Astralasia: Wind on Water

Regal Crabomophone (Winkle 17)

Astralasia first started as an offshoot of 80s and early 90s free festival/space/psych/prog rock outfit The Magic Mushroom Band, who just happen to be one of my all-time favourites. I really liked their early albums that were psychedelic, partly electronic ambient and trance music but by 1998’s White Bird album I was not really that interested anymore since the main guy Swordfish chose a much more commercial house/dub/club/trance approach. Then nothing apart from a couple of compilations happened in the Astralasia camp until in 2006 when a new double CD Away with the Fairies was released. I have not heard that one, but I bought the next couple of albums that were released on limited vinyl on Tonefloat. Swordfish seemed to be back on track and I was excited. The news that Fruits de Mer sister label Regal Crabomophone was going to release a new album by Astralasia totally caught me by surprise, since this was not the kind of band that you would think they would be interested in. But listening to Wind on Water it all makes complete sense! There’s none of that house music crap left, this is just psychedelic, hypnotic, floating, ambient and yes, even kraut rock oriented mind music and I love it.

”Rangoon” starts off the LP with tranquil sequencers and synths. Very up-lifting and atmospheric. The title track ”Wind on Water” is one of the highlights and also includes some cool guitar. After more peaceful beginning the track gets into motorik kraut groove that goes on for many minutes and I’m in psychedelic heaven. Things cool down at the end and we even get some acoustic guitar. Wow! ”Cresta Run” is a more ambient/dub in nature but very celestial and wonderful and I’m reminded of solo stuff by Hawkwind keyboardist/violinist Simon House. This track was already recorded in 2006, says the promo sheet. ”The Innosence” is abit more experimental at first and then gets close to the hypnotic early 90’s stuff. We get some acoustic guitar, sounds of waves and even manipulated vocals in the end which is nice. Trippy stuff! After the four tracks on the LP there’s also a 7” to go! ”The Desert” (also recorded in 2006) has piano, windy swooshes, keyboards, violin, harmonica and narration. The dub beat joins in after a couple of minutes and we also get some tasty electric guitar and acoustic stuff. Not bad at all! The last track ”Continuim” opens up slowly and softly and then starts to rock in the 70s Pink Floyd style. A very cool piece! I don’t have the actual finished product yet, but the pictures of the very special hand-printed optical art PVC sleeve look totally amazing, so get this limited (700 copies) LP + 7” package before it’s gone! The best Astralasia album since What Ever Happened to Utopia? twenty years ago.

www.facebook.com/pages/Astralasia/9053864353

The Shine Brothers: Hello Griefbirds!

Cardinal Fuzz (CFUL020)

This is the debut album by US psychedelic garage rock band The Shine Brothers that first saw the light of day last year as an limited tape release in the US. The UK edition on vinyl (200 copies on red, 300 on black) and CD was a bit late and released in January 2014 on the magnificent Cardinal Fuzz. Like most of the stuff they put out (well, maybe I should say ALL!) this is a killer album. The songs are usually pretty short (three-minute-something), but there are also three even shorter ones (the energetic opener ”Climp the Ladder”, the fast and furious ”Cago Palo” and easier ”Only Time Will Tell”) and one eight-minute, slow psych monster (”When Wendy Burns”). The songs are all rather 60s inspired, I can hear echoes of several US psych garage bands like The 13th Floor Elevators, The Seeds etc., but there are also for example some Stones vibes on a couple of songs and much more.

The Shine Brothers have a some what trashier and rawer attitude to interpret the 60s garage rock than for example The Black Angels or some other hip bands at the moment and their sound is not overtly polished although the album still sounds good and very real. They use some harmony vocals that work out great and sometimes remind me of The Byrds or even The Beatles. I also like the organ sound and other instruments. My favourite tracks are the up-beat, melodic and even pop-like ”Creation”, a little The Doors-like ”Innocent Girl”, the funny, cheery and groovy ”Drug Dogs” and the highly lysergic ”When Windy Burns”, but I actually like most of the songs very much. Check it out!

theshinebrothers.bandcamp.com

Hawkfan #40 out now.

Brian Tawn has been busy again, and the new issue of his long-running Hawkwind fan mag Hawkfan just dropped through my mail box yesterday. This is issue 40, and concentrates on the Hawkeaster 2014 weekend. And it sure sounds like it was a fun-packed, friendly and personal event! Even though I have never been able to make it to any of the special Hawkwind celebrations, it feels so good to read about them. Luckily Hawkwind will play in Finland again next week at the H2Ö festival in Turku so I will get to see them again!

There is also a short Damnation Alley going through some of the latest Hawkwind related releases, also the new Spirits Burning 2CD. Please support Brian and order your copy: including postage, it's £1.80 within the UK, £2.80 to the rest of Europe and £3.50 outside Europe. Paypal to briantawn@aol.com.

The Spacelords: Synapse

Sulatron Records (st1403)

I have really enjoyed the three previous self-released albums (two studio CD’s and one live CD-R) by this psychedelic space rock trio from Southern Germany, so it’s really nice to also get a cool limited vinyl album by them! Their drummer is also now playing in Electric Moon, and here Marcus also uses his voice a bit, although the music is almost instrumental. Other members are Klaus on bass, synthesizers and effects and Hazi on guitars and effects.

The album includes just four long, jamming tracks. The title track starts off the LP and is at first quite spacey and floating although groovy somehow reminding me of 90’s UK space rock gods Ship of Fools as well as the Ozrics. The track gets a bit heavier in the middle and there are also some more progressive passages. A very nice opener! ”Sitarguitar” begins in a very tranquil and ethereal mood but the slow beat is added rather soon. You can chill out for about six minutes but then things start to happen… ”No 2” has lots of synthesizers and this is another very nice, mellow and hypnotic track that strangely but effectively uses the melody from ”Song of the Volga Boatmen”, a well-known traditional Russian folk song, at the end. The LP ends with ”Pyroclastic Monster” that also has some manipulated voice by the drummer. I’m even getting some Hawkwind vibes later on, when the track speeds up and starts to really rock out, great! I really like this band, check them out. They will get you somewhere out there…

www.thespacelords.com

Deep Space: Through the Haze

Sulatron Records (st1401)

Deep Space is a psychedelic acid rock band from the birth place of psychedelia: Austin, Texas. You can hear the influence of the old gurus like 13th Floor Elevators, but unlike bands like The Black Angels, Deep Space doesn't really write catchy tunes with sweet melodies but concentrate on long, trippy, heady and repetitive excursion into the center of the mind. And I like it! This is their debut vinyl album. The band sadly got some bad reputation due to their main man Robbie D Love pretty much fucking everything up at Berlin Psych Fest that he was organizing earlier this year, but I'm not the one to blame anyone on the catastrophe since I don't know the details and there might have been lots of bad luck, legal issues, lack of experience, being too out-of-it etc. involved. But I know a lot of bands and fans are upset. Anyway, let's leave that subject and check out this cool album instead!

There are five tracks on the marbled vinyl limited to 500 copies only. They start off with a heavy rocking "Work" that sounds pretty much like Wooden Shjips, White Manna or bands like that and I'm already hooked. One riff with lots of acid fuzz guitar, a steady beat and hypnotic vocals is all it needs. "Vibrations" is a longer (11:15), slower song that also has some early Spacemen 3 vibes. Very nice and heady stuff, that also has some variation with an atmospheric jam etc. The A-side ends with a sort of 60s garage rock styled, faster "Inner Light" that also some organ. Things get pretty wild here... "Motorcycle" (not a Wooden Shjips cover) is the longest track at 15:30. This one sounds very mystical and hazy, almost like The Doors on some of their slower, dreamier and hypnotic songs. I like the cosmic spoken word on this one. Very trippy shit! The album is finished with the nine-minute "Lady Heroine" and this one is in the Velvet Underground vein and has again some pretty psychedelic guitar work. I hope the band can work out the problems and carry on since this actually is a pretty solid and psychedelic debut album.

www.facebook.com/deepspaceflight

Electric Moon: Mind Explosion / Innside Outside

Sulatron Records (st1402-2) / The Great Pop Supplement (GPS 114)

Okay, here we have two latest offerings by German free-form heavy space/kraut/acid/stoner rock pilots Electric Moon. Dave and Lulu have now scored a permanent drummer it seems, since Marcus Schnitzler has been around for some time now as well. And he's the right man for the job, no question about that!

Electric Moon is a live album released on CD (March the 7th) and 2LP (April the 11th). The CD is strictly limited to 500 copies and the marbled vinyl 2LP in open gatefold to 1000. This album includes a wild live concert from Feldkirch, Austia, at the end of their 2013 European tour. The band is in excellent mode and really rocks and freaks out! Despite the somewhat primitive recording technique the sound is really good (mastered by Eroc as usual) and when you put the volume up you feel like you're experiencing this live in the front row. There are four long improvisations all filling up one side of the double vinyl. "Trip to the Moon" starts off the gig with the usual, monotonic and hypnotic way with lots of spacey effects on top of the heavy jamming. Dave (Sula Bassana) also has a Casio Organ that is clearly audible at the end. Great! "Kaleidoscopeephole" begins in a very tranquil mood but starts to rock slowly around the three-minute-marker. Its effect on the human brain is pretty kaleidoscopic alright... Just close your eyes and you will start to see colorful patterns! As usual, they pretty much stay in one chord, though. "The Picture" starts with a simple bass line by Lulu and it's another heavy, hypnotic rocker but with somewhat more groove and some stoner rock vibes. I'm reminded of Monster Magnet a bit, although this is of course purely instrumental and more psychedelic. Great track! The title track "Mind Explosion" finishes off the album in a very cosmic, psychedelic and magnificent way. This is the fastest jam on the album and gets pretty wild... The audience seems totally out-of their minds after this one!


Innside Outside is the brand-new album and will be released on limited coloured vinyl only in a week or two. I first thought that this was a studio album since the promo sheet didn't mention it being live but live it is. This is the first album to be released in the UK, where they have been touring successfully for a couple of year now, so I guess they're getting bigger... This time the cover art is by Ulla Papel, not Lulu Artwork!, but she's still responsible for the layout. This album has only two tracks, but they are very long as always... "Innside" starts off peacefully with some spacey effects and floating organ and builds up slowly into a slow, heavy and mesmerizing groove. It has a very trippy, almost narcotic quality that puts you in deep trance. Things get a bit faster and more energetic later on, and I love it! "Outside" on the B side might be the less cosmic of the tracks but this rocks in a psychedelic stoner rock way. This one is suitable for some serious head-banging as well! Very intense stuff by the band. Both of these releases are highly recommended for the fans of the band.

www.electricmoon.de

Hotlist

The Oscillation: Cable Street Sessions 12"
The Spacelords: Synapse
Ethereal Riffian: Aeonian
Telstar Sound Drone: Feel It/Someone 10"
A. R. Machines: Die Grüne Reise
La Piramide de Sangue: Sette
Crystal Thoughts: Becoming Acid 10"
White Manna: Come Down Safari
Electric Moon: Mind Explosion
Circle (Ex-Falcon): Leviatan