Phew... This is a massive four-disc compilation of stuff by Astralasia. A big part of it has been released on Fruits de Mer on their albums, singles, cover releases, remixes, but we also get some previously unreleased tracks and mixes. I've been a fan since the early 90s so I absolutely love this treasure trove. It has something for everyone. Hawkwind fans will be interested to know that there is also an unreleased alternative mix of "Flesh to Fantasy" from the Hawkwind's Solstice Remixes maxi single. Some of the tracks were also released under various other names (The Fishheads, The Mushroom Project, Magic Mushroom Band) that Mark Swordfish has been/is part of. The oldest bits were recorded in 1982! (Too bad that my promo package has disc one two times and no disc three, so I will miss that...). So we really have over 40 years of psychedelic music history stored on this compilation. The band's most electronic, ambient/dub/house/trance album tracks from the 90's are not included, and maybe that's a good thing. But I do enjoy them too! One of the highlights is the Brainticket cover "Cotton Wood Hill/Places of Light" from Postcards from the Deep, I think I have played my copy of the box of flexi singles only once... Anyway, over four hours of excellent music, so just go and order it!
I've been a big fan of the Soft Hearted Scientists since I first got introduced to them by Fruits de Mer way over ten years ago. Their psychedelic pop/rock/folk music has a weird appeal that I can't really put into words. There's something whimsical but at the same time deep in their vibe. This is an expanded 3LP set of their latest album originally released on CD last year on their own The Hip Replacement label. I don't own the CD and always prefer vinyl so I am really happy about this release that also has an extra LP with sort of reconstruction of the song themes on side E and three instrumental mixes on the side F as bonus tracks!
The actual album (sides A to D) has 13 new tracks, some shorter interludes and reprises, some in the "normal" pop song range of 3 to 5 minutes, some longer, around 10-minute trips all leading to the 18-minute bonus track (side E). Nathan Hall really still have his talent to write great, catchy songs and all the musicians play really well. It's hard to think of what other bands this might sound like, but I can hear some echoes of The Byrds and The Beatles, for example. But there's plenty of more influences in the mix, for sure. Anyway, this is one of the band's strongest albums without a doubt and no fan will be disappointed. Melodic, trippy and haunting, wonderful stuff.
This is a cool prog rock album collaboration by Fruits de Mer stalwarts Icarus Peel, Steve Palmer, Jay Tausig and Rob Gould. There are four, long instrumental pieces that feel like they were recorded in the early 70s! Even the titles are pretty convincing: "Coral Correlation", "Superpurplesunshine", "The Ochre Cobra", "The Turguoise Shards of Atlantis"... If you love the early 69-73 prog/Centerbury music originally released on Vertigo, Harvest etc. and want to know how the same vibe is achieved today this is a must-have for you. Great playing by all the masters who really know what they are doing here. LP on splatter vinyl out in mid March, get your copy from your favorite FdM dealer, I know I will.
I have started making some of my releases available in physical form from Kunaki Products (US)! They produce the goods very fast and I'd recommend all American fans to use it while I am not able to mail anything to the USA right now from Finland.
So far I have added all the six Strange Vibrations albums and In Space We Trust by Astral Magic since all the artwork on those was put together by me so I could transform it to jewel case format. Expect more stuff soon, also an exclusive tape compilation in the works!
You can already access and play the virtual cassette version of the compilation Wormhole Full Of Wonders here:
Quite a lot has happened in the Astral World since the latest blog release in October. Since the first actual CD release on Astral Magic Music, Astral Magic - The Chosen Ones has been sold-out for a long time I decided to do something about it. Rather than just to re-release it, I got an idea to make new versions of the best tracks and release it under a bit different name: The Ultra Chosen Ones. I recorded some new stuff to ten of the tracks and remixed them. My old friend Juha Takalo, who designed The Chosen Ones CD art also made new artwork for this release. Both lathe-cut LP and CD-R (with two bonus tracks) are ONLY available from elasticStage.
There were two new releases on 5.12.2025, the last Bandcamp Friday of the year. Astral Magic - Weird Encounters and Alternative Realities (ASTRAL058) was the end result of a long process started already at the beginning of 2024. I wanted to continue the Astral Magic magazine that was put out with the compilation tape Meetings with the Universal Mind in 2022. In the end I had to make it happen myself, of course with the help of Andy Wainwright doing the design. Weird Encounters is partly a compilation as well, but also includes some brand-new stuff. All the 13 tracks on the limited-edition CD have never been released in physical format before. The Bandcamp download also includes the booklet Visions from the Future in PDF form. To have the booklet also in printed form, it was added to the lathe-cut LP version that has partly different tracks... Only available from elasticStage.
What comes to our new project Strange Vibrations, things have progressed as well. After Higher Dimentional Beings there have been TWO more albums! V was released as a limited edition (50 copies) real CD in cardboard cover and lathe-cut LP only available from elasticStage again. The latest addition to the S. V. album family is Out of My Mind, that in physical form is only available from elasticStage, both as a lathe-cut LP and a CD-R.
I have been busy making new music with Paul Roland and another album with Bridget Wishart is also taking form. Other stuff has also been made with other musicians, of course. Check out for example Tomplex. I will also be on the next release by Dreaming Apparition, together with Shane Beck and Kevin Erhardt-Hansen.
The long-awaited Astral Hawk Machine album (a collaboration with Jay Tausig, Bridget Wishart and Santtu Laakso) should finally be available next week! There will only be a CD (300 copies) release at the moment, out on Italian Black Widow Records.
Good news is that the next Astral Magic release Into the Cosmos will be out on the 6th of February on LP (200 copies) and digipack CD (100 copies) on Astral Magic Music! Both formats have already been manufactured so no more delays with this heavy, psychedelic space rock masterpiece! Check out the opener on YouTube:
Songs from the Underground is the first solo album by Gregg McKella, the singer/guitarist of UK space rock band Paradise 9. I've been in contact with the man for many years and was also lucky to see the band perform live at Kozfests in 2023 and 2024. At least Gregg also was involved in jamming with several other musicians at those festivals, if my memory serves me right...
Anyway, on this CD he concentrates on acoustic based "space folk" style. Gregg has a long history of also playing acoustic stuff while busking in the 90s and that's where most of these songs are coming from. The album was recorded and produced by another UK space rocker Martin Litmus from Litmus, who also plays bass, keyboards, synths, Mellotron, guitars, drums and percussion, with Gregg on vocals, guitars, glissando guitar, clarinet and synths. The album also features guest musicians Nick Pynn on violins, Jeanette Murphy on BVs along with Paradise 9s
Tyrone Thomas on lead and slide guitars and Mr Eugene also on violins. So it's not just acoustic guitar and voice we have here, some tracks even rock a bit. Most of it is still pretty folky stuff.
The album starts off with the beautiful and melancholic folk song "All Said and Done" and I really like this one. I must have heard this somewhere before. The violin is a nice addition. "Gone so Silent" has drums and rocks a bit more. "New Horizons" is the longest track on the album at 8:25 and the spacey synthesizers add some Hawkwind vibes especially in the first part which is never a bad thing in my books! Also "Face in the Crowd" has some synth noises etc. Nice vocals on this one. "It's Come to This" has more electric guitar, bass and drums and a sort of jazz/funk rock vibe. The instrumental "Sacred Space" is a dreamy number bringing to mind some of the more peaceful Daevid Allen pieces. Wonderful! Then we have "Charlie Don't Mind" that reminds me of something but I just can't name what. The deep "One More Touch" brings to mind Daevid again, maybe mostly for its slide/glissando guitar work. Also "We Took the Wrong Step Years Ago" by Hawkwind, a bit. Great tune. "New Dawn" is a shorter, instrumental acoustic folk piece. "Time to Go" has a sort of ska rhythm. "Motherless Children" is a traditional folk tune that for example also Dave Brock has recorded. This is a rather different version, though. The very nice album is finished with the seven-minute "Woman Like You", a very beautiful love song, I would say. All in all Songs from the Underground is a highly enjoyable album for all those who enjoy the more folky side of space and psych rock. Available on CD and digital download.
The Chemistry Set - The Tragic Fridge Magnet / STP (winkle 61)
Okay, FdM ends the year with a triple bang! Three 7" singles, and that's the way the label started all those years ago. First we have a new single by the label stalwarts The Chemistry Set who have been involved since 2011, but they started already in the 80s. This UK band is one of my favourites among the modern torch-bearers of the 60s psych vibe, and they never disappoint me. "The Tragic Fridge Magnet" is an uptempo garage rocker that gets your ass shaking immediately! I can easily indentify with the vocals since we have a (un)healthy number of fridge magnets in out kitchen as well... This rocks! The B side is bit more psychedelic, slower "STP" (stands for Space Time Perception...). Could almost be a long-lost classic of Syd's Pink Floyd, it's that good! A must-have, naturally.
The Owl Service - A Tribute to Sandy Denny (Crustacean 103)
The Owl Service is a new act on Fruits de Mer, but backing vocalist Alison O'Donnell is probably more familiar. The single is a tribute to the music of folk rock singer Sandy Denny and has two beautiful interpretations of songs originally sung by Sandy: "The Sea" (Fotheringay) and "Genesis Hall" (Fairport Convention). Just amazing stuff and exquisite vocals by the lead singer Dorothy Chappel. Very well done! This single suits the Fruits de Mer Records catalogue perfectly. This will be sold-out very soon, so try to locate a copy if peaceful folk-rock is your thing.
Behind the Sun Collective - Children of the Revolution / Maggot Brain (Crustacean 102)
Behind the Sun Collective is another new band for the Fruits de Mer. Some of us have witnessed their set at the label's summer festival in 2024. So, we have two pretty common covers songs here, but presented in a relatively original way and I like them. Marc Bolan's hit song "Children of a Revolution" is hard-rocking and pretty dirty, it really works. "Maggot Brain" is of course shortened quite a lot from it's original 10-minute-plus length but sounds really cool and enjoyable as it is here. This act is obviously something to keep on eye on!
More info on all the singles and where to get them from:
