The Wasted Lakes - Häxan - Witchcraft Through the Ages

TOR61 2019

01 Häxan Part I
02 Häxan Part II
03 Häxan Part III
04 Häxan Part IV
05 Häxan Part V

I've always wanted to perform an improvised soundtrack to a film and last December, I done just that.

Häxan, a 1922 Swedish-Danish documentary about witchcraft, has long been a personal favourite. In its original form, it was two hours in length with dialogue boards. In 1968 a version with William Burroughs narrating was released. This was subtitled 'A History of Witchcraft'. I decided to use this shorter cut of the film.

Next, I asked Jonathan Sharp (The Heartwood Institute) and Joe Hiscoke (Holiday, Ponyland) to perform alongside me.

We had one soundcheck and decided to not prepare anything in advance.

The soundtrack was recorded, in front of the film and audience, on December the 14th and is presented here in full.



The film with accompanying soundtrack can be viewed here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSCPSPhN3O4&feature=youtu.be

White Noise - An Electric Storm

Island Records 1969

01 Love without Sound
02 My Game of Loving
03 Here Come the Fleas
04 Firebird
05 Your Hidden Dreams
06 The Visitation
07 Black Mass: An Electric Storm in Hell

White Noise is American musician David Vorhaus, alongside BBC Radiophonic Workshop veterans Delia Derbyshire and Brian Hodgson.

Side 1 has electronic semi-pop tunes, almost baroque in places. side 2 is the real deal; mental, terrifying electronic music for a balck mass. Great stuff.

A wee bit of trivia; a brief extract from the track "The Black Mass: An Electric Storm in Hell" can be heard in the Hammer Film Productions film Dracula AD 1972.

German Oak - Down in the Bunker

Bunker Records 1972 / Now-Again Records 2017

Disc 1:

01 Screaming Skeletons

02 Missile Song

03 Belle's Song

04 Nothing

Disc 2:

01 Belle's Song (Extended)
02 Missile Song (Extended)

Disc 3:

01 Bear Song
02 Happy Stripes (On Cats)
03 Ghost Guitar
04 Bear Song (Alternate)
05 Harpy & Peregrine
06 Python Vs. Tiger
07 Giant Rock; Boulder Golem

The one and only album by German Oak has had a troubled history. Originally released in 1972, the band were helpless as the owner of the tapes put the record out without their knowledge and worse, added titles that reflected his own fascistic tendencies.

The album has been dismissed over the years as a pro-nazi statement, when in fact the band themselves had no affiliation to such extreme politics.

The music itself  is brilliant; dark, heavy guitar, drum and bass jams. The two middle titles extend out and they are as kosmiche as it gets.

It's a shame it has taken until this 2017 re-issue for even the correct song titles to be included. his three disc edition has extended versions of the two main cuts from the LP, plus unreleased songs from after those sessions.T

Brilliant, brutal, underground jams.

Jimi Hendrix - Straight Ahead

Self made compilation

Disc 1: Hendrix Approved Mixes

01 Ezy Ryder

02 Freedom

03 Message To Love

04 Drifter's Escape

05 Come Down Hard On Me

06 Earth Blues

07 Dolly Dagger

08 Night Bird Flying

09 Straight Ahead

10 Astro Man

11 Room Full of Mirrors

12 In From The Storm

13 Belly Button Window

Disc 2: Posthumous Masters

01 Bleeding Heart

02 Izabella

03 Valleys Of Neptune

04 Stepping Stone

05 Drifting

06 Pali Gap

07 Beginning

08 Angel

09 Power of Soul

10 Cherokee Mist

11 Hey Baby

Jimi Hendrix may not seem entirely suitable for this blog, but there is a reason behind this post.

I fell in love with the music of Hendrix in my early teens. While at school, I collected the three Jimi Hendrix Experience albums as well as the live Band of Gypsys LP. 

I read a couple of biographies and was fascinated to learn Hendrix had an astonishing amount of unreleased material. Shortly after, during a stop at a service station on a school trip in 1993, I bought my first Hendrix bootleg. It was also the first bootleg of any artist I owned. I suppose that purchase would lead to me constructing this blog and my love of rare, secret, unreleased and hard to find music also began there.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience broke up in April 1969. From then until Hendrix's death in September 1970 he recorded material for what would of been his fourth studio album.

Hours and hours of songs in various stages have been on posthumous albums over the years, most notably on 'The Cry Of Love', 'Rainbow Bridge' and 'War Heroes'. Those three albums were compiled and mixed by engineer Eddie Kramer and long time drummer Mitch Mitchell and released shortly after Hendrix's death.

Since then, more tracks have came to light, including several mixes by Hendrix himself, making some of the versions finished masters. These songs were spread across many releases, some easier to find than others and details could be sketchy.

Hendrix was tantalisingly close to completing his vision. Although no definitive tracklisting or album title exists, the finished album would certainly have been a double, if not a triple (as some handwritten notes suggest). Prospective album titles included 'The First Rays Of The New Rising Sun', 'People, Hell & Angels' and 'Strate Ahead'.

This compilation is an attempt to collect together both the songs that Hendrix had signed off as final mixes, as well as the other songs that were under consideration. These songs are complete for the most part, with only the final mix being done without Hendrix's supervision. Some did require further overdubs, but I have not included songs for which only a backing track or demo version exist.

This music is truly psychedelic; blues, soul, pop, funk, psychedelia, heavy, beautiful, experimental and completely unique.

Robbie Basho - Best Of Basho Vol. 1

Basho Productions 1982

01 Tassajara Zen Shinji

02 Lost Lagoon Suite

03 Kowaka D'amour

04 Variations on Shakespeare Wallah

05 Song For the Queen

06 California Raga

The final post of the year is also the final Basho re-issue from Grass-Tops recordings.

This 're-issue' didn't have a new physical release or even become available through the label's Soundcloud. It was posted on Kyle's Facebook page. Thank you Kyle.

Released in 1982, Robbie sold these cassettes from his car while on tour and via mail order. It's interesting to see what Basho considered his 'best'. This release contains more of the raga inspired, exploratory playing of earlier releases.

Mystery Spring - Meet Me At The Weather Station

Treehouse Orchestra Recordings 2018

01 Meet me at the Weather Station
02 Relative Comfort
03 Cinematographer
04 Bedsit Disco Queen
05 The Reformist
06 Mind the Chaos

Newest and final release of 2018 from Treehouse Orchestra Recordings.

Mystery Spring is Marc (Brocken Spectre, Nightowl Sings) and Catherine (Shipcote and Friends). Their second release sees late night dark folk with psychedelic electronic croon.

Here's a review by David Thompson from our blog Treehouse Orchestra Recordings.

"Following on from last summer’s splendid debut album from Mystery Spring, Marc and Catherine present a 6-track EP that’s a total delight from start to finish and that, at a shorter length, perhaps holds together in a more satisfying and organic way than its predecessor.

Maybe it’s just the time of the year, but a couple of tracks here feel quite Christmassy to me, while the whole record radiates a warmth - like a mug of hot chocolate or a nip of the strong stuff - that is just right for the dark nights and the chill that’s beginning to take up residence in the air.

That’s not to give the impression of cosiness or to suggest that this isn’t a collection for all seasons. To the contrary, the songs here are all very strong and evocative and, at just shy of a 20 minute running time, it’s a record that’s just right for a listen at one sitting all year round.

The title track and opener gets the EP off to a low-key beginning. It’s an intimate and atmospheric number, with a whispered lead vocal from Marc, suggesting secrets being shared and giving the whole track a feeling of gentle mystery.

“Relative Comfort” is folky pop with Catherine’s lovely voice up front. It’s an infectious sing-along number, like something that might have popped up on Cherry Red Records in the mid-80s, but essentially it’s a classic Marc love song about a couple who are head over heels and out in the open air – perhaps hiding from everyone who can’t understand how they feel and might just get in the way (or break the spell).

“Cinematographer” is evocative of early ‘80s post-punk from its very title to the woozy Farsifa feel and cryptic lyrics while “Bedsit Disco Queen” is a lovely piano-led ballad with more than a touch of “Another Green World” Eno. The latter was recorded in one take and has a title borrowed from the memoir by Tracey Thorn (another Cherry Red artiste - the clues are building up, but maybe they’ll lead us nowhere in the end).

“You’re no reformist and I doubt I can be reformed”. And so “The Reformist” spins another esoteric yarn amid a reflective countryish piece with keening violins and crisp acoustic guitar, courtesy of Ste Benson (who also does the honours on “Relative Comfort” and is the only performer on the record other than Marc and Catherine).

Closing track “Mind the Chaos” is, despite the title, not really chaotic at all, but rather gently off-kilter and subtly disconcerting, while never being less than  perky and charming. It has an almost classical feel to the instrumentation (with a touch of the fairground) and the spirit of Jeffrey Lewis (and also perhaps Syd Barrett) lurking somewhere in the background. It is a song that sounds as if it’s being made up as it goes along, looking for either resolution or blissful oblivion, while not forgetting to ask important questions such as “where can I get free shoes” and “which colour will you choose”?

“Meet Me At The Weather Station” is a delightful concoction – a beguiling blend of voices, acoustic instruments and understated electronica (superbly mixed by Mr A Popple) -  that never outstays its welcome.  In fact, I would very surprised if you didn’t want to play it again as soon as it finishes – I’ve listened to it at least 5 times while I’ve been writing this review and I’m still ready for more. After all, doesn’t everyone need free shoes?"

Extremely limited compact disc and free download available from our Bandcamp.

Egisto Macchi - Il Deserto

Ayna 1974 / Cinedelic Records 2015

01 L'Eco Delle Gole

02 Segni Preistorici

03 Cammelli

04 Suoni Per Un Rito

05 La Notte Del Deserto

06 Le Genti Del Deserto

07 Ghibli

08 Sabbia Mobile

09 Il Sahara

I haven't posted any Egisto Macchi in a while, so here is one of his finest; 1974's 'Il Deserto'.

Avant classical that goes places few recordings do, highly recommended.

Note; this 2015 Cinedelic reissue has longer edits than the original album, rejoice!