Top 10 2020

Best albums of 2020

Hello everyone and Happy New Year! It's been a strange and lousy year in many aspects and I didn't have that much time to listen to other music since I started my solo project Astral Magic to keep about sane in lockdown. Sorry for all the reviews I failed to wrote, but this had to be done. Anyway, here's my Top 10 lists, both from Finland and abroad as usual. In no particular order, just random just the way I like it...

Finland:
 

Pharaoh Overlord ‎– 6

Hexvessel ‎– Kindred

Dark Buddha Rising - Mathreyata

Polymoon ‎– Caterpillars of Creation

Desert Lord ‎– Symbols

Oulu Space Jam Collective ‎– Harvest Sage

Permanent Clear Light ‎– Cosmic Comics

E-Musikgruppe Lux Ohr ‎– Non Plus Ultra

Mara Balls ‎– Ratina Live '18

Soft Power ‎– Brink Of Extinction




Foreign:

Slift ‎– Ummon

Øresund Space Collective ‎– Experiments In The Subconscious

The Spacelords ‎– Spaceflowers

Helicon ‎– This Can Only Lead To Chaos

Aquarius Lux ‎– The Infinite Korridor

Korb ‎– II

Inkal ‎– Futuropolis

Taras Bulba ‎– Soul Weaver

White Manna ‎– ARC

Yuri Gagarin ‎– The Outskirts Of Reality

Sonic Trip Project - Everlasting Kozmik Peace

 Self-Released

Sonic Trip Project is a psychedelic instrumental space rock band from the UK playing live on the psych fest scene of today. Their great guitarist Vince Cory has also played with Øresund Space Collective and contributed to some of my Astral Magic tracks as well, among other things. The other artists here are Darren Butler - drums, Lee Carr, bass/synth/FX, Richard Lanchester - Djembe, Dave Onley + Aaron Electronic Effects & K8 - bubble guns + space suit.

This album was recorded live at The New Avalon Ballroom Memorial for Kozmik Ken in October 2020. In addition to being a big part of the UK Festival scene Ken also happened to be my dear Dj friend for many years on the row at Roadburn Festival in Holland and also at our Psychotropic Caravan Festival in Helsinki. What a loss... I loved the guy, too bad that I never made it to dj at his festival as he would have liked. But okay, let's stay focused on the music here! So what we've got here are six long instrumental psychedelic space rock jams that are filled with wild solo guitar work, spacey effects, groovy rhythms and cool synthesizer stuff. There are also some more relaxed moments like the beautiful beginning of "Elevator Seven" and the dreamy "One Blue Dot", but the main emphasis is on the more rocking stuff. Sonic Trip Project sort of have a style of their own. Even though there's that clear influence of the free festival scene of the 70s and early 80s you can't really say "that track sounds like Hawkwind, that like Ozrics, that like Gong" on anything like that. It's just great, spacey psych/prog/jam music that I really enjoy listening. The gig was mixed by Vince and sounds really good. I hope to see it being released on CD or even vinyl soon but I don't have any details. But at least it is available as digital download from the band's Bandcamp site so go and get it!

sonictripproject.bandcamp.com/

 

Various Artists - Head Music 2

 Fruits de Mer Records (strange fish twenty-one)

Head Music 2LP released in April 2012 (What? Was it that really THAT long ago already?) must be one of the most loved release on Fruits de Mer Records. 18 modern psych artists doing their versions of some of the greatest original Krautrock treasures really worked and there was more stuff available to use on the Shrunken Head Music 2 x 7" in late 2013. Since there really is so much great stuff to choose from for reinterpretion, the massive 2LP/2CD various artists compilation Head in Clouds concentrating on the more electronic side of Krautrock was released a couple of months ago. Since this is Fruits de Mer we're taking about this of course wasn't enough so please let me introduce to you: Head Music 2! This time it's a triple LP with 18 tracks by familiar and so far unknown artists of today doing some famous and some more underground Krautrock numbers with a bit heavier emphasis. There is one exception: Schizo Fun Addict's contibution is only INSPIRED by Cosmic Jokers.

The bands and artists covered are Amon Düül, Amon Düül II (x2), Faust, Agitation Free, Embryo, Michael Rother, Mythos, Eloy, Can (x2), Kraftwerk (x3), Edgar Froese and Brainticket who were Swiss but ofter still regarded as Krautrock. And really mind-blowing as well! Vespero and Spurious Transients get to perform even two tracks, the rest are presenting just one. There are some spacey, even jazzy instrumental jams as well as more cohesive songs to give the album a nice balance and flow. At first listening, Cary Grace's storming version of Amon Düül II's excellent "Clouded by the Stars" is the one that totally spellbound me, she's voice is just perfect for this track. There are some songs that I had not even heard as originals, I must admit (Mythos and Embryo tracks, the bands I was still familair with). There is always something new to check out in Krautrock! Jay Tausig's Can cover "Father Cannot Yell" is one of the most rocking tracks and Maat Lander doing Kraftwerk's "Neon Lights" is probably one of the highlights as well. Having said that, I'm sure that some other tracks will be my favourites after a while since they're all amazing without anything I would have changed. I'm sure fans of the original Krautrock era will love these versions as well and this album will disappear pretty soon like the previous Head releases so be sure to get your copy as soon as possible! This is so cool stuff...

www.fruitsdemerrecords.com/clouds.html

Jonathan Segel - Superfluity

 Freeworld ‎(FREED5058)

Superfluity is a solo album by multi-instrumentalist and all-around music working man Jonathan Segel. Some of you know him form his old band Hieronymus Firebrain or as a long-time member of Camper Van Beethoven among other things. Lately he has been part of the Øresund Space Collective and has also played guitar and violin on the two latest Astral Magic albums. He's also one of the musicians on the brand-new Spirits Burning album. Superfluity was actually released on 2CD in the UK already in 2017 but Jonathan just regained the rights to release it digitally on Bandcamp so that's why this review was now relevant.

While reviewing Jonathan's latest album Outside Inside I was sort of wanting to have more songs with vocals and my wishes are granted on Superfluity. This is probably a bit more listener-friendly of the two. Overall the music is still as varied so you can find elements from experimental avant-garde to psychedelia and indie rock, folk, jazz and pop music. And yes, I even get some classical music vibes from time to time. There are 17 tracks in total so it would be too much to go through them all here. Most of the tracks are rather short but there are also three longer ones, the jam "Like Mercury, It Slips Through Your Fingers" (12:58), the very trippy and experimental Bandcamp bonus track "Phenomenon an On" and the beautiful "The Dying Stars" (16:25) that gets pretty far-out and jazzy/proggy later on... The very nice and melodic progressive title track "Superfluity" is also rather long at just over the eight-minute marker. Splendid! Jonathan is helped on vocals by Kelly Atkins, Sanna Olsson, on drums by Mattias Olsson, Chris Pedersen and Andreas Axelsson, bass on tracks 9 & 16 by Mats Burman and on trombone on tracks 11 & 14 by Stian Grimsta. There's a healthy balance in between written and improvised material to keep things interesting. Although this is rather massive release it can keep me listening intensely for the whole duration. The playing and production is excellent and the album sounds really good. Check it out yourself!

 www.jonathansegel.com

 

TWO new Astral Magic albums released on Bandcamp!

Oop, it seems I have forgotten to mention here that I have released two more ambient/electronic/experimental/cosmic Astral Magic albums since the debut! Inside the Space Cabin and In Orbit are at the moment only available on digital format but please contact me if you would like to make them available in physical form (vinyl, CD, tape)!

Fuchsia ‎– Barrett's Allsorts 7"

 Fruits de Mer Records (Crustacean 94)

I was really sad for missing the ultra rare (50 copies) 5" lathe-cut festival release of this early Pink Floyd cover single so thanks a lot for Fruits de Mer for this second opportunity! Of course the actual festival was cancelled like almost everything else cool this year, but the singles were of course sold anyway. Tony Durant is still active with his legendary Fuchsia and this time he was helped by Susan Kim (violin), Tony Cooper (drums), Alex Bailieu-Joli (recorder) and Emma Greenhill (violin).

"See Emily Play" happens to be one of my absolute favourite Floyd/Barrett songs so I just never get too much of it. Durant's version is in just perfect balance with honoring the original and giving it a new, personal touch. Very nice! Another short but sweet Barrett treat "Bike" is on the other side and it is also excellent. I wish they would have added a couple of more Barrett songs since this just feels too short even with the extended experimental end of "Bike". Anyway, this is a must-have for all Fuchsia and Barrett fans and I am really happy to include it to my collection.

www.facebook.com/Fuchsiamusic

The Superstars - Metamorphosis / Finale 7" EP

 Regal Crapomophone (winkle 43)

 

If you like early 70s styled prog rock then this Italian band is just down your alley. I had never heard of them before but as always, Fruits de Mer/Regal Crapomophone are great to introduce me my next favourite bands. It's hard to find info on the band from the web (well, try searching yourself for a band with such a name... Only the band Big Naturals have ever given me more to look at!). Anyway, let's dive into the music.

This is a three-track 7" EP spinning in 33 1/3 rpm. On the A side we have two studio cuts: the five-minute-plus "Metamorphosis" and "Finale" just under three minutes in length. Not you usual 15 min + prog rock jams, but still they do their tricks very well. Both are mostly instrumental, but "Metamorphosis" also has some spoken word giving it a very English vibe. I'm reminded of bands like Caravan etc. Great guitar and organ work and very groovy drums! Later on some cools synths sounds as well. Also "Finale" brings to mind Caravan more than enything else, but definitely also Camel in their golden era. Great! There is also a certain amount of psychedelia in the mix to keep things interesting for us "heads"... But that's not all folks! On the B side we still have a "live" version of "Metamorphosis" that lasts closer to six minutes! Excellent vibe on this one and the live version grows a bit more towards the end. All in all, an excellent little EP that leaves me wanting to hear more of the best of by The Superstars! The EP is on sale now so get yourself a copy.

www.fruitsdemerrecords.com/superstars.html

 

Vesa Partti - Ambientwerk II: Sees

 Self-released

This is the second ambient solo album by Helsinki-based musician Vesa Partti under his own name. Astral Zone readers might know him from his more space ROCK oriented band Tuliterä or even older projects like Sadkarma. This, however, is the part II of his Ambientwerk trilogy following the first part Aallokko that I reviewed in May.

The new album includes three long instrumental pieces mostly played with synths, sequencers, drum machine and effects. Two of the tracks also include electric guitar. The very dreamy, hypnotic music is mostly based on repetition as layer upon layer gets added to the basic background. There is a certain classic "Berlin-School" vibe on the music but there are also more modern elements. The beats on the opener "Vertikal" are very distorted and crushed, for example. The track could almost be from some unreleased Klaus Schulze album until the modern beat joins in. I truly enjoy the music but have some problems digesting the rather extreme sounding drum machine. It does make the track sound more interesting though, even if this sounds a bit confusing. Gentle melodies caress the dreamy soundscapes, wonderful. You can just made out some treated human voice in the mix towards the end. The second journey "Tropfen" is very ambient and abstract but a slow beat is added later on. "Herbstblad" has beautiful guitar stuff making it the most easily accessible piece on the album but this is not exactly easy-listening either although very pleasant and relaxing. Just close your eyes and float away. This got to be my favourite track this time. The third part of the trilogy will possibly mostly played with a banjo so there are some changes coming... You can buy Vesa's albums from his Bandcamp site for what ever price you want. If you enjoy deep, cosmic and ambient electronic music you really should check them out.

vesapartti.bandcamp.com/music 

 

Anton Barbeau - Manbird

 Gare du Nord Records (BH007)

Manbird is an amazing, massive new double CD by one of my favourite psychedelic indie rock/pop artists Anton Barbeau. As I've stated before, I've been a fan of Anton's since The Kind Of Missouri album released on Woronzow Records in 2002. I have missed a couple of releases since then but Anton seems to been remained active and productive all these years. He's originally from the States but has been living in Berlin for some years now with some occasional trips to the U.K. as well.

Manbird released in September is a 25-track "ambitious concept album about leaving the nest, traveling the world and finding home." So that's where the title comes from, if you were wondering... Personally, I love Anton's lyrics as well as his music since there is alsways a certain amount of humour in there even when he's talking about some serious issues. I think the stories here are rather autobiographic and the booklet includes lots of photos of Anton from and early age onwards.

Anyway, lets focus on the music now. As always, Anton knows how to build a catchy, melodic and clever pop song and we've got plenty of those here starting from the title track that starts the journey. The album was produced by Anton with some help from his friends and sounds excellent. There are lots of little mixing tricks to make the songs sound more interesting. There are also little bit more electronic elements on some songs like "Across the Drama Pond", some folky vibes and even one fast punk rock song "Featherweight". The instrumentation is varied as well as the moods and vibes. There are some beautiful acoustic ballads and more experimental pieces but most of it is still pretty easy to digest and listener friendly, even with all the clever little hooks and weird stuff in the middle. Many songs are pretty short, between one and three minutes in length, and even the longest one, the final, trippy piece "Space Force" is just over five minutes. It's just impossible for me to name any favourites from these 25 little nuggets since they all have a charm of their own. As often is the case, I'm probably most drawn to the most psychedelic moments, though (like "Underneath the Mushroom Tree" and "Auslanderbeak"). Living in Berlin must have taken its toll since there is even some krautrock influences on "Beak" and "Beak Part 2". Great! You can also tell that Anton has listened to The Beatles a lot and also some Bowie. He has a very unique, distinctive singing voice that I also really enjoy. All in all, I got to say that Manbird is one of the most enjoyable and entertaining albums I have heard this year. It's been a crappy year in general but at least there is stll some interesting music being produced and released to keep our spirits high!

www.antonbarbeau.com

 

Astral Magic - Pathway to the Stars released on highly limited CD-R!

Message from Roger Linney:

 

SF 42

Astral Magic

Pathway To The Stars

50 Copies

 

Super excited to introduce you to Astral Magic. This is the new solo project from ex- Dark Sun bass player Santtu aka Mika Laakso.

 

This debut release presents the more cosmic/ambient/ electronic/ experimental (but no less spacey!) side of Astral Magic.

Recorded during lockdown The album features eleven spaced out tracks featuring guitar contributions from Vince Cory and Pete Bingham.

This cd comes in a individually numbered edition of 50 copies in white card sleeves with paste on artwork created by the artist himself.

You can check out and/or download the album here : https://darksun.bandcamp.com/album/pathway-to-the-stars

 

Cost as follows :

 

UK = £7.50

Europe = £10.50 GBP

USA & ROW = £12.00 GBP

Paypal to roger.linney@btinternet.com

PLEASE CONTACT ME BEFORE ORDERING.

 

https://www.reverbworship.com/

 

Tsiolkovski - Molniya

 White Dwarf (WHD009)

Wow, it's cool how these great new bands and solo projects keep on popping up in your psych radar. Tsiolkovski, a one-man space/psych/doom project by Jean-Philippe Bidegain from France is definitely one of the most interesting ones in recent times. He plays electric guitars, bass, drums and synthesizers by himself on this instrumental debut album by the project. These six tracks were released on Bandcamp in February and the two limited vinyl editions should be out any day now, a bit late due to pressing plant problems as is usual these days.

The eight-minute opener "Voskhod" is a slow and majestic, heavy and spacey piece with a lot of emotion. I'm in love! The title track "Molniya" has a fast, motorik kraut/space rock beat with tons of echoed guitar and spacey synth effects floating around. Very hypnotic and psychedelic, getting even better! There's a crushingly heavy, slow doom riff at the end, phew... This somehow reminds me of heavy Finnish occult psychonauts Oranssi Pazuzu and Dark Buddha Rising. "Terechkova" is heavy, spacey, slow and ritualistic/hypnotic stuff to bang your head to. There are some more experimental, very deep parts later on... Excellent! Then Jean-Philippe kicks in the dark, cosmic gear with "Mons Maenalus". This is not so heavy until the end, another killer track. "LMC X-3" is fast space/kraut rock and really rocks with that one same simple riff for 4+ minutes. Something Alan Davey might produce. The last piece has a nice psych/kraut rock groove reminding me of the early Cosmic Dead that I really enjoy. No hints of doom or metal on this one which is nice. I really dig this simple tune! All in all, this is a very recommended album if you enjoy psychedelic, heavy space/kraut rock and are not afraid to dive into the darker, doomy and more metallic universes every now and then. Psychedelic Doom From Outer Space!

 

https://www.facebook.com/tsiolkovskimusic/

 

Urtidsdjur - S/T

Som Sverker Recordings

Urtidsdjur is a new quartet formed by young guys from Uppsala, Sweden, playing real, 70s styled retro rock. They say they are influenced by Bo Hansson, Dungen, Atomic Swing, Slowgold and Den Stora Vilan. They also recorded a Neil Young cover for the album but didn't get permission to release it, unfortunately... I can definitely hear more Neil than Dungen in their sound. Occasionally they go for a bit more progressive or psychedelic side but not that much though. The vocals are in Swedish like Dungen's. This is their first album and released soon as a very limited edition on vinyl with cool, hand-printed cover. Digital release will follow next year.

 

 The album recorded in a small chapel in the countryside has nine songs. The opener "Karta & kompass" is a nice, melodic 70s rock piece with strong Neil Young vibe. The acoustic guitar adds some folk rock vibes and there's also a cool sax solo. "Väntar på riktning" is a slow, long and moody piece that I also enjoy. "Vandringssång" has some 70s Swedish progressive folk/psych rock feel, not bad at all. The next, emotional piece "Klockor klämtar" has some The Doors vibes and a guest slide guitar player. "Luftslott" is like a standard 70s Neil Young rock song. Some cool guitar slicks! The beautiful "Människa" also has some (little out of tune...) piano and flute, one of my favourites. "Olyckskorp" is a slow, bluesy rock number with again some slide. "Hitta Hem" is a slow, dreamy song in 3/4, I guess this is where the Atomic Swing influence comes through. Slide in use again as well, nice. The album is finished with the pretty, moody and hazy instrumental "’Eḇen ha-‘ezer" that I really like. All in all, an excellent debut album by these young dudes and recommended for those you enjoy real, not too polished or auto-tuned rock music inspired by the early 70s vibes of Neil Young and others.

www.urtidsdjur.se

Litmus - God Bomb 7"

 Litmus Music

 

Wow, the first 7" from the UK heavy space rock behemoth Litmus! I've been a big fan of the band since the debut album You Are Here released in 2004 (now how about putting that one on vinyl too?) and have also been lucky to see their energetic live performance a couple of times. They combine psychedelia, space rock, metal and punk in their music in away that only a few others can. The main trio of Martin, Simon and Marek is still intact now with an addition of a guy called James on keyboards. He's been playing with the band live since 2012 but this is the first official release for him. As the band's motto goes, they are always changing, always the same, and it fits very well on this single as well.

So we have two new songs here, presumably taken from the forthcoming new album. Both are just 3:30 in length so perfect for the single format. Litmus are not exactly known for short tracks, so there's a change here for sure... When you put the A side on, you instantly recognize the band, though. Driving beat and bass, crushingly heavy guitar riff and those repeated, powerful vocal lines together with cool mellotron, it's got to be Litmus! "God Bomb" is a winner and a perfect, simple but very effective single track for the band. The faster, punky B side "Post Sonic Age" rocks like hell! The catchy chorus elevates the track to another level, a future live favourite for sure. They even find time for a guitar solo. The production is super tight even based on this pre-release MP3 so I just can't wait to get the final (slightly delayed) black marbled vinyl on my turntable! This single is released on the band's own Litmus Music label so get it directly from the band's website. You know you want it!

litmusmusic.neocities.org/Litmus_Website/Litmus_Website.html

 

Taras Bulba - Soul Weaver

Riot Season (REPOSELP096)

Taras Bulba is a new project by Earthling Society leader Fred Laird and drummer John Blacow. I got to be honest and say that I wasn't that thrilled about their first, more experimental album One that came out last year. The Three Gates Dub tape/CD-R was way more psychedelic and interesting but, well, dub. I liked it though! But when I first heard this new one called Soul Weaver I was instantly in love. Due to the virus lockdown Fred and John couldn't organize drum recording sessions so this album ended up more or less as Fred's solo album using some old rhythm tracks and new constructed ones. The music is stylistically quite different than before, sort of guitar driven, dreamy shoegaze psychedelia. Some of it even reminds me of Earthling Society that I've been a big fan of since the debut album! The lyrics were inspired by the writings of Dion Fortune, particularly her novel "The Sea Priestess".

 

The album starts off with the hypnotic, fuzzy mid-tempo "Fishcat Mother", just wonderful! Fans of The Brian Jonestown Massacre will dig this for sure. "The Moon On The Tides" has some folk music elements but also walls of effected electric guitar noise. A bit shorter "Goatfoot on Owl Hill" has a very weird, dark folky/tribal atmosphere... Cool! Then we are treated with the nine-minute mind journey called "Tethered on The Wheel". It starts off with some beautiful classical guitar and dreamy vocals. I just love the vibe! Some noisy electric guitar is added occasionally to a great effect. The instrumental "Sun and Steel" begins with rather minimal sound effects and is a sort of experimental, psychedelic sound collage type of affair. The album's longest piece is the 14-minute "Catch a Falling Star" where Fred really takes us to another plane with his dreamy, hazy and hallucinogenic soundscapes and melancholic melodies. The track grows towards the end in a great way! A true modern psych rock masterpiece, I'd say. Starting and ending with some water sounds the beautiful and peaceful "The Blistering Of Summer Heat" ends the album in a very psychedelic manner... First it's mostly acoustic but more intense elements are added in the middle... Phew! I must add that the amazing album cover art suits the atmosphere perfectly just like the turquoise clear vinyl.  All in all, Soul Weaver is definitely one of the best psychedelic albums I have heard this year and will leave the listener in a dreamy, other-worldly state for a while just like good psych should in my opinion. It's all about escapism and other dimensions, baby. This will be a future classic in its genre.

www.facebook.com/EarthlingSociety

 

Jonathan Segel - Outside Inside

 Self-released

Jonathan Segel is an American multi-instrumentalist now living in Sweden. He's been active in various music scenes since the mid 80's when he started in Camper Van Beethoven, one of the main bands he's been a member of. He's done music for films and dance, electronic music, experimental, field recordings, avant-garde, improvisation, folk music, rock music, psychedelic music, you name it. Lately he's been part of the ever-changing line up of Øresund Space Collective and that's how I got to know him. Jonathan of course has a vast collection of albums released during several decades and his first solo album came out already in 1988. Outside Inside is his latest outing and was finalised during the covid-19 lockdown period, although he had been working on the tracks for two years. You can read his detailed story about the album over here.

So, what do we have here? The album has 17 pieces, but only two actual "songs" that have vocals. First of them is the great indie rock opener "All Signs Point to You See" that also features a female singer, Kelly Atkins. The music style and overal vibe varies quite a lot so there are some totally electronic pieces, some more rock/guitar oriented, violin tracks, weird experimental soundscapes (he likes to make sounds with rocks!) and combinations of all of these. The sound quality and production is superb all the way, so you can say this sounds very professional, although mostly pretty eclectic and out of the mainstream for sure. And that's just the way I like it! Some of the stuff is rather far away from easy-listening as well, but it's all still very enjoyable but maybe too experimental for some. Psych-heads will find some interesting passages to get spaced-out to as well. One of my favourites is the over eight-minute "Blow Up My Crocodile" that has nice acoustic guitar as well as field-recordings etc. I also really like the other "song" "Rider or the Train" that has cool fuzzy electric guitar, acoustic guitar and beautiful vocals by Jonathan and Kelly. I wish there would have been more songs like this! All in all, this a very interesting, creative and multi-layered album with lots of stuff to get into so check it out! While you're at it, also try out Jonathan's very nice Here Comes Sunhine single and his recent jqm collaboration Transatlantic Space Connection,very cool stuff as well!

www.jonathansegel.com

Sounds of New Soma - Birne / Maya 10" EP

Tonzonen Records (TON091)

This is a brand-new 10" by our favourite modern electronic ambient Krautrockers Sounds of New Soma. This duo presents maybe their best track so far with the ultra hypnotic and groovy "Birne". After the mesmerising beats and mind-altering sounds fade out you find yourself in a pleasant dream-state and you can't say if you just spent ten minutes in our reality or thousand aeons on the Elysian Fields. Just wow, a true psychedelic master-piece!

Things get more elelctronic on the flip side. "Maya" is another new ten-minute-plus piece and again a winner. This is bit more minimal but spacey and psychedelic as hell. Think of early Astralasia with modern sound and you'll get close. I really like this one as well, trance guaranteed! ! There are only 300 copies of this beautiful orange/red vinyl EP so get it fast since we're talking about a future collectable here.

www.facebook.com/SoundsOfNewSoma

Duncan Harris – On Track: Hawkwind – Every Album, Every Song

Sonicbond Publishing

 

I bet it's not a big surprice to anyone that I'm a huge Hawkwind fan, have been for the last 30 years. As the inventors of space rock and one of the main players in psychedelia as a whole their importance from the late 60s onwards has been massive to the undrground culture and music in general. They have been influencing whole generations of musicnauts from different scenes like punk rock and techno. And they are still rocking!

There are lots of books written by Hawkwind and I have read most of them. This one is another volume in the On Track series, and why not. Maybe there is not much one can add to the Hawkwind saga already put on paper but there are always new ways to present the story. There are also always people who start their journey into space right here with this particular book. So I think the publishing of this book was a good idea, even though it might not give much new data to long-time Hawkwind fanatics like myself.

Duncan Harris goes through most of the studio albums of the band as well as (only) three live albums. He has also included Robert Calvert's first solo album since it more or less features all of Hawkwind as well as the studio album recorded as Hawklords. It is understandable that he could not include ALL the possible semi-official, unofficial, released under a new name etc. releases since there are hundreds of those! The core albums do just fine.  He has divided the story into nine chapters: Dawn of the Hawks, Day of the Hawks (1971-1975), Charisma and quarks (1976-1979), Measles and Heavy Metal (1980-1982), Night of the Hawks (1983-1991), Oldie Rock, or, how Iron Maiden saved Hawkwind (1992-1998), War of the Hawks (1999-2006) and Hawkwind Ascendant (2007-). The story starts from the first gig as Hawkwind Zoo and debut album recorded with Dick Taylor of The Pretty Things and ends with the 2019 album All Abroad the Skylark. I like the way Harris defines every track in a few sentences capturing the essense of them. I might not always agree with him on all aspects, though, but most of the time I do. Occasionally, he has included out-takes/ bonus tracks on later CD editions. Also lyrics, album cover consepts, personnel changes and a lot of other historical issues are dealt with, when suitable. Every band book has to have some pictures and we get some tasty live ones in the middle where also the album covers are pictured.

All in all, I think that Ducan Harris has done a great job here and surely knows what he is writing about. I'm sure all fans will enjoy reading this book and it would also be a great place to start your Hawkwind journey. Warmly recommended!

www.sonicbondpublishing.co.uk/

Astral Magic - Pathway to the Stars now available!

 Listen and buy the album!

Astral Magic - Pathway to the Stars to be released tomorrow!

Hello! As some of you know, during the COVID-19 lock-down I decided to use my time creatively and started to write and record music again after a long hiatus. This project was named Astral Magic according to a song I wrote for my old band Dark Sun. I bought some synths and recording gear and have so far made about 80 tracks of spacey, psychedelic music. Some of it rocks, some of it is more ambient, electronic and experimental in nature. Since I'm only learning music production my good friend Scott Heller (Øresund Space Collective etc.) offered to give a hand on mixing and mastering. Scott also invited his friend Martin Weaver (ex-Dark/Wicked Lady!) to help out on guitar, since I still don't own an electric guitar, which was fantastic! Martin ended up playing guitar on most of the tracks and we already finished a space rock album called Visions of Infinity to be released on Space Rock Productions in February 2021.

But, since I tend to be pretty productive and fast when I get into something, I also made a more electronic/cosmic/ambient/experimental album while waiting anxiously for the Visions of Infinity to be released! This album is called Pathway to the Stars. The eleven tracks chosen for this release were recorded in between March and September. This time I mixed the stuff by myself but Scott again offered to help and mastered the whole thing which made a huge difference. On this album I was helped by Peter Dingham (Sendelica etc.) and Vince Cory (Sonic Trip Project etc.) on guitar and you will be hearing more contributions from both in future Astral Magic releases as well. I intended to do a very limited CD-R or tape release but I just had to buy a new computer and better music programs so I have no money for that at the moment. So, for now at least, it will only be a digital release on Dark Sun Bandcamp site. If you have a label and would like to release it in physical form please get in touch! 

The album will be online tomorrow, please check it out!

Here's the opener, "Hyper Realities":

The Soft Hearted Scientists - The Continuing Escapades of The Soft Hearted Scientists

 Regal Crabomophone (winkle 42)

The Welsh psychedelicists The Soft Hearted Scientists are one of the best  I've become to know through Fruits de Mer label and I am forever grateful for that. Their What Ever Happened To The Soft Hearted Scientists 2LP + 7" compilation put out in 2013 opened a lot of doors in my mind. I realised that simple, whimsical, melodic pop/folk songs could be very psychedelic and mind-expanding, even if they were not done by Syd Barrett... I have been following the band ever since as well as Nathan Hall And The Sinister Locals, another project by the singer. 

Some of the band's early CDs have been luckily reissued on vinyl lately which has been cool, but the latest albums are still only out on CD. Now it's finally possible to hear also some of the greatests tracks from The Slow Cyclone (2014) and Golden Omens (2016) from a big, nice vinyl disc! There are 19 songs on the first two LP's all together. In addition to a bit older tracks (alsa a couple from
2013's False Lights, for example, a well as the long "Westward Leading" from 20011's Wondermoon, check out the video) the first double LP is finished with the extended version of their 2019 single "Please Read Me". Wonderful!

But that of course wasn't all this package features. Now a sort of FdM trusted man and house remix guy Swordfish (Astralasia) has conjured up two albums full of his vision of what the music of The Soft Hearted Scientists could be in an instrumental, innovative remix form! "Astral Adventure 1, 2, 3 and 4" are all one-side long-sound collages that really expose the greatness of this music in another light. No ambient/techno beats were added this time, though, just some sound effects in between the pieces when needed. A very welcome bonus for this great compilation, I must say! I'm really digging this one as a whole.

www.softheartedscientists.com/

Various Artists - Head in the Clouds

Fruits de Mer Records (stange fish eighteen)

Head in the Clouds continues the marvellous krautrock tribute series of Fruits de Mer Records. This time we'll get a massive 2LP/2CD set with almost four hours' worth of cosmic sounds inspired by Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra Tempel, Popol Vuh and the German electronic music scene of the early 70s! The amazing 24 tracks are originals apart from the more up-tempo Ashra cover by the excellent Maat Lander. Most of the tracks are previously unreleased, at least in physical form, so you really get your money's worth of goodies here.

We don't have time to go through all the tracks (no overlapping on LP/CD) right now but here is the list:

LP1 side 1
1 Jah Buddha - Direction Berlin (12:53)
2 Craig Padilla and Marvin Allen - Aquatic (7:44)

LP1 side 2
1 Trace Imprint - Flow and Connect (10:26)
2 Maat Lander - Ocean Of Tenderness (originally by Ashra, 4:15)
3 Saturn's Ambush - Van Allen Belt (6:19)

LP2 side 1
1 Jack Ellister - Der Schiffer (2:33)
2 Anton Barbeau - 'Berlin School Of Doubt' (6:38)
3 exedra - Exoplanet Transit (5:58)
4 MAC of BIOnighT - Scars (6:45)

LP2 side 2
1 Under Golden Canopy - Under Golden Canopy (10.33)
2 Son of Ohm - Pixies (11:49)

CD1
1 Craig Padilla and Marvin Allen - Weathering The Storm
2 Brendan Pollard - Sequenzerzeit (10:02)
3 Jay Tausig - Triangulum (20.42)
4 Mac of BIOnighT - Manmade Horrors (6.55)
5 The Lost Stoned Pandas - Track One (Metal Mickey mix) (4:42)
6 Jah Buddha - Wall Of Blissando (11:25)
7 Vibravoid - Im Zentrum Des Kosmos Ist Ein Auge Das Alles Sieht (10:35)

CD2
1 Trace Imprint - ...As We Walked Under Water (4:17)
2 Sula Bassana - Shushie's Reise (21.29)
3 Craig Padilla - Galaxia (10:42)
4 Helicon Wave - For Edgar (8:35)
5 Blue Lily Commission - Half Asleep At The Blue Gates Of Evening (19:14)
6 Black Tempest - The Sun Rises, The Sun Sets, The Moon Shines (8:18) 

So, a lot of superb acts already known from the Fruits de Mer circles but also some newcomers, at least for me. Most of the music is electronic/synthesizer oriented but there is also quite a lot of guitar etc. in there. Apart from a few spoken word passages all of it is instrumental. I just love each and every tune and I feel this mind-expanding compilation will also be a great inspiration for the more electronic/ambient side of my own psychedelic space/kraut project Astral Magic. Once again I found out by some new bands and artists I didn't know about before (check out Trace Imprint and Jah Buddha for example) as well as got to hear new stuff by my favourites like Vibravoid, Sula Bassana and Maat Lander so I am in electronic kraut heaven! For the vinyl purists it might feel a bit odd that a label founded to release only limited edition vinyl releases is now also putting out CDs but a 5LP box would have been too pricey for a lot of people, that's true. I like the production and flow of how the album has been put together and love this kind of music so I'm sure this marvellous release will be in my 2020 top 10 list. Warmly recommended!

www.fruitsdemerrecords.com/clouds.html