chords, psychedelic spacey effects with electronica, effects on the guitar like fuzz, with rhythms based upon repetition and with a vague reminder of dubpsychedelia, and with room for additional electric guitar solo improvisations. But especially on this track, when I hear the energy swell, something more than a style jam is happening here ; it becomes like an early Hawkwind-live wall-of-effects-injection like a torpedo on the run. All tracks use more or less patterns of repetition. “Hit the kill switch..” for instance uses slow bass repetitions besides fuzzed spaceout guitars, -in combination with the keyboards this has a certain cyber-spacerock effect-. Just a few other tracks (track 4-6) use a kind of sitarguitareffect on the background, and show a very loose jam of what reminds vaguely on sitarrock but then with spacey effects and just played for the feeling. Almost all tracks have electronic spacey effects, making the music more psychedelic. Just now and then some sequenced pulses are used as well. While the first half of the album showed several, in most tracks varied visions and ideas, the second half of the album contains much more loose jamming, also faded out with no real endings. But also with some structureless laziness, there always is at least some hypnotic effect around somewhere, even with it eventually becomes more like a drone and stoned feeling at its most loose.

Those who like Vokokesh or some of the other American spacerock bands could check this band out. This album, which was originally printed in limited edition in 2003, has been reprinted (1000 copies only), in a paperboard package.

Audio : "A Prelude To The Afternoon Of A Daisy Cutter", "Hit The Kill Switch Eugene"

"Uber-Wizards of the 88th Meridian", "Surgical Procedures on the Ship"

Homepage : http://www.sixthstation.com/fi/

Info : http://www.psychedelic-music.net/pmdb/db3/db_band.php4?id=129

Label info : http://www.strange-attractors.com/catalog/saah040.html

Old interviews : http://www.aural-innovations.com/issues/issue2/fi01.html

& http://www.creativesynth.com/INTERVIEWS/int_FIonFI.html

Four Zero Rec. Mushroom : Really don't mind if you sit this one out

-live in San Fransisco, june 1997-november 1998- (US,rec.1997-1998,is.2006)***

San Fransisco based Mushroom (not the UK 70’s folkrock band with the same name) I found one of the more interesting psychedelic bands from the late 90’s. Their improvisations were often a bit jazz-related, in a jamming way. This new album is a concert from their first ever gigs in 1997 and 1998, showing strong moody jams. Especially the first jam, “Klonopin” but also “My Brain Hurt Like A Warehouse, it had no room to spare” which starts more like a rock jam, has this slight jazz flavour. “Kyle loves a funny bunny” like the last track, "Why Do Most German Booking Agents have brain damage ?" is more headinginto and focusing and tripping into space. “The Reeperbahn” is an endless jam on a repetitive 7/8 rhythm, taking the time to become something original, becoming almost ethno-psychedelic. "Phillip Seymour Hoffman" heads just seemingly to space, once more, and started as a slower jam with moody flutes, and keyboard-vibes evolving to a psychedelic rock jam.

An album of over 80 minutes of live tracks, limited to 1000 copies.

Audio : "Kyle loves a funny bunny", "My Brain Hurt Like A Warehouse, it had no room to spare", "Why Do Most German Booking Agents have brain damage ?"

Homepage : http://www.paisleypop.com/mushroom/

History of Mushroom : http://www.wellers.demon.co.uk/Mushroom%20page.htm

Info : http://www.wellers.demon.co.uk/

Other review : http://www.aural-innovations.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=265

& http://www.clear-spot.nl/catalog/view.php?item_id=265807

Other releases I have by them, with the 1999 album as my favourite :

Normal Rec. Mushroom : Cream of Mushroom (US,1998)***

Timothy's Brain Rec. Mushroom : Hydrogen Jukebox (US,1998)***

Clearspot Mushroom : Analog Hi-Fi Surprise (US,1999)***°

Two more releases->

Four Zero Rec. Mushroom : Alison Faith Levy & Mushroom (US,2007)**°

This preview release shows Mushroom’s new cooperation with singer Alison Faith (Camper Van Beethoven & Loud Family). Mushroom has already proven to be able to make moody, slightly jazzy inspired material with a certain psychedelia groove. Alison’s contribution adds a new dimension to the music, reminding me of great ‘70s days and it's possibilities, but it also brings Mushroom to more earthly territories in a more bluesy vein, a bit free, yet unfocused where to go to, but great in mood with this slightly soulrock voice. The tracks are rather short to know if it will really go anywhere else, but I think this preview release proves a great addition and perhaps new future. The first track unfortunately was only a fragment of a bigger track which we will hear on the next expected release. This is a promo-only release, limited to 100 copies.

Audio : "Gas,Grass or ass/Nobody rides for free"

Info : http://www.4zerorecords.co.uk/

Info on singer : http://www.myspace.com/alisonfaithlevy

& http://magneticmotorworks.com/afl.html

The full release cd->

Four Zero Rec. Alison Faith Levy & Mushroom :

Yesterday I saw you kissing tiny flowers...(US,2007)***°

After the preview promo I heard before, it is the full CD which for me proves how Mushroom did a very good progression and move, with the addition of singer Alison Faith Levy, and with their improvisations. The music, much more than a background jam carpet, vividly and easily becomes just like a “flying carpet” thanks to a variety of ideas linked to different genres.. A strength from the group is that they’re not just any psychedelic or bluesy jam band who depends on the mood completely around certain chords. It is the jazzy side which makes their trip more adventurous. They improvise with sax, and flute, which can be experimental and adventurous at times and with additional vocal improvisation ; they are able to provoke semi-ethnic trips with use of additional hand percussion ; I even heard a slightly more funky-jazzy organ. As a jam band with this release they stand out much for the genre. A great live concert document.

Limited to 1000 copies.

Audio : here & on http://www.myspace.com/alisonfaithlevy

& http://www.indiestore.com/4zerorecords & http://www.myspace.com/4zerorecords

& http://www.myspace.com/mushroomoakland

Homepage : http://www.magneticmotorworks.com/ with A.F.Levy page here

Label homepage with audio : http://www.4zerorecords.co.uk/

Other reviews : http://www.jambands.com/CDReviews/content_2007_07_22.04.phtml

& http://harpmagazine.com/reviews/cd_reviews/detail.cfm?article_id=5860

& http://www.terrascope.co.uk/Reviews/Reviews_June07.htm#AlisonFaithLevy

Description on http://www.dustygroove.com/...

next review->

Four Zero Rec. Mushroom : Naked, Stoned, Stabbed (US,2010)***'

There was a time psychedelia was more associated with a mixed use of electric elements with a strong use of acoustic elements and the use of analogue synths (besides that early psych was pretty serious with its explorative elements, but that aspect is not relevant) . It seems as if Mushroom, now already a different band than before, and with many members flowing in and out, they jam and moodily improvise into this old school detail of an element of the more acoustic thing with acoustic guitars and electric pickings mixed with organ/mellotron/.. and an occasional exotic instrument like the kalimba or so, with electric bass. With each track having open endings these are all slow, slightly stoned vibes with a vaguely joyful nature for having these sounds and instruments around, where one jam leads into the next, with associations from a certain early Pink Floyd vagueness to raga rock jams. Only the last track is a (pretty naive) 60s song, with a sort of group’s optimism from smoking joints ; possibly this is the announced Kevin Ayers/Syd Barrett jam remake. This sort of psychedelia of Mushroom (different and more acoustic to what they ever did before) won’t feed the head like psychedelia did in the late 60s, but its joyful sounds surely will keep a smile of recognition that these wallpaper versions of it have comparable colours, from a distance.

Many Bay area musicians were involved, like Josh Pollock (Citay, and collaborator with Gong, Acid Mothers Temple, Ruins, John Cale, and Damo Suzuki), Matt Cunitz (Brightblack Morning Light, Hiss Golden Messenger), Erik Pearson (Daevid Allen, Irene Sazer, Crooked Jades, Billy Talbot/Crazy Horse), Ned Doherty, Pat Thomas (reissue producer of Judee Sill, Ruthann Friedman, Pearls Before Swine, Terry Reid, Cluster & Eno), David Brandt (he toured before with the Kologbo Afrobeat Academy) and Butch Morris (Skyscraper).

Description on http://www.clear-spot.nl/catalog/view.php?item_id=340900

Other review : http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=48918

& http://alternativemusictalk.com/news/mushroom-gits-conceptual

Strange Attractors Paik : Monster of the absolute (US,rec.2005,iss.2006)***'

With their hazed and smoke-from-fire wall of sound on the first few tracks, I thought by myself: if Sonic Youth would have been totally instrumental and had gone psychedelic they would sound somewhat like Paik. Stretching, almost droning, with inner gaze, this trio plays with a loaded battery of power. With their distorted densities and stretched melodies the group has made a sonic machine monster which succeeds to hypnotize the listener both with their rhythmic-melodic and still evolving repetitions, as with their droning distortions. This moving sound curtain for the listener is like a web that drags him into a spatial stickiness. Once out there it feels like a shame that after the outro there suddenly is silence ; for me it is as if I had come back to ground.

Audio : "Phantoms" or here, "October" (or here), "Snake Face" (or here)

and (with review) on http://www.billboard.com/...

Label info : http://www.strange-attractors.com/catalog/saah041.html

Other reviews and descriptions : http://www.allegro-music.com/alternative.asp

& http://www.builtonaweakspot.com/2006/04/monster-of-absolute.html

& http://www.autopiamusic.com/modules.php?name=Record_Reviews&id=51

& http://www.clear-spot.nl/catalog/view.php?item_id=265142

& http://www.midheaven.com/artists/paik.html

Article : http://www.clevescene.com/Issues/2006-04-19/music/nightwatch8.html

Thtx is a psychedelic jam band mostly with roots in psychedelic rock mostly with members who were interested in other genres too which is not always noticeable (except for jazz). Matthew Smith played before, together with Larry Ray with psychrock band Outrageous Cherry, and with The Volebeats and also, together with saxophonist Len Bukowski and Cary Loren with Monster Island, a psychfolk group and as a side project as a freejazz improvised group of which a psychfolk item received one review before here.

Basically THTX is a duo project by guitarist Matthew Smith and percussionist Kerry Gluckman, but the mentioned members from Outrages Cherry and Monster Island as well as a few other guests participating too. The band started with a series of 8 cdr’s, but they have published these three official cd’s also :

* Cosmo-Revolution Technologies THTX : The Magic Frequencies (US,2004)***'

“Monolite Express” is a very strong opener, a track which is improvised, and an at times rather heavy, psychedelic rock jam with trumpet and some sax slightly echoing the background. But also “The great transfixer” which is jamming deeply into space, with various layers of freaky guitars, is equally enjoyable. “Haha” is in a calmer mode, driven by calm whawha’s. “Master of Magical Art” is with spoken word, describing dark spheres which are suitable for a spacerock territory. Last track, “The extended dream of meditations of Atlantis” is the first time where I notice keyboards, here nicely droning with some sounds of the sea, with here and there touches of vocals : a fine atmospheric ambient-cosmic music closer. A fine and enjoyable album.

* Cosmo-Revolution Technologies THTX : Ultimately (US,2004)***°

Also the second album is in a very jammed mode, with here an there interesting rhythmical changes, and a rather spacerock mode. “Application for Explosion of time” starts with a rather electronic sounding production of the drums, founded in an idea to break-the-rhythms-down, with a goal for going over the top in time-rhythmic measures, forming, reforming and then breaking apart again, rhythmically (-the title of the track is actually a good description-). Great to hear some sax in it too. “Voyage into Space”, starting with cosmic keyboards, some acoustic guitar and bass, explores a jam on an attractive and increasing rhythm, very moody. Somewhat starting from the same mood, first oscillating, is “Supersonic Phoenix”, which builds up the jam once more through some rhythmic progressions, until it becomes spacerocking great, with bass and drums speeding up the tension, while the guitars have all the benefit of the feeling of freedom this created. Last track, “ultimately” starts calmer, but goes in parts into a high energetic jam mode too, with a few space effects with keyboards, and with both electric and acoustic guitars, building up until it becomes a more cloudy and shadowy spacejam.

* Cosmo-Revolution Technologies THTX : The Lost City (US,2006)***'

The third release driven in harmony with keyboard, bass, drum and guitars, this is the most stoned and spaced out but still rather calm freaking out jam release of all three. It's the best one if you want to completely dream away and lose oneself into that area. There’s a minor influence of jazz (sax layers) which finishes off the music very well.

Audio : "Len's Tune"

& http://www.myspace.com/thtx

Homepage : http://www.thtxinfo.com/

Descriptions : http://www.midheaven.com/artists/thtx.html

-The group in general for me has a quiet enjoyable sound.-

2009 release->

Strange Attractors Cul De Sac : Ecim (US,rec.1991,re.2006)**°'

This debut from Cul De Sac showed in various tracks an inventive use of the improvised underground rock concept. Nowadays this kind of experiment happens more and more out of the breeding dark and alternative ground from the independent 80’s and ‘90s.

Especially on the first tracks, keyboardist Robin Amos plays lots of weird notes and dancing sounds around the improvisations, while Glenn Jones improvises on these tracks with drives of the energy and using to full expand all kinds of useful sounds from guitars (from prepared guitar, with distortion,..), almost creating a structural noise, as if from some Japanese group. But not all ideas go that far. Sometimes the lead of the guitars / with a rhythmic fundament is simpler and calmer, and the instrumentals are more chord-melodic jams, (on “The Portland Cemen"t with borrowed melodic guitar ideas), which shows clearly which ideas the band tries, leading to different stages of improvisations and interactions, open to the creation of different areas. Chris Fujiwara plays bass and Chris Guttmacher plays drums. In combination the group, at its best, they found a heavy underground rocking energetic drive, elsewhere it more calmly lingers less ambitiously on a mood. From the guest musicians I want to mention especially Ruthie Dornfield on electric violin, who’s influences gives to the approach of an ear to sounds an extra new fusion which lifts the group to a different level and musical field. On “Nico’s Dream” some vocal word sampled snippets of (ex-Velvet Underground’s) Nico are used by Phil Milstein.

I can imagine how certain reviewers prefer to mention a certain Krautrock reference here, which in last mentioned track, as as rather freak improvisation I can understand, but I believe that the approach of the band had much more improvised perspectives, compared to the more structurally-thinking improvisations of the Germans. One song is also added, “Song to the Siren” by Tim Buckley, a song which made a second revival just before them by This Mortal Coil. It has its own cloud of underground rock over it. Technically it has almost not all too successful vocals, but still fits well in style.

Three bonus tracks are added, short fragments of jams, recorded not too long after this session, and suits well enough.

Audio : "Death Kit Train"

Label info : http://www.strange-attractors.com/catalog/SAAH043.html

Homepages : http://www.culdesac.org/ & http://www.myspace.com/culdesactheband

Other reviews and descriptions : http://people.bu.edu/nsmith/reviews.htm#ecim_imgtop

& http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=33021

& http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:ukjv7ip8g77r

Interview : http://www.aural-innovations.com/issues/issue20/culdesac.html

Hammond Beat Men From S.P.E.C.T.R.E. : The Living Eye (CH,2006)**°

Great to see how a group like this can give the old Hammond organ a renewed potency. The Hammond organ lost popularity because it was more difficult to move to concerts compared to the newer keyboard models. Also, Hammond fits best with more groovy (and psychedelic) music, which was made less often any more after the mid ‘70s. The label name hammondbeat fits well with the music of this band, which makes fine groovy psychedelic instrumental music, well recorded, but with a live energy. Not only hammond is used as keyboard (Mario Janser), but also a few other great analogue models. On "Purple Pill People" I hear a melodic hint I think to J.J.Perry's moog driven psychedelic groove (-Pierre Henry & Michel Colombier's also they did similar great things like on "Psyche Rock"-). Men from SPECTRE makes it always groovy, in a rather improvised rock way. The organ takes all the lead, while the rhythms (drums and percussion, by Stefan Saurer and Robert Ebler) don't compete with the energy, and rather are following the great drive. Also the bassist (Rolf Keller) and guitarist (Gerry German) adds just exactly that which is needed in the melodic and rhythmic drive, while a bit of fuzz here and there makes some instrumentals even more attractive. A great release of improvisational, spaced out and groovy hammond rock.

Audio : "The Luck of Teela Brown" and here ; video here

Homepage : http://www.men-from-spectre.org

Label listing : www.hammondbeat.com/hammondbeat/default.asp?page=release&k=7&r=1885

Description : http://www.dustygroove.com/item.php?id=v5f23tnrvt&ref=index.php&anchor=436353

Astral Projection Lamp Of The Universe :

From the mystic rays of astrological light (NZ,2006)**°

Lamps of The Universe were really not lucky when their previous label (Cranium Records),some years ago, gave up the struggle against the many discovered internet P2P/file-sharing bootleggers and illegal downloaders of the new independent label releases, and considered that the end of their contribution to the market, but it wasn’t the end of the group. While the first album had some raga-esque trancepsych association, the band delved further into trance improvisations.

First track, “Sun Ritual” consists at first of a dual drone and scraping scraped material, and a bit of looped loose hand tabla. After ten minutes of a down-to-the-ground-level building up to 10 centimetres of dust music, a few more looped effects started to appear more clearly in the hardly fertilised, slowly growing organic mass, like more circular scraping cups toyed by fingers, a slight celebrative vocal loop of vaguely thinking hungry mouths, and some looped metal plate vibrations as a kind of metal paper UFO-sounds of space frontiers.

Track two, with the ambitious title, but with focus on not much in particular, "Gateway to the Path of Nirvana" keeps only the space-effects, when a band, with drums, bass and guitars, appears in the shadowed echoes, improvising slowly into the movements, psychedelically, entering bit of oohh and aahh airy airs of vocals, like alternative keyboard strikes of loops.

This kind of improvisation comes a bit closer to The spacious Mind sound, but again, hardly fertilized in time, tends to become a more sterile inspiration of growth in composition, because of the too much looped repetition and a too long length in doing so.

This time, mostly celebrational sounds (like vocal oohs-aahs, shamanic handrums and klingklangs) start to build up the next track, “Vortex of Light”, infinitely, vortex after vortex, stretching mind perspectives into trance, and this easily to 10 minutes before one realises, while this part flows into one more band trance improvisation on the last track, “Anandamaya”.

Audio : "Sun Ritual", "Gateway To The Path Of Nirvana"

Review of their first two releases : http://psychevanhetfolk.homestead.com/east.html#anchor_89

Other page : http://www.psychedelic-music.net/pmdb/db3/db_band.php4?id=277

Homepage :http://www.geocities.com/lampoftheuniverse/main.html

Sulatron Rec. Thtx : The Flickering Sky (US,2009)***°

THTX seems to have grown further into different forms of pure psychedelia, hypnotic, dizzy-making at times like on “The Flickering Sky” where some lights inside my brain seems to switch from left to right the whole time and rather quickly. Wahwahs, whirlings, bass trips, first the group seems to have learned a bit from early Hawkwind (especially on “Mu-Tron”). Really new is the first psychedelic trumpet solos I have heard ever in psychedelic music (so not jazzy or funky but really psychedelic). Before you know it this changes into a different instrument. The mind is left with Confusionisms of confusion. Then “Ultraviolet twilight” works with a reverb marching rhythm, then adds other percussion elements in patterns of different timings. Speak of Kungfufsions...attacking m’brain. On “Collective Mind Anarchy” the band plays much more like some of these Japanese bands freaking out under distortion effects or what sonic psychedelia can do to you. Strangely enough one screamy rocker is added too, on “Darkness”, a podium act being a punk in psychedelica.. More reverb percussion on “”Zenta Child”...

The first couple of tracks, the more spacey psychedelica are my favourite but I like it when groups in different moments and recordings don’t repeat themselves, while remaining psychheads just everywhere..

Info & audio : http://www.myspace.com/thtx

Homepage : http://www.thtxinfo.com/