Sky Saxon and The Vibravoid - A Psychedelic Testament

Clostridium Records (CRCD00)

"This album is more than music, this album is a religious experience and a trip into the psychedelic mind of Sky Sunlight Saxon". So true... Just sometime before his death the legendary The Seeds singer Sky Saxon visited Germany with his trusted guitar player Atomic and recorded some loose, jam-based tracks with Germany's number one acid rock act Vibravoid. Some of these recordings were originally released on the sold-out and and very collectable Poetry of Love LP in 2010. Now all the recordings are available for the first time on this superb 80-minute CD! There are four more tracks and "Look What the Bombs Have Done" is presented as a longer, unedited version. The tracks are also in totally different running order, so that "The Psychedelic Mind of Sky Saxon" that opened up Poetry of Love is now the last track, a true testament. Hurray!

The album starts off with the slow, beutiful and melancholic "A Kettle of Tea" where Sky pours out his soul with great, deep lyrics. Previously unreleased, acoustic and folky "You Can Let Love Start" is next and works out okay. The album's only cover track is "Born to Be Wild" and I like the dirty, chaotic acid rock version the band offers. It doesn't really matter if Sky is sometimes a bit late or early with his vocals... The almost 23-minute "Look What the Bombs Have Done" is the album's dark space rock jam and trippy as hell. "Sun King" is perhaps my favourite of the "new" songs and has beautiful Mellotron work on the intro. This one gets you to the spheres for sure. Another long unreleased track "Wipe Your Eyes" comes next and rocks a bit in the hypnotic space/krautrock style. Excellent! "I See Your Face" is already familiar to those lucky enough to have A Poetry of Love and what a great, psychedelic jam this is! The really weird and experimental "The Psychedelic Mind of Sky Saxon" is probably the most "out-there" track on the album and a great way to end the ceremonies. All in all, I must say that I'm really happy that this CD finally saw the light of day as it truely is a magnificent, psychedelic testament to one of the greatest minds in psych and garage rock.

www.skysaxon.com

www.vibravoid.com

Automatism ‎- From The Lake

Tonzonen Records (TON 039)

Fans of Swedish improvisional, instrumental space/psych/krautrock band Kungen's Män will be delighted to know that two of the members are also playing in a band called Automatism. Mikael Tuominen plays the guitar and bass, Hans Hjelm the guitar, phin and synthesizer and the other members are Gustav Nygren (New Rose, ex-Borås Energi) on bass and guitar and Jonas Yrlid (Partikel) on drums. There are also three guest musicians on board on percussion, drums, drum machine and synthesizer. All the six tracks on this debut album were improvised in the studio and later some overdubs were added to a great effect.

I really like the mellow, blissful and somewhat jazzy mood most of the tracks have. They make you float in a pleasant, hazy dreamstate, even if the beat might be a bit faster like on the long, excellent opener "Standing Wave". The shortest track "October Swim" has some Dungen / The Amazing vibe. The over 12-minute "Propeller Propulsion" has a mekanik, hypnotic krautrock beat and brings to mind NEU! a bit which is never a bad thing in my books. Really great going, actually! Maybe my favourite on the LP. I do really enjoy all the other tracks as well, though. All in all, this an absolute must for all lovers of modern improvised space/kraut/psych rock music so make yourself a big favour and check the band out! Both the CD and LP editions are limited to just 500 copies.

www.facebook.com/automatismband

Hotlist June

The weather in Helsinki hasn't been THAT hot lately, but the music on my turntable has:

Various Artists ‎– Goldfish, Fruits de Mer Records 10 Years on Vinyl 3LP + 7".
Wooden Shjips ‎– V.
Flowers Must Die ‎– Där Blommor Dör
Dark Buddha Rising ‎– II 12"
Moths & Locusts – Cocaine Kangaroo​/​Peyote Coyote 7" + CD-R
Pharaoh Overlord ‎– Zero
Here Lies Man ‎– You Will Know Nothing
Cosmic Ground ‎– IV
Gnod ‎– Chapel Perilous
Ecstatic Vision ‎– Under The Influence 12" EP

  

Cosmic Ground - IV

Adansonia Records (ar025)

Electric Orange's Dirk Jan Müller keeps himself busy with his Berlin-school styled kosmische electronic/ambient solo project Cosmic Ground. This 2LP is the project's fourth studio full-length release and includes seven new instrumental, atmospheric and mostly rather minimal tracks. There are also a few EP's and a double live album. As always, you can hear echoes of the old electronic kosmische masters like Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze, but Cosmic Ground still have its own taste and the amazing sound is rather modern. For example the opener "Possessed" brings to mind some of the experimental ambient acts of today rather than the electronic krautrock legends of the past.

This time, I will not go through all the long tracks here. I tend to prefer the ones with hypnotic, tingling sequencers like "Stained", "Greasy" and "Progeny". You really need to listen to this amazing album on good headphones in vertical position with your eyes closed and mind opened for the best results. Just let these wonderful sounds float through your consciousness and take you through strange spaces. I bet you can't find much better cosmic electronic music out there these days. There is a CD as well as two different 2LP versions with the hand-numbered white/green version being the more limited at just 110 copies. Go for it!

www.facebook.com/cosmicground

Pelagos - Revolve

Svart Records

Pelagos is a new Finnish indie rock band formed by Teemu Elo, Petri Hagner and Janne Peltomäki who all were members of the Pori-based cult band Circle in the 90s. Their music is rather different to what Circle has ever done, though. Only the hypnotic elements are similar, but the vibe is much lighter, more atmospheric, electronic and pop-like. Most of the tracks are also rather melancholic. This is their first album following a few digital releases and a compilation cassette.

The album starts off with the very tranquil and beautiful "Code" that has celestial synths, pretty picked guitar and vocoder styled vocals. You get the feeling of flying above a vast ocean on the wings of a seagull. For the last two minutes we also get hypnotic bass and beat as well as some more tasty guitar. Wonderful! "River (Proxima Centauri)" has some late Spacemen 3 / Depeche Mode vibe and but more melody as well. This just might get you dancing. "Island of Pelicans" is one of the most Circle-like tracks but lighter and more mainstream in its sonic structure. Very nice! The instrumental "Aphrodite’s Shore" reminds me of Depeche Mode again a bit and the more acoustic "Invisible" sounds closer to some of Teemu Elo's previous bands like Alien Heat and Puhuvat Eläimet. The vocals are very manipulated and computerized, though. "Sea of Tranquility" is a very emotional, melancholic slow track. The shortest piece on the album is the beautiful and soft "Muted Stars" at 4:27. The last, very atmospheric track "Embryo" is the longest at 7:41 and you can sense some Spacemen 3 vibe in there again. Palagos definitely offers some of the best hypnotic, melancholic modern pop music there is and Revolve is a very enjoyable album that should appeal to fans of several different music styles.

pelagos.bandcamp.com

Astral Visions Mixcloud Show #80 now online

www.mixcloud.com/AstralVisions/astral-visions-80

ArtistTrack NameStart Time

1

VibravoidVibrations From The Cosmic Void Part II (from Vibrations From The Cosmic Void)

2

Wooden ShjipsGolden Flower (from V.)

3

GoatLet It Burn (from Let It Burn 7")

4

Melody FieldsRain Man (from S/T)

5

Mythic SunshipAether Flux (from Upheaval)

6

Us and ThemChanges and Choices (from On Shipless Ocean)

7

Nicklas Sørensen2.5 (from Solo 2)

8

Minami DeutschI've Seen a U.F.O. (from With Dim Light)

9

Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O.From Planet Orb With Love Part 1 (from Electric Dream Ecstasy)

10

Bart De PaepeDen Osschaert (from Pagus Wasiae)

11

Moths & LocustsCocaine Kangaroo (from Cocaine Kangaroo/Peyote Coyote 7")

12

GnodUncle Frank Says Turn It Down (from Chapel Perilous)

13

GoatRun To Your Mama (from Fuzzed in Europe)

14

Flowers Must DieOroa Dig Inte (from Där Blommor Dör)

15

SendelicaBS (from Cromlech Chronicles III)

16

Cosmic GroundGreasy (from IV)

17

Sky Saxon and The VibravoidThe Psychedelic Mind of Sky Saxon (from A Psychedelic Testament)

Pharaoh Overlord - Zero

Hydra Head Records / Full Contact Records (hh666-225 / KRYPT-122)

"Muscülar avant äcid röck from the ever-topical Circle camp" indeed. As always, the Pharaoh Overlords buys have something new in their sleeve. This time it's the growling vocals of Antti Boman from death metal band Demilich. The music still is hypnotic, psychedelic and powerful krautrock, though. Faust's Hans Joachim Irmler has worked with the band before but is definitely worth mentioning as well.

The album starts off with the cover of Spacemen 3's marvellous and rebellious "Revolution". Die-hard Pharaoh Overlords fans have already heard the band's live version of this track on Horn, a live album recorded at Torvi, Lahti in 2010, but this new studio version is pretty different. And highly effective, I must add! Antti's guttural vocals and added keyboards also give it a whole new vibe. "Maailmanlopun Ateriana" is a cool track with hypnotic krautrock stuff and heavier, more in-your-face parts, it gets you in a heady trance. Then it's time to get more experimental with the slower but no less trippy "Meanwhile". "Lalibela Cannot Spell Zero" is the longest track on the album at nine minutes and it's an up-beat, Circle-like motoric juggernaut that shows no mercy. Your brains will melt during this one! It's good to have a few moments to breath with "Satavuotiaiden Salaisuus", but the atmosphere is rather wicked and twisted. The album is finished with another mind-blowing fast hard rocker "I Drove All Night by My Solar Stomp" that is one of the highlights for me. Lot's of stuff happening on this one on top of the steady basic riff. All in all, another magnificent and hyper-strong album by Pharaoh Overlord. This is absolutely one of their best releases, if not THE best, so go and get it!

pharaohoverlord.bandcamp.com