Sonntag, 23. Dezember 2012

[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!

Samstag, 15. Dezember 2012

[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



Samstag, 8. Dezember 2012

[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.


Samstag, 1. Dezember 2012

[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!