Euphemia Rise - Farewell to Greatness

 Self-released

Euphemia Rise is an experimental alternative music by songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Wim Lankriet from Belgium. Some of you might remember Wim from his previous projects Magdalena Solis and Syrenomelia that I have also reviewed. Mr. Lankriet is also a visual artist with a long expertice in music videos and his music also has a rather cinematic, atmospheric vibe.

This self-released digital single includes two very well produced songs. Farewell to Greatness is an original inspired by memories of Wim's  teenage years and student life. It's a short (2:51) but bitter-sweet song with a dark and melancholic vibe. I like it a lot! The second track is a cool and fresh take on Pink Floyd's psychedelic folk masterpiece "Cirrus Minor"! I have heard it covered before but this must be the most intimate and haunting version so far. Superb and sublime! I hope Wim can put out a whole album with this new project of his since this sounds really great. You can download the EP free from Bandcamp. Check it out!

euphemiarise.net

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/ 

Release date for Astral Magic - Visions of Infinity!

 

My first official solo album Astral Magic - Visions of Infinity will be released on May the 6th! The presale starts on March the 25th on Dark Sun Bandcamp site and Sapphire Records site.

The album will be released on two limited edtions: 150 copies on digipak CD and  250 copies on marbled/coloured vinyl. Both will be hand-numbered, and the vinyl version also comes with a Bandcamp download code! Of course you can also buy a digital download from Bandcamp.

The nine songs on this release are some of the first I wrote and recorded one year ago when I started this solo project. My good, old friend Scott Heller offered to help on mixing and even got his guitarist friend, the legendary Martin Weaver (ex-Dark, ex-Wicked Lady etc.) to record some amazing guitar tracks for most of the songs! The next natural step of course was the decision to release this album on Scott's and Sabine's record label in Germany...

 

This heavy space rock album will be quite different to the more electronic stuff I've been putting out on Bandcamp but I continuously make various kinds of psychedelic music, so... You will see!

All Peace to You, Galactic Brothers and Sisters,

 

Dj Astro

Neon Heart - Temporaria

 Self-Released/Adansonia

Neon Heart is an experimental, improvisational and psychedelic Krautrock group from Sweden. I have previously reviewed their first album over here. When we use the term Krautrock here it is a pretty loose description but some of the tracks do bring to mind Can a bit, not so much any other legendary Kraut acts. The saxophone also gives a lot of jazzy mood to the music. In addition to drums, bass and electric guitar there is also an electronic viola player to give more colour to the aural assaults.

Most of the stuff is pretty laid back or mid-tempo, but the last, hypnotic track "Slå dig ner" is faster with a sort of "motorik" beat. It is also my favourite Most of the music has weird vocals in Swedish which fits in the vibe perfectly. Neon Heart seem to have a style of their own and their sound is is pretty unique I think. I bet many people who enjoy improvised kraut/jazz/psych rock will find this album very interesting. There is a limited CD release by the band and the album will also soon be released on vinyl by the great Adansonia Records in Germany!

 www.neonheart.se

Spurious Transients - Something Strange Came Out of the Skies

 Self-released CD/LP

Spurious Transients is a Welsh psychedelic project formed by Gavin Lloyd Wilson. I have reviewed their debut album and single in 2015 but missed their second album somehow. They have also been actove on Fruits de Mer Records, like on the recent Head Music 2 compilation. Anyway, this CD had been travelling for months before it reached me in my new address, but I'm glad it finally arrived. The theme of the album is alien encounters and UFO's as reported by the eye-witnesses, so a sort of Welsh manifestation of our own project UFO-tutkimuksia. The music is rather different, though!

The album starts off with the eight-minute title track that has a chilled-out, spacey ambient vibe, similar to some of the Astralasia stuff. There is also some sitar sounds to add even more other-wordly vibrations. I of course love it! Then we get some short testimonies with spooky background sounds. "Freak Weather Woodpecker" is a mellow piece with spoken-word about one very interesting case in the 70s, then we get some more testimonies. "The Welsh Triangle" has a cool dub vibe, the weird "Bovine Bilocation" kicks off with some cows mowing and also has female vocals, nice. There are 14 tracks in total with lots of original testimonies, alien sound effects and psychedelic, experimental, mostly electronic backing with some more musical stuff thrown in for good balance. If you are interested in extraterrestrials and psychedelic, electronic music then this is exactly your cup of alien tee! The album is available on vinyl and CD, just go to the band's Bandcamp site to order.

spurioustransients.bandcamp.com

 

Pink Floyd - In the 1970s (book review)

Sonicbond Publishing

"What, yet another book on Pink Floyd?", you might think. Oh yes, we never get enough of the Floyd. This 144-page paper book is released in the Decades series and although it concentrates on their activities in the 70s it actually briefly tells the band's story all the way from the hazy mid 60s to the year 2020 also including the band members' solo careers. It's no small task to fit it all into so few pages but Georg Purvis does a great job on it. 

Everything concerning the band's landmark 70s albums gets most of the attention. Even though I'm a big Pink Floyd fan I have not read even a friction of all the books written about them so I learned many interesting, cool, funny and sometimes also depressive details about the recording sessions and the ever growing drift in between Waters and Gilmour. It never stops to amaze me how grown men can't put their difficulties aside and work together. Maybe it is the superstar egos, I don't know. Sort of sad, anyway. The main emphasis here luckily still is on the music so we get details of out-takes, abandoned projects etc. which was very interesting. The book is very well written and keeps the reader in its grip. I would recommend it to any fan of the band and also as an introduction to those who are only just dipping into the world of one of the greatest bands in history.

www.sonicbondpublishing.co.uk/

Astral Magic - Electronic Vol. 4 released!

Check it out: