Maintenance

last updated entry:

[1967] The Peanut Butter Conspiracy - Too Many Do

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still to do:

create FB site & invite people.

revise sidebar, adverts, graphics, links etc. ...

know what I'm gonna do?!

well, I'm going to get all the Garage Greats singles and post what I think is worse to share here! the same guys that once did the Radioactive and Fallout boot labels, just reissued a ton of rare garage-psych single in limited runs some years ago. 2012 they did blow off and sell out their remaining 7" stock. you might say 'baaa, damn bootlegs and I do say that too sometimes if I invest a lot of time in a legit reissue and others come by and bootleg the album... however, the Garage Greats series brought a lot of unknown and really great (!) 60's gems to my (and others') attention. so that seems to be the second side of the coin.

some copies still left in my shop, so you might be interested in brwosing: http://stores.ebay.com/Surreal-Peppermint-Store/_i.html?_nkw=garage+greats+%287%22&submit=Finden&LH_TitleDesc=1&_sid=882387916

meanwhile enjoy a classic track from this series:

[1975] Ejwuusl Wessahqqan - Die orangefarbene Wüste südwestlich von Ignarh

File Under: Psychedelic / Jam / Experimental / Kraut Rock

Ejwuusl Wessahqqan, another artist I only know one track by. A friend sent me this track per email and I was astonished when I heared it. but he also wrote, that the rest of the album ain't that good, so I did not listen to the album yet... However, there is a lot of crap among the Kraut Rock stuff, but this here is something exceptional. Like the album "Variety" from the german band "Think" (or did I twist the band & album name?!) or not to forget "Analogy". The artist- and songname psuhs the mystic charakter that will overhelm you, when clicking on "play" above... It's a sourrounding trance, maybe feeling a bit suficiated. It's like riding along in a fairytale-caravan on the journey to a exciting adventure, that's shrouded in mystery. It's truely a psychedelic experience! check it out in complete length!

[2000] Hagalaz' Runedance - The Dawning

File Under: Pagan Folk / Medieval

As some of you might know, I'm also a huge fan of the pagan culture (of the peaceful and white-magic part, not of all those industrial/dark scene etc. stuff...) so just today I discovered a new band called "Hagalaz' Runedance"! Well, not directly psychedelic, I know, but maybe interesting for soem of you as well! Hagalaz means something like "volley" or "hail". It's strongly associated with destruction / the end of something. just like Shiva or Kali in the Hindu mythology. So it's meaning is not necessarily bad. it's like the winter, which is not only making things freeze, but also allows the plants and animals to take a rest and bundle their energy and regenerate for the upcomming year.

Their sound is in the vein of the older Faun albums, but more archaic. If you love that certain mix of medieval music and pagan folk, you will surely enjoy this band! yet I only zapped through one of their albums and listened to some songs on youtube, but as far as I can tell great sounds are waiting to be heared!

Wild in the Streets (Movie, 1968)

I recently watched the '68 movie "Wild in the Streets". well, what can I say, I'm a bit disappointed. if you ask me it's a pretty stupid movie. the story is about a bunch of young and rich pseudo-hippies overtaking the government. but below the coat of peace-symbols, joints, colourful cloths and tripping teens, they are acting in an equal violent way than the older generation did and in the end nothing changes really much except for thousands of families are psychically disbanded, shocked, traumatized and through the forced consume of LSD in boot camps. but til the the end, no reflection happens in the storytelling of the movie. I assume it was rather meant to be entertaining and funny, but behind the dogmas of the colourful sixties it's not really amusing see all of this.however, the reason, why I watched this movie, was, that A.) it's from the 60's B.) it seemed psychedelic from what I heared about it and C.) the soundtrack is unbelievable good!! and that's still fact, despite the movie content. "Max Frost & The Troopers" where no real band, even if they released an album after success of the film and additionally to the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, wich feat. Les Baxters (as "The Senators"), Jerry Howard, The Second Time, The Gurus, and finally The 13th Power, wich - if I remember it right and the rumours are true - feat. Davie Allen & The Arrows.

Read a very informative review of the movie here: http://www.videowatchdog.blogspot.de/2006/01/14-or-shop.html

below I posted a version of the radio hit "Shape of Things to Come". I hope it doesn't get blocked again too soon by youtube.

News from Merlins Nose Records: In Gowan Ring & Arrowwood

Aloha Folks!

I know it's been a while again since my last post here. I hope to find back to the weekly rythmn of posts soon again. We were moving and when this was done, the new LP's I'm introducing to you today arrived here and I had too much work with packing, processing order etc. ...so there was somehow a lack of time, and tons of emails are waiting for a reply too, ... but now back to the maintopic of this post: A lot of people were involved in the postproduction of these albums. The result was an enormous delay.  But fiInally - approx. one year later than originally planned - they are finished and in stock. Merlins Nose Records now proudly presents two very fair and beautiful releases from the Psych-/Pagan-/Neo-Folk scene. Below you'll find further informations, reviews, sounds and links about them. Enjoy!

Arrowwood - Beautiful Grave (CD/LP)
File Under: Psych Folk / Pagan Folk / Neo-Folk

Sound:

Feat. Kim Larson (aka "Of The Wand & The Moon") and Pythagumus Marshall (from "Novemthree")! Mixed & Mastered by Eroc! With mystical nature-photos licensed from Florent & Maxime Courty and great artwork-layout by Kiryk Drewinski!

Sometimes music tells you more about its creator than he himself could ever do. Chelsea Robb, born in Albion, now residing in the mystical north west of the USA already fits well with the image of an incarnated elementary spirit from her whole appearance and has opened the gates to the magical kingdom in a musical way. Gentle, ethereal and sometimes even ghostly haunting sounds, created on all acoustic instruments such as flute, hurdy gurdy, reed organ and several stringed instruments apart from the classic acoustic guitar build the fruitful soil for a mystifying vocal performance by Ms. Robb who also perfectly performs in a duet with an even more powerful male voice courtesy of NOVEMTHREE mastermind Pythagumus Marshall. An enchanting swarm of different rattles, timbers, bells and rainmakers comes buzzing around the melody patterns, only scarcely driven by an occasional hypnotical beat of a hand drum. The surreal beauty of this second full length album by the project under conduction of Chelsea Robb knows to enchant the listener every second and to tickle his senses. This way even soft, calm and dreamy music can be utterly exciting. The spell of the magic kingdom works well into our dimension through the music of ARROWWOOD.

Formats / Purchase:
LP (Black): 180g Vinyl / Heavy Sleeve / Gatefold
LP (Col. - Ltd. to 100): 180g Vinyl / Heavy Sleeve / Gatefold
CD: Jewelcase / 12-Page Booklet - [will arrive later]

you can purchase the new Arrowwood album at Ebay:
http://stores.ebay.com/Surreal-Peppermint-Store/_i.html?_nkw=Arrowwood&submit=Finden&_sid=882387916
 

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In Gowan Ring - The Glinting Spade (CD/LP)
File Under: Psych Folk / Drone / Songwriter / Neo-Folk

Sound:
 
No Overdubs or synthetic sounds were used for this album. Everything you’ll hear on this album got recorded with physical vocals and instruments only. Long time out-of-print and highly demanded album, finally available again with new artwork by Kiryk Drewinski and new mastering by Eroc!

People have visions, grown and evolved in the world within to be transcended into the world outside. IN GOWAN RING is the vision of the American musician Bobin Eirth aka B'ee. It shows a man on his journey, incarnating the music of his soul. B'ee creates a truly vivid organism of sound which becomes outlined more an more during the creative process. Next to the folk traditions of the western world B'ee has studied different music from many cultures to explore all similarities and differences and to make it all become part of his inner vision. His works arise from the depths of his soul. This explains why he just created three albums within the first ten years of his career. The third album „The glinting spade“ was awakened between 1997 and 1999 during a period of complete isolation and the detection of new musical influences with a childlike passion. No big surprise that this music is a rather intimate affair. B'ee's compositions are captured and detained by him and his fellow musicians partly with regular, partly with unique instruments that were created just for those recordings. The spiritual mood of the songs gets driven by enchanting melodies and quite often ends up in rather mystifying kaleidoscopes of sound. B'ee adds fresh inspiration and creativity to the tradition of the great ancestors of psychedelic folk and singer / songwriter of the 60s and 70s just like Donovan, Perry Leopold, Nick Drake or Exuma. It is a blessing for all music lovers that this long out of print record now receives it’s well deserved reissue on vinyl and CD.

Our friend Klemen recently did an interview with B'ee. You can find it here:
http://psychedelicbaby.blogspot.com/2013/03/in-gowan-ring-interview.html
 
Birch Book - B'ee's sideproject - will be featured in the soundtrack of the upcoming otherwordly
documentary "The Fairy Trail". The Trailer can be watched at: www.fairytrail.tumblr.com

Formats / Purchase:
LP (Black): 180g Vinyl / Heavy Sleeve / Gatefold / Gold Print
LP (Col. - Ltd. to 100): 180g Vinyl / Heavy Sleeve / Gatefold / Gold Print
CD: 6-Panel Digisleeve / 16-Page Booklet / Gold Print - [will arrive later]

you can purchase the new Arrowwood album at Ebay:
http://stores.ebay.com/Surreal-Peppermint-Store/_i.html?_nkw=In+Gowan+Ring&submit=Finden&_sid=882387916

[1966] The Outcasts - Set Me Free

listen to the song:

Some time ago, (ha, 3 years ago), I posted another song by "The Outcasts", which you can listen to here: "Hard Lovin' Babe". But to what I found on the web, I have to assume that this where another Outcasts band. Somewhere I read 10 groups with this name are known to have existsed in the 60's.

However, "Set Me Free", this time with male front-vocals sounds like the great Airplane going back to the garage. The Chorus and organs are giving it the psychedelic feeling. More Outcasts tracks can be found on the Collectables CD "Battle of the Bands! - The Outcasts vs. the Arkay IV" / or the same tracks at the '85 Cicadelic LP release "Meet The Outcasts!" 

[1967] The Elopers - Music To Smoke Bananas By

listen to the song:

Why bananas again?! I crossed this phrase several times now and it sounds weird every time again. Maybe this slogan arose from completely naive believes of parents in the 60's about psychedelia and their tripping youth. Well, "Banana, the mindexpanding fruit!". Bananas found their way into a psychedelic hippie movement on various ways. Sooner or later you will cross "The Electric Banana - Blows Your Mind" LP or a book called "Electrical Banana: Masters of Psychedelic Art"... you see, it's a topic to explore! About the song: It's an instrumental psych rock piece by this Colorado band, that only released that one single with the b-Side "Peak Beat". The drony bass-line is building the basement for the fuzzed guitar patterns. Great psychedelic sound indeed!

[2012] Jacco Gardner - Summer's Game / Clear The Air

Jacco Gardner is a talented young musician form the Netherlands. I recognised, who he is, after reading, that he played on MiriMay's single, that will hopefully be released on Saturno Records soon! In brackets I read "The Skywalkers" behind his name. Then I knew, I'd have to checkout his stuff too! Some of you might remember, that I posted a song by the Skywalkers some time ago (here you go). Their 2010 album "Year One" is just amazing! Due to strange results of effects that where added to the drum-section, the drum sounds quite unnatural, almost like an electronic drum, but it ain't one actually. However, Jacco's music is not only a great enrichment to the contemporary psychedelic scene, but also he seems pretty committed to his work. The US label "Trouble in Mind Records" released his latest single and will release his upcomming and new album "Cabinet Of Curiosities" on CD and LP (propably in february 2013). What to say about the sound? It's pretty mellow and dreamy and sometimes makes me think of Sunshine and Baroque Pop. The second video below even reminds on the early Pink Floyd stuff... I know it's a pretty canned comparison and too often used, but hear it yourself ;-). All in all it gets in a similiar direction than the Sufi's music (see some posts below), but it's less weird and trippy, it's more like having a daydreamy day and lying on a grassy hill, feeling a warm breeze, having flowers all around you and watching the clouds, while you are floating along with them... Don't forget to like Jacco on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jaccogardnermusic

[1969] Forest - A Fantasy You

listen to the song:

Within the rediscovery of better, lesser and really obscure and unheard psych music from the 60's and 70's, the selftitled album of this UK psych folk act, appeared again on several label imprints that rereleased it. But that's just the factual and boring background. I could tell you the stories, of how often it got bootlegged etc., but I'm a bit tiered of it and don't think this knowledge is very amusing if you are after the music and it's spirit, that enfolds ones you tuned in. Without any research and checking, what I can find in books about this band, other things come to my mind to share about it. If you contemplate about the froncover artwork, you will soon notice that the musicians on it are looking like children's of the ancient god Pan. the trees in the background are merging with the horns of the mystic beings. Could it be more inviting like this for a gentle hippie/psych folk record? Flutes are leading into the depth of the song, wich rhythmically dance along and morph into something ambivalent, that is somehow soft and greenly-protecting, and somehow melancholic and a bit wailing. That makes me feel a bit like being on the run, but surrounded by benevolent creatures of the forest. a bizzare but familiar feeling. It's been a long time since I heared the compelte album. It's time again it seems. Maybe I'll find more songs from it to post here some day. Also their second album wasn't bad as well.

[2009] Broadcast & The Focus Group - The Be Colony

Listen to the song (and album) and you'll watch your mind melting and dripping into deeper layers of perception... I remember reading on Linda Perhacs homepage, that Trish Keenan, the singer of Broadcast, was a huge fan of her sound, but sadly died in a car accident(?) in 2011. The name of the two groups together (Broadcast & The Focus Group) and the long and strange album name ("Investigate Witch Cults Of The Radio Age") awoke my interest. And when I listened to it the first time I was a kind of blown away. Their experimental psychedelia is something quite unique - at least for me as I know only very few things that would be really equal in their musical style. They are often described with "old library music sounds, sixties-inspired pastiches, and soundtracks to 1970s films and programmes, as well as the sound collage of musique concrète." Except for the 60's psych pastiches, I'm pretty unfamiliar with the other styles, and even never heared of "library music" before ... damn, what's that?! find it out yourself! the reason why I'm posting a video today and not just an mp3, is, that the video expresses optically, what the song brings to your ears. together this grows to a real mindblower!

[1968] The World Column - Lantern Gospel

listen to the song:

Picture taken from the psychedelic underground 

movie "The Invasion of Thunderbolt Pagoda"

This song is taken from Bill Synth's great "Acid & Flowers" compilation, that got released in the 90's by "Timothy's Brain". One of the best psych comps around by the way! But, what to say else about it? Huh... ! Well, the mood of this track is placed somewhere between the Ultimate Spinach and Jefferson Airplane - maybe you noticed, I have a predilection for that chorus like soft psych, as well as for organs, so "Lantern Gospel" is beaming me up once again!

Luckily someone band-familiar shared some words about the band on Crud Crud's blog. Since I'm not the one, being familiar with them, I prefer to qoute those lines here: "I must admit, I think the song is kinda cheesy. However, a studio band the World Column was not. They were orignally known as the Segrams (ave.. age was 15 y.o.) They were on the road giggin' almost nightly for years a range of 20,000 miles a year. During this time,they shared the stage with performers such as Jackson 5, Aerosmith, Dave Clark 5, Herman's Hermits, Sonny and Cher. When they recorded these 2 45's they were still teenagers. These guys studied music-one in Sweeden, one at the Chicago Conservatory of Music, and one at Indiana University. Studio heads lookin for a one hit wonder-no. Talented kids who rocked the stage-ask anyone from the midwest from this era. Most of these guys went on to raise families. I'd love to say as a teenager I had this type of experience and then 40 years later people are bloggin about my music. I just found that their song So Is the Sun is found on 6 different complilation CD's produced between 2000 and 2006. Rock on. Benoit and Meyer-rest in peace. Be proud Kaplan and Boller."