Doctors of Space - Astral Sessions Vol 7: Lost Souls Synthesized

 Self-released (DOSASCD007)

 

 Oh wow, this is already the seventh CD in the Astral Sessions series by Doctors of Space (Dr Weaver - electric guitars, bass, drum programming; Dr Space - synthesizers, hammond, mellotron). As always, the stuff is improvised on the spot, this time in the summer-winter for 2020 in Dr Weavers home studio and mixed and mastered later at Dr Space's studio.

Aug 2020 sessions give us the lengthy, mid-tempo space rocker "Ride on Freaky Father" and the at first bit more mellow "The Motherlode". The programmed drums join in after the four-minute-marker and a groovy heavy and heady rocking starts. Great stuff! Next we have a couple of tracks from jam sessions that took place in Sept 2020. "Fear the Light" has a spooky, ominous atmosphere and stays pretty experimental and weird with no rhythm. "Dark Is the Cloud of Indecision" has a techno-like beat with hypnotic synth arpeggio and heavy guitar. The last piece is the title track "Lost Souls Synthesized" and it is a more atmospheric, spacey number. If you have enjoyed the previous albums by the good doctors you will for sure also enjoy this one! Limited edition, as always, so be fast.

doctorsofspace.bandcamp.com 

 

Doctors of Space - Fusing Your Synapses

 Doctors of Space Music (DOS-009)

Doctors of Space are Scott "Dr Space" Heller (synths, keyboards) and Martin Weaver (guitar, bass, drum machines and synths). Unlike some of their other albums, this was formed putting together older tracks along the years from 2022 to 2024 rather than being the fruit of one or two studio sessions. I think it's a good thing because we get more variety. It's a real pleasure to hear Martin play some killer guitar which is something he apparently can't do much nowadays due to his arthritis.

We have eight, instrumental tracks in about 70 minutes. Things start with the minimal four-minute synthesizer piece "Intro". The title track "Fusing Your Synapses" has a steady drum machine beat but is rather experimental in other ways with tons of electronic noises. No guitar nor much melody here yet. The pretty dark and slow "Doomstar" is the longest track at almost 16 minutes. It also has guitar, quite heavy. Then we get some more electronic, hypnotic and trancey stuff ("Down the Ferret Hole You Go"). A very ominous vibe, somehow. "No More Bombs (Only Bongs!)" has bass and a bit more chilled out atmosphere, although it also is slow and sort of heavy when the guitar joins in. Nice name, as well! "Pinned Codes" is more synthesizer-based again. Later on it also has some lead guitar and then bass. "Chicken Shit Burger Boy" wins the funniest title competition... Another long piece, has an up-beat drum machine as well making it closer to space rock. I'd say this is my favourite with some soaring lead guitar. The album ends with the spacey, two-minute synth piece "Outro". 

The official release date is May the 5th but the album is already available on the band's Bandcamp site. I guess it's limited to 50 or 100 copies, so hurry up!

doctorsofspace.bandcamp.com/music 

 

Doctors of Space - Wisdom of Clowns

 Doctors of Space Music (DOS-008)

Doctors of Space have released a new, massive double CD since my previous review of their Adventures in the Deep Seas of Sound disc in September. Unlike last time, this albun was recorded all live in studio at once without overdubs. In addition to the standard duo of Dr Space (Hammond, Mellotron, analog, modular and digital synths) and Dr Weaver (guitar, drum programming) we also have the frequent Øresund Space Collective etc. collaborator Hasse Horrigmoe (Tangled Edge) on bass guitar which is always great and adds some more grooviness to the great sounding recordings.

The first CD has just two long trcaks. "Wisdom of Clowns" is very atmospheric and tranquil (no drums), while the closer to 40-minute-long "Needs of the One" sees the good doctors returning to space rocking realms in a very successful way. Great! Excellent guitar playing by Martin in there and Scott keeps things spacey and psychedelic all the way. The second disc starts off with the little dub-oriented "Mystic Challenger". "Ascari" is a beautiful, acoustic guitar-driven piece and "Dance Floor Hit (for Freaky Creatures)" a bit funky, sort of funny number that ends the album in a hypnotic and repetative way. The album has a great mix and mastering so sounds really good too! Get it while you can, only 100 copies made which seems to be the standard these days.

doctorsofspace.bandcamp.com/music

Doctors of Space - Adventures in the Deep Seas of Sound

 Doctors of Space Music (DOS-007)

 

Okay, another new album by Doctors of Space (Dr Space: synths, Fender Rhodes. Mellotron, Hammond, mix & mastering, Dr Weaver - drum machines, synths, bass, electronic & acoustic guitars)! Dr Space things this is their best yet and I must agree. At least it's the most coherrent and worked on.

This 60-minute album is based on three jams by the duo. Dr Space then recorded short synth interludes, then Dr Weaver added guitars and bass and afterwards Dr Space mixed it all together during several weeks. The mix also includes some gong samples from Luis Simoes from different (OSC) recording sessions.

The albun is divided into four parts. "Part One" is mostly hypnotic, repetitive space rocking. "Part Two" sees the duo going into electronic trance music direction, it gets rather danceable, but still very cool and spacey. And hypnotic! "Part 3" starts off in a peaceful, bit experimental way. Trippy stuff. At six minutes we get a funny rap/funk beat and the track gets pretty groovy! Sort of surprising way to go but I enjoy it. "Part Four" is clearly the shortest at under 10 minutes. It's an relaxed ambient ending with some more intense sounds layered on top. Very nice! Stops very suddenly, not sure if intentionally or by mistake. Just 100 copies of this made so get it fast.

doctorsofspace.bandcamp.com/music

Doctors of Space - Astral Sessions Vol 6- Summer 2021

 Doctors of Space Music (DOSASCD 006)

Doctors of Space (Scott Heller and Martin Weaver) released a new limited edition CD (just 100 copies) last month. This is volume 6 in their Astral Sessions jam series and a pretty heavy one. I don't have all the albums in this series, but have enjoyed all I've heard. The four LOOOONG jams were recorded in two different sessions in June and July 2021. I love Martin's guitars on these, sad thing if he really does not plan to play any more guitar in the duo's recordings? I hope I just made this up, but that's what I remember hearing. Here he also plays bass guitar and does the drum programming, so there must be some overdubs on there I guess, or he just switches instruments ultra fast and uses loops. Scott's (Dr Space) synths are as spacey as ever, wonderful. He also plays some (digital) Mellotron and Hammond organ. There is 74 minutes worth of trippy instrumental space music so definitely worth the 10€ the CD costs! You can just buy the digital download, of course. For some reason not all tracks are available for listening on their Bandcamp site at the moment.

doctorsofspace.bandcamp.com/music

 

Doctors of Space - A Change of Labcoat

 Doctors of Space Music (DOS-006)

Yahoo, a new album by the spacey doctors from Northern Portugal! The good doctors Space and Weaver and here helped by their assistant Hasse Horrigmoe on guitar, mix an mastering on the third track. I like the title of the albun that maybe refers to the fact that Martin Weaver is not playing guitars or bass in this project anymore, just drum machines and synths. Scott gets to play his new toys Hammond XB-2 and Mellotron, and they sure sound great. Of course modular and other synths are also operated to reach the full out-in-space experience.

We have five, long and improvisation-based instrumental tracks that sometimes have repetitive, hypnotic grooves and sometimes just float in the ether in trippy, experimental and ambient way. "Forward Thinking" even sounds like primitive techno... I love every moment of it so 70 minutes go in a flash. The sound is really great, I think. Very cool stuff!

doctorsofspace.bandcamp.com/music

 

Doctors of Space - The Astral Sessions Vol. 5 - Roadburn Redux

 Self-released (DOSASCD 005)

As most of the readers of this blog probably know, Doctors of Space is a duo formed by two musicians (AND doctors) retired in Portugal: Scott "Dr Space" Heller (Øresund Space Collective etc.) and Martin Weaver (Wicked Lady, Dark). Scott plays synthesizers, Hammond and Mellotron and Martin guitars, drum machines and bass. They have released quite a lot of stuff since 2019 and I have only heard some of it.

This limited CD-R release (100 copies) is the latest in their Astral Sessions series and really cool. This set of tracks was recorded in Martin's home studio for Roadburn Redux in 2021 and broadcasted online. I watched the show and liked it really much since it was heavier and more space ROCK oriented than their often more experimental stuff (that I also enjoy a lot!). So just two guys improvising live, but Martin uses loopers to add more layers of guitar and bass so the sound gets fuller than you'd expect. There are just four instrumental jams on the album but they are long so the album is 74 minutes in lenght. Only three of the tracks were shown on Roadburn Redux, and two of them in edited form, so with buying this CD-R you'll get extra stuff. The bonus track "Don't Trust the AI" (great name, by the way!) is not even available on their Bandcamp site at all. Bacause of the looper the pieces are of course rather repetitive but that is okay with space rock! You'll get lots of spacey synths sounds, hard rocking stoner riffs and driving machine beats that will get you to outer space.

They still have some copies on sale on their Bandcamp site but I'd recommend acting fast if you want one!

https://doctorsofspace.bandcamp.com/

New Astral Magic albums released!

Things have been very quiet here, sorry for that. I just use all my free time writing and recording new music and trying to find labels to release it... A few new reviews should be done soon, though.

Anyway, I've been too busy to even mention the latest Astral Magic albums, so here they are.

 

Ode to the Stars was put together fast for the previous Bandcamp Friday. It's one of those more experimental, trippy ambient albums only featuring myself. I like it a lot! No physical version is planned at the moment, but let's see.

 

 

 

Shadows over Jupiter is an album I'm really proud of! It's the first fruit from my collaboration with the very talented multi-instrumentalist and producer Jay Tausig from Northern California. We've been in contact over the years but only started to collaborate a couple of months ago and it's been great! I have also contributed to some of his tracks. Jay plays drums, guitar, sax and flute and even sings a little bit of backing vocals on the title track. He also did the mastering job.

This is a really interesting album as a whole. Most of the tracks were originally recorded already last year but Jay added his magic to a great effect. "Cult of the Dead" and "The Gateway Experience" are brand-new. We've got some psych/space rock as well as more shoegaze oriented stuff. Fred Laird (ex-Earthling Society, Taras Bulba) is also playing some cool drone guitar on the long and hypnotic "Heaven on Earth".

I'm really looking forward to a limited tape release on Weird Beard, should be available soon! I also wish for an LP release, let's see...

I'm also really happy that Fruits de Mer decided to release Astral Magic's "Stars Above" (feat. Gregory Curvey on guitar) from their Birds of a Feather compilation CD as a limited lathe cut 7" split with my good friends Doctors of Space! There are only 80 copies available and all gone in advance, I'm afraid.

 As it always is with Astral Magic, that is not even half of it... I also have a new electronic album with Jonathan Segel ready called A Trip to Alpha Centauri. It was supposed to be released on tape in Misophonia but the label sadly closed and the release was deleted. It might see the light of day on one other label, fingers crossed! If not, I'll release it myself at least on Bandcamp. There are also 5/6 other albums I'm working on, more info soon...

Doctors of Space - Covid Sessions

 Self-released

 

Covid Sessions is the second album by the duo Doctors of Space from Portugal. The duo is formed by Astral Magic collaborators Martin Weaver (guitars, bass, beats, ex-Dark & Wicked Lady) and Scott Heller (synthesizers, Øresund Space Collective etc.). They released this album already on Bandcamp last year and here's my review, but now it is also available on limited CD (100 copies only!) with extra tracks and new, better artwork!

I recommend you to buy the CD if you like improvised, psychedelic and spacey freak-outs. Be sure to also check out the recent Roadburn Redux show the band did and just added to their Bandcamp site since it rocks!

doctorsofspace.bandcamp.com/

 

Aural Hallucinations - Hearing What You Want to See

 Self-released

 

Hearing What You Want to See is the second album by Portuguese space project Aural Hallucinations. The project features Matt (ex-Elder) on multiple instruments (Synths, guitar, drums, bass, vocals) and Dr Space (Øresund Space Collective, Black Moon Circle, Doctors of Space) on synthesizer and mixing with Luís Antero contributing some field recordings . You can check out my review of their debut album over here. This is a very trippy, spaced-out ambient affair and soon released on very limited (100 copies only) CD. 

Scott aka Dr Space has done some cool narration at the beginning to add a story to the very experimental, weird soundscapes. This is very cool! I wish they would be some at the end as well. For Bandcamp the individual pieces of this 78-minute, continuous journey have been divided for four long tracks, parts 1 - 4. There is also a little bit of beat in there somewhere, but mostly we float in ambient space for the whole journey. I hope this album will also see a 2LP treatment one of these days, it sounds great.

auralhallucinations.bandcamp.com

Dr. Space - Lost in the Space Time Continuum

 Space Rock Productions (SPR070CD)

Like many other musicians, Scott Heller aka Dr. Space has been active making home-recordings during the pandemic when he has not been able to gig with his band Øresund Space Collective or other groups he's involved in. Lost in the Space Time Continuum is already his third solo album within one year and there have also been releases by Doctors of Space (with Martin Weaver) and the Dr Space's Cosmic Alliances: Volume One - Deep Space Day Trip compilation released to raise money for his new studio in Portugal.

Lost in the Space Time Continuum is an abstract, experimental and ambient trip into the cosmos. There are seven tracks completely done with synthesizers. They are pretty simple and mostly recorded live with some overdubs but definitely get you "out there somewhere" whan you close your eyes and surrender yourself to the spacey atmosphere. Some of them are pretty droney but there are also some arpeggios and sequences to offer some melodic and rhythmic content. I know Scott has been listening to a lot of Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schultze lately and it somehow resonates on this album. Personally I prefer the tracks with hypnotic sequences going on, it's always a pleasure. The music is totally instrumental apart from the last track "Shane's Aura" where Scott gives a narration. All in all, a very enjoyable, trippy and spacey album! I remember when Scott for the first time made sounds with a Moog synthesizer on Dark Sun's rehearsal space in 1999, the expression on his face definitely told me that he had found something special right then and there... Keep on spacing out, Dr. Space!

The CD is limited to just 100 copies and will be released on May the 6th. Presale started today at Sapphire Records!

https://drspace1.bandcamp.com/ 

Doctors of Space - Covid Sessions

Digital download

Doctors of Space is a new project featuring Dr Space from Øresund Space Collective/Black Moon Circle on synths and Dr Martin Weaver (ex-Wicked Lady/Dark) on bass and guitars. Both also do some drum programming. They have released one very limited 7" before. They have been very productive during the COVID-19 lockdown since they have produced three digital releases in this time. This is the first of the trio put out on April the 23th. All the music is improvised, experimental and very spacey and psychedelic although pretty minimal and simple.

Covid Sessions includes six long tracks. The very hypnotic "Apollo Groove" starts the journey into inner space. Just one synth track and a couple of guitar tracks is all that is needed, as far as I can say. Very nice and ambient! "Hold My Beer" is a cool, bluesy space boogie with programmed drums, bass, excellent acoustic guitar work and spacey synths. As you might have guessed, "From the Depths of the Universe" is more cosmic stuff again... Some beat, killer lead guitar, modular madness and that's about it I guess. "Viral Usurper" is the longest track at over 12 minutes. It is the most atmospheric and closer no normal music, even with some Pink Floyd vibes I would say. Sort of dark vibe, though. The last piece "Afro Ghost Ritual 47" is the most rhythic one actually pretty groovy, but still weird and experimental. I like this one a lot! My download also inlcuded one more track called "Funkee Caca" but I don't see that on their Bandcamp site now. Extra track maybe? A bit different for sure... Check this out!

doctorsofspace.bandcamp.com

Astral Visions Mixcloud Show #94 now online!

Astral Visions #94 now online at Mixloud! Check out the cool sounds of Astral Magic, Black Rainbows, Anthroprophh, Vibravoid, Sei Still, Electric Moon, LDMR, Sarkh, Hexvessel, Circulus, Tuhosieni, Juice Oh Yeah, Kayleth, Slift, Doctors of Space, Acid Mothers Temple featuring Geoff Leigh, Theodor Bastard, The Lounge Bar Orchestra, Curious Collector, Sula Bassana, Autotelia and Aural Hallucinations.

www.mixcloud.com/AstralVisions/astral-visions-094

Aural Hallucinations - Alucinações Auditivas

Self-released

Aural Hallucinations is a new experimental, psychedelic, ambient duo project by Dr. Space (Øresund Space Collective, Doctors of Space, Black Moon Circle etc.) on synths and Matthew Couto (Kind, Ex-Elder etc.) on drums, bass, guitars, vocals and yes, even some more synths! There are also some field-recordings by Luis Antero to make things even more disorienting... Alucinações Auditivas is the duo's first release and put out as a very limited vinyl (150 copies), CD, tape and digital release.

The overall vibe of the album really is rather hallucinatory. Sometimes it seems that the guys are playing at least two songs simultaneously, just listen to "Fly Free Furry Friend" for example, the guitar and sequencer are from different universes. The synthesizer-only ambient tracks are more to my liking, "Formigas" and "Hills White, House Blue" for example. I really miss that Moog Opus 3 sound that Matthew delivers throughout the album, one of the corner stones in several Dark Sun tracks as well. One of the HIGHlights for sure is the deep and effective "Brainstimulator". "Spore Cloud Dispersion" has a bit more space ROCK feel to it due to the drums, I like this as well. Really trippy stuff! "Don't take the Granite Acid " (got to love those tittles!) has a more electronic, dark vibe. "Surreal InhiVisions" has some acoustic guitar again that gives it a folky feel but things soon get weird and cacophonic a bit in the Acid Mothers Temple way. This is a weird but wonderful mix of improvised experimental soundscapes that might not be for everyone but spaceheads should definitely check this out.

auralhallucinations.bandcamp.com

Astral Visions Mixcloud Show #91 now online!

Check out my first Astral Visions Mixcloud Show of the decade with mind-blowing tracks by Electric Orange, Inkal, The Janitors, Magic Shoppe, Dreamtime, Kirkbinsinek, The Underground Parties, The Cult of Dom Keller, Automatism, Yuum, Doctors of Space, AMT, Vibravoid, ØSC and Violet Nox!

https://www.mixcloud.com/AstralVisions/astral-visions-091/