VARIOUS ARTISTS - ESPACE ET ACTUALTE

Musique Pour L'Image 1967

01. Claude Vasori - Départ Fusée
02. Robert Hermel - Industrie Spatiale
03. François Bayle - Titan
04. Claude Vasori - Espace Chromatique
05. François Bayle - Andromede
06. Robert Hermel - Apesanteur
07. Patrice Sciortino - Alchimie Rythmique
08. Patrice Sciortino - Ville Sanse Vie
09. Patrice Sciortino - Abimes Souterrains
10. Patrice Sciortino - Danger Sous Roche
11. Patrice Sciortino - Approache Dramatique
12. Patrice Sciortino - Hostilite
13. Patrice Sciortino - Tumulte

This French album from 1967 is a showcase of sorts for library music artists.

Side 2 is essentially a mini album from Patrice Sciortino. These early recordings are less intense than the percussion driven pieces he would later develop. Piano, bells and harps having a more melodic touch than later albums.

I prefer side 1, several related tracks of eeire, ominous ambient space music. The tracks on this side would perfectly suit some existensial French space movie that was never made. Spooky and great.

JAMES BLACKSHAW - HOLLY E.P.

Important Records 2011

01. Holly
02. Boo, Forever


Coming after "The Glass Bead Game" and "All is Falling", this record finds the London guitarist continuing in a semi classical vein alongside the repeated guitar patterns and full, beautiful acoustic guitar sound.

Every James Blackshaw release of recent years has been essential and this extended play is no different.

Released on 12" vinyl only, it features Blackshaw on guitar (12 string and his first recorded use of nylon string) and piano with other instrumental contributions from Charlotte Glasson.

PÄRSON SOUND - PÄRSON SOUND

Subliminal Sounds 2001

      Disc 1 :

01. Intro
02. Tio Minuter (Ten Minutes)
03. From Tunis To India In Full Moon (On Testosterone)
04. India (Slight Return)
05. A Glimpse Inside the Glyptotec-66
06. One Quiet Afternoon (In the King's Garden)

      Disc 2 :

01. Sov Gott Rose-Marie Parts 1-3 - It's Only Love/Till Indien/Sov Gott Rose-Marie
02. Skrubba
03. Milano
04. On How to Live
05. Blåslåten


This two disc album collects together recordings made by Swedish commune psych band Pårson Sound. Recorded between 1968-69 the band made no professional recordings but jammed constantly and often recorded the results. 

Long, repetitive, monolithic riffs featuring guitars, strings, horns, two drummers...the sound is huge and the vibe heavy. No bullshit communist Swedish proto prog artists make serious music that is not for the faint hearted.

Needless to say, within these discs is some of the greatest music ever made.

From the roots of Pårson Sound grew International Harvester, Harvester and Tråd, Grås Och Stenar.

                                         

COLD SUN - DARK SHADOWS

Rockadelic Records 1992 (Recorded 1970)

01. South Texas
02. Twisted Flower
03. Here In the Year
04. For Ever
05. See What You Cause
06. Fall
07. Ra-Ma
08. Live Again (Live 1972)
09. Mind Aura (Live 1972)


Not as influential as 13th Floor Elevators and not as hip as The Red Crayola, Cold Sun are the missing psychedelic Texas link.

Originally recorded in Sonobeat Studios in 1970 it was not released until 1992 by Rockadelic Records. (It has since had two more reissues - World In Sound and Atlea Records.)

Cold Sun do not sound like the bands mentioned above, or any of the other psych bands playing Texas in the late sixties and early seventies. The band has drums, bass and electric lead guitar but the unique sound comes from an Autoharp used as the main rhythm and the total freak poetry of the lyrics. Never falling back onto the default setting of garage rock, Cold Sun trip out on long, wordy epics. The Autoharp adding a strange folk-y vibe to the Doors meets Velvets mash up.

It takes a while for this music to sink in. It does have an instant appeal, but it's true greatness (and heaviness) takes time and repeated listens. This music is sad, strange and totally psychedelic.

All of the versions of this album include two bonus tracks not cut at the original album sessions. Both "Live Again" and "Mind Aura" were recorded live in 1972 and are excellent additions the album. Both are long, lyrical meditations with the bootleg recording quality adding extra spook.

Totally.

GROUPER - GROUPER

Self Released CDr 2005

01. Moon Wave
02. Second Wind/Zombie Skin
03. Second Skin/Zombie Wind
04. Top of the Sea
05. Hold a Desert, Feel it's Hand
06. Close Cloak
07. Black Hole
08. Blackout


The dark, ethereal ambient of Liz Harris begins here. Self released as a CDr in 2005, this eponymous debut is now only available to buy from second hand sellers.

The original sleeve (and disc) did not contain track titles. The tracks were given names by Volcanic Tongue during its original listing and those titles have stuck.

The sound of Grouper would develop over later releases but everything is here, already in place, just rougher around the edges. The music on this disc sounds like it was not meant to be heard, recorded and then forgotten, found years later (probably in the woods).

The world seems to be catching on to Grouper now, but the records still sound like a secret.

EGISTO MACCHI - SEI COMPOSIZIONI

Gemelli 1975

01. Per Cembalo
02. Kleines Dachauer Requiem
03. Lamento
04. Computers
05. Quintetto Seriale
06. Allunage


Due to the popularity of the previous Egisto Macchi post, here is another slice of dark, Italian avant garde.

Again released on the Gemelli label, "Sei Composizioni" is more even further left field than "Voix". There is no sweetner here, "Per Cembalo" opens the album with what sounds like a harpsichord being abused. This is merely a palette cleanser for the stunning "Kleines Dachauer Requiem". Ten minutes of choral voices, alternating between chattering, singing, whispering before giving way to a cacophony of metallic percussion. Terrifying.

"Lamento" has the ominous soundtrack quality reminiscent of earlier works and "Computers" is another percussion experiment.

The beef of side two is "Quintetto Seriale". More traditionally classical than anything else here, dark corners are peered around and shadows are stepped through trying to get to the center of...what? The mystery at the heart of this music is unknowable.

"Allunage" is a peculiar ending. A choir and fuzz bass in space, kind of.

There you go, enjoy.

IRMIN SCHMIDT & INNER SPACE PRODUCTION - KAMASUTRA

Crippled Dick Hot Wax! 2009 (Recorded 1968)

	01. Indisches Panorama I
	02. I'm Hiding My Nightingale
	03. There Was A Man
	04. Im Tempel
	05. In Kalkutta III
	06. Indisches Panorama II
	07. In Kalkutta I
	08. Im Orient
	09. Indisches Panorama III
	10. Mundharmonika Beat
	11. Indisches Panorama IV
	12. Indisches Panorama V
	13. Indisches Panorama VI
	14. Indische Liebesszene
	15. In Kalkutta II
	16. Im Orient II Another obscure German soundtrack, another example of early Can in the recording studio. This time, to soundtrack Kobi Jaeger's 'Kamasutra'. Again, only a solitary single was released at the time ('Kamasutra'/'I'm Hiding My Nightingale') while the soundtrack album remained unreleased until 2009. Less Can sounding than 'Agilok & Blubbo', a lot of the music here is short Irmin Schmidt instrumentals. It's good stuff though, very Eastern, tons of flute. Things get jammy on 'Im Tempel', over ten minutes of sitar driven krautrock, and a lot of the other songs have a sixties, folky feel. Malcolm Mooney makes his debut  with the group on an early version of 'A Man Named Joe' ('There Was A Man'), elsewhere guest vocals on 'I'm Hiding My Nightingale' are handled by Margareta Juvan. Addicted to Can? You need this.