Domovoyd- Oh Sensibility (Svart Records SVR231)

This is a new psychedelic Finnish band. This album was recorded live in the studio in July 2012. This album is a true psychedelic trip so be ready when you put side A. The album is split up into 6 parts, with four of them on side A and 2 on side B. Introduction starts things off and is a really psychedelic intro before entering into Incarnation! The incarnation starts with a very heavy low end bass. The sound is a mix of low fi fuzzed out guitar, tripped out vocals but quite high definition on the bass, which really pushes through the sound in a very cool way. Very cool lyrics as well.. After the short vocal section it is all about a psychedelic freakout with the guitars and then a major change occurs as it slows down before building back up with multiple changes in the guitar riffs and sound but always totally out in psychedelic space. Often the drums just disappear completely in the haze of sound. of cool guitar solos and effects. Very inventive. Lots Very trippy stuff. The track Lamia ends side A and starts with a slow building guitar solo that slowly morphs into the monster doom riff and the vocals come back in a very angry way (but they are mixed quite low so it is hard to understand what he is saying but you can read them in the LP).  Intense. Sit back, smoke some more and then take on side B. It starts with the instrumental track, Eifluvial Condenser. Slow and spacey delay guitars build up the track and over and over he says electric fuse.. and then the psychedelic guitars take over completely as the track builds over a repeated slow doomy bass and drum groove. Argenteum Astrum is the last track that builds out of a really spaced out section with lot of sounds and drones and effects and then the guitars come as it all slowly grows, crawls along the mossy forest floor, oozing it’s way into your mind, until the silence is broken with the return of the huge riff and bass once again taking the psychedelic experience to a higher level. I was really impressed with this record. Wow… and the album sleeve artwork is some of the coolest this year. Great job guys, now come down to Denmark and space us out!

http://www.svartrecords.com

Tidsgæst- Tidsgæst (Afd O Records AFDO-201302)

Tidsgæst (Time’s Guest) are a new Danish band playing experimental psychedelic rock music with many influences. Most of the songs are instrumental but some like I det Hinsides have long sets of lyrics all sung in Danish. The opening sequence of Portal into Onironaut reminds me a bit of Aron, that sort of spooky low fi but also beautiful melodic music. I det Hinsides is a strange psychedelic track with a ska riff at times and pretty far out at other times. Dødsridt keeps the theme dark and features some nice dual layers of lead guitar while the drummer and bass player keep the rhythm uptempo. It is really tripped out with a like theremin otherworldy stuff happening. Cool…Ondt Blod ends the side A. Side B starts with the title track, which has a lot of lyrics and reminds me a bit of SEID (one of the tracks they did for the Lord of the Rings movies). Khronopompos starts as a trippy soundscape with some metallic sounds and effects and later piano. It slowly grows over the 5mins and leads into the very short Søndagsmesse. Hver Søndag is another longer track with a lot of lyrics but all delivered in a slow spoken word phrasing with a simple drone organ and other keyboard line. At the end a dark demon presence enters the track. Be scared! Far out stuff… Now for side C. Uopklaret Sag nr. 2431-b which is a pretty long trip, around 10mins and features a long police report from 1933 being read! The band creates a dark mood also in this one with two interweaving guitar, bass and drums. Forkert Messe follows and is instrumental and is like music that might accompany a 1920’s or 1930 silent film. Pretty cool with a spacey organ starting the track Den Forkerte Dor. It develops into a very cool song. I love the guitar hook and lead guitar line. The vocal has a funny effect on it.. Side D starts off with Den Blaa jomfru and this reminds me of Aron’s solo material (he was a sort of advisor on the record!). Slow, plodding and mysterious. The last two tracks are both instrumental (Gravmaernens Val and Evighedsglimt) and the first has an excellent jazzy guitar solo and the last a long organ solo. These are some fantastic tracks. That is the end. This is not music for everyone, you need to be in the right mood and be ready to open up your mind, then you can enjoy this quite a lot. Understanding Danish would also help a lot. There is almost no information on the record about where it was record, when, who plays on it, etc.. so this must remain a mystery for now.. This record is a double vinyl in a nice single sleeve and made in only 250 copies. Check the link below.

http://records.afdo.dk/

Sophie’s Earthquake- S/ EP (Private Release)

Sophie’s earthquake is a three piece German rock trio. This EP features 3 long songs that developed out of four years of the band jamming. Pressure Soul (8:41) starts slow and spacey and then the main bass and guitar riff kicks in with an ominous feeling and maybe a slight Eastern feel at times as it is builds in both pace and tension. It gets quite heavy before comeing down again and heading into the main guitar solo section. Great song and dynamics. Checkless (5:54) is led by a cool bass line and Janosch’s vocal comes in pretty soon after the start of this track.  The theme is dark and mysterious. Reminds me a bit of Soundgarden at times. Excellent song. La ira de los Tres is a very intense track with a more metallic feel at times and a quite heavy riff towards the end and very intense guitar solo but it starts off with some acoustic guitar. Reminds me a bit of the German band Trigon. Actually, if you are a fan of Trigon, you will dig this band as well.  Check this band out.. They were nice people as well when I met them.

http://www.sophies-earthquake.com http://sophiesearthquake.bandcamp.com

The Cosmic Dead/Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs-split lp (The Old Noise TON001)

 I have never heard of the Pigs x 7 before but this was pretty cool and psychedelic. Each band plays an LP side long track. The Wizard and the 7 Swines starts things off with a nice catchy guitar riff before the hypnotic bass line kicks in and the singer starts to have a good time, with small vocalisations and then his anger and energy really drives the music. The intensity of the guitar also changes and builds along with the wildness of the singer. Reminds me a bit of Roque Male (if anyone remembers this cool band). This song is pretty intense all the way through from the spacey start to the end with some cool guitar parts and riff changes as well. They get more heavy and almost doomy at the end. Great stuff. The Cosmic Dead, well, they do their Cosmic Dead thing and take you and wrap you up in their comfy pillow arms and safely move your mind to the next dimension. Very cool trip. Got to love the Dead, as Alice says….. Enjoy..

http://www.theoldnoise.co.uk/  http://thecosmicdead.blogspot.com/‎

Svensk Psych Night III- Dæmonen’s Port, København Dec 13th, 2013

This was the third event organized by Sven and the folks from Kildemose Festival and Levitation Records and it was a great success. 5 bands for 50 kroner. I had only ever heard The Hills from Göteborg who also played at the first Svensk psych night with Flowers must Die. Anyway, Nils and I rode our bikes in the wet cold drizzly weather over to the venue around 20. I had made a very spicy goat curry with naga chile and we shared 3 beers and heard the Somethings in the Water (Rise above Records) compilation and a side of Domovoyd as well before riding out. 

 Met up with quite a few people we knew right away as Agusa was soundchecking. Sven wanted me to record the night so I tried to find a place to put up the mics but this was not very successful for the first band as way too many people in the back were just talking and not at all interested in the music. Agusa, a new instrumental 70s prog style band from Malmö kicked things off with a fantastic 70min set. The band is lead by Tobias (SKL) on bass and Michael (SKL) on guitar. A fantastic young organ player named Jonas and a solid drummer. We were up front and really enjoyed the set but the organ was mixed way too loud for most of the show. Check out the short video clips. Most of the songs-jams were really long journeys. Cool band.

Myreskær

               The place was pretty filled up by the time they finished and incredibly smoky. I could hardly breathe and often had to go stand by the open door. A lot of friends were here including, Tom, Sven, Rene, Morten Aron, Nik (ex-On trial), Nik the photographer, Jan from Kildemose Festival and his friends, lots of folks from some of the young bands around town, so that was cool and actually quite a few women! Anyway, Myreskær (Formic Cut) are a young five piece punky garage rock band. They played a pretty simple and quick 35 min set of passionate songs all sung in Danish. The vocals were the only thing coming out of the PA and they sounded terrible. So dry and harsh, they badly needed some EQ and reverb (it would also continue like this until Magnus fixed it for Hills, who had the mic so low you could never hear them anyway!). The singer was very passionate as where the rest of the band. They really were into their songs. People were having fun and starting to feel the effects of the smoke and alcohol now as the place was pretty lively.

Doublestone

Another quick set change and local stoner-70s rock band Doublestone were up. I have wanted to see them for the past year but have always missed them. Very nice guys when I spoke to them and I tried to encourage them to do some jamming or improve, but I failed. Anyway, Nik (OnTrial), he was up in the front and really rocking and this helped suck all the energy right to the front and Doublestone rocked the place. They did not do any psychedelic stuff at all or try to jam or space out but just played their songs straight up, heads down, ROCK…. Cool band with some great songs, some stoner, more bluesy hard rock with some short guitar solos.  The band is still a bit afraid to step out of the box and to take their songs to the next level although the last track was a bit extended.  Great band and this was a just what I and the crowded needed.

It took 45 mins for Hills to set up. The band has now expanded to a five piece, which is a great thing. The addition of a 2^nd guitar player was a good idea. The female drummer, she just totally rocks and the bass was really pummelling the groove into the room. It was not after midnight and some people had left after Doublestone but this was the highlight for sure. The band played a few shorter tracks off their Hills Sleeps record but mostly they just spaced out with long winding jams with spacey keyboards (a bit too low in the mix), cool groovers and intertwining psychedelic guitar solos and riffs. People were in a trance and really liking it. One thing we really missed was some cool lights or projections tonight. All the bands just stood in white lights the entire night. This would have made the entire experience so much better. I think they played for about 70mins. The last band was from Århus Narcosatanicos, playing a sort of psychedelic DOOM. My friend Jens was very disappointed I was leaving but the smoke had just done me in and I could not be trapped inside the ashtray any longer. I was getting a head ache, my lungs hurt…. I hope they were great. They were trying to set up some visuals but it was going to be late. It was nearly 2 now.. A very successful night. Thanks Sven, Kasper and Jan for arranging this.

HILLS

http://www.kildemosefestival.dk

The OSC- Mantric Muse German Tour November 2013

Tuesday Nov 26^th

21:45 I met up with Peter and picked up the huge Mercedes Sprinter (6.95m long and 8 seats and huge space for the gear). This is by far the best van we have ever toured in. IT was very hard to find a place to park it and I had to park it illegally so I hope I don’t have a ticket in the morning. The back left tire is looking a bit low but Peter did not seem to be worried and just said we should check it in the morning and add air. He had checked the entire van etc.

Weds Nov 27^th
7:10 I woke up at 5 this morning. Too much on my mind. I was a bit anxious about getting a ticket. I hope the Swedes are on the way soon…

8:40 No ticket.. Phew.. The packing is going slowly and we had hoped to be on the road by now. The back tire is really looking low. It must have a leak. Søren is still not here yet but we are packing all the MM stuff now. It is wet, cold and this is not good for all the boxes with the merch but we try to protect it.

8:50 We are packed but we all agree we have to deal with the tire. Søren is not here, he is stuck in traffic.

9:41 We had no choice to but to get the tire repaired. The tire had a nail in it! I called peter and it was all cool and they agreed to pay for the tire repair (250kr). Now, we are delayed about an hour. People are in a good mood and relaxed despite the set back. We only have to get to Hamburg and we have a GPS on søren’s phone so we are less likely to get lost.

12:03 We just reached the ferry now.

13:03 The ferry trip is over and we got some food. Schniztel is the usual band favourite except the vegetarians. We bought a case of coke and two cases of beer. I did some stretching of my back (I have really bad lower back problems). Jocke is driving and we are listening to the new Taylor’s Universe- Evidence CD. everyone is really liking this one..

13:55 We are about 75km from Hamburg. Weather is not very nice. Cold, windy and light rain. We are hearing the new Korai Öröm 2013 CD. Cool stuff.

14:51 We missed the exit and went 5km too far. We are finding the right way but it is small roads and lots of traffic. Should be at Sabine’s house in 20mins. We will eat, bring in our sleeping stuff and relax for an hour or so. So far we have heard Papir- Studum, Scorpions- In Trance, Funkadelic- S/t, Sasquatch IV, Robin Taylor- Evidence…..

16:30 We had some very nice Indian food at Sabine’s and everyone is in a good mood and having a beer. Today is Sabine’s birthday and I bought her a small gift and we sung her Happy birthday. I am also lying down and got a massage which is really helpful. Tak Sabine.

17:00 We are stuck in terrible traffic and listening to GONG-Live etc..

17:55 It was tricky to park the van but we made it and are setting up. The stage is a very strange shape and this DJ booth thing takes up a lot of the area. We will manage. The Sound guy and club people are really cool here at Guner Jager. The room is quite small so even if there are only 30 people it will feel like a good crowd.

19:15 People are coming now. We did a soundcheck and it will be an intense show in this small place. The bass is really massive and modulates like crazy in the small rooms so people better be in the main room. A guy named Jan gave me some money to burn him copies of the previous Hamburg shows. I will include this one as well.

20:50 Wow.. Mantric Muse played a great set and people really seem to enjoy it. I guess there are about 35 people here. Sounds was very good but a lot of bass. I recognize quite a few people from the last Hamburg show including one of our biggest fans, Kirsche and his wife.

Set List: DMU, Nanoid, Wobbegong Wookie, Cinope, Sinbad Søfareren, SFunx

Mantric Muse

23:30 My back is killing me. I think the concert was pretty cool and people really liked it. Room was totally full of people (44 paid) and we had some good dynamics, starting quite slowly. Magnus played both synths and guitar. Seems we sold a few copies of the new record, etc.. Michael did not play the bass tonight, maybe tomorrow.  It was a really cool concert and we all had a good time. A good first start for the tour...

Øresund Space Collective

Listen to this concert!

Day 2

8:30 I woke up at 8:15 to charge the batteries in my recorder and get some water. Some of the guys stayed up quite late after we got back to Sabine’s smoking and drinking. Klaus, Michael, Sabine and I are all up now. Totally grey and cold and people are outside having coffee and smoking. I slept like a rock last night and my back is feeling better so far today but I quite stiff. I hope I can get a massage before we have to sit in the van for 5 hrs to get to Koblenz. We need to try to leave by 11.

10:15 We heard the Great Khan record and everyone is up now and in a good mood. We sorted out the money and merch from last night. We also discovered that the entire band on this tour are left handed except myself!

10:55 We are about to take off now. We had a great breakfast with coffee, tea, juice, bread, cheese, meat, etc.. We will start the drive off with me as the driver and we will hear the Carolina Funk- First in Funk 1968-1977. A great compilation. In fact, the entire series Florida Funk, Texas Funk, Midwest Funk and California Funk are all great.

14:15 We are near Osnabruck now and still at least 2-3hrs to go we estimate. We heard the new Shpongle, Lynryd Skyryd’s first and now the new Rovo-System 7 CD called Phoenix Rising. It is great.  My back is aching. Magnus took over as the driver now. The drive has been pretty smooth but it took nearly an hour to get out of Hamburg.

15:50 This drive is really taking much longer than we had expected and we had originally said we would go to the local promoter’s house for some food and then to the venue but we might have to go straight to the venue. We will see. It is very foggy on parts of the drive but good when we listen to Frank Marino- Tales of the Unexpected. A great record.  Magnus is driving as fast as he can. People are going to be really hungry and we have no time to stop and buy some food. We picked straws (cigs) and Sebastian lost so he is the driver after the gig tonight. One has to stay sober. The only non-drinker, Michael, also does not drive! What luck!

16:50 We had to stop as people were too hungry. We heard Irish Coffee in the last drive. Cool band from Belgium from the early 70s. Traffic is still very heavy. This drive is going to take like 7hrs to go 450km. Just too many people on the roads in Germany. It was not this bad 10 years ago when I toured with Gas Giant. We could do a drive like this in 5hrs max.

18:15 We arrived at Andreas’s finally in a suburb of Koblenz, cool small old village, dropped off our sleeping stuff, ate some pasta with gorgonzola sauce and then we had to go pretty fast to the club. Sound check was supposed to be at 18. Show is supposed to start at 20.30 so it will all be quite a rush tonight.

20:30 Everything has been a huge hassle today. Turns out we could multitrack record the show so that was great and Mantric Muse will play a bit longer set as well. No many people yet (maybe 15?). We had to park the van like 500m away from the club. Andreas is a very cool guy and relaxed, which is good as it has been a rough day.

21:05 I did an introduction for Mantric Muse. There were only 7 pre-sale tickets and 21 total tonight, it seems.

22:00 Mantric muse are such an amazing band. Wow.. what a set. They changed the set a lot tonight and blew me away. Audience seem to like them as well. The sound is very good and loud in this club. Sound guy was great and super helpful with everything.

Mantric Muse

Set List: Sinbad Søfareren, Wobbegong Wookie, Nanoid, Deep Sea Cheaps, Azur, Gnoxience, Dr. Tit’s Kittel, DMU, Armh

01:00 Far out show.. People were pretty tired and I had some issues with my modular synthesizer. I will need to check it out. The small crowd seem to really like it a lot. I think we only played about 100mins tonight. All seem to go well with the recording. Jocke was killer on the bass today. Sebbe seem to be off today and stuggling but still played some cool stuff. magnus just blew the roof of the place with super psychedelic and awesome guitar. Ola was also cool and I could hear him tonight. 

01:40 Was a late night. We sold about 140€ in merch. It was only 21 paid people, so we will have to take a reduced fee. We can’t do this every night or we will be screwed at the end.

Listen to this concert!

Day 3

10:00 Sabine and I seem to be the first people up. I suspect that when we got back at 2 that people were smoking and drinking until late. I had a shower. It is totally gray again. No sun for the 3^rd day now. It will be about a 5hr drive to Jena. Get in at the club is at 17. We need to hit the road by 12 at the latest.

11:15 We sorted out the money with Andreas.

12:51 I start off the driving everyday which is good for my back, etc.. so… We just had some lunch, as there was no breakfast. I had a couple of muesli bars and some juice and tea. We had to go back to Andreas’s house 2 times after we had driven away. First we left a box of records and then Magnus discovered he forgot his guitar after we were 1km away a 2^nd time. Shit….

16:00 I drove for like 4hrs. We heard Causa Sui- Pewt Sessions, Buffalo-Volcanic Rock, Antibalas- Dirty Money, and ØSC-The black tomato as we discussed trying to have a jam on Black Tomato Pt 3 at one of the gigs. We will see. It is cold out and there has been some valleys with massive fog and snow on the hills. People are in a good mood after a joint. Seems we are about an hour away and people are in a good mood and joking around a lot. I will have a beer now since someone else is driving the rest of the way.

17:30 Black Night in Jena is a cool club and really nice people. Mark is super cool and this gig tonight is there 2 year jubilee and he is so happy we are here to play. We were able to get the backdrop up again tonight and Mark has some cool projections as well. We did not have any lights or projections for the first two gigs.

18:15 All is set up for soundcheck now and the soundman is setting up all the mics. We got some fresh fruit, 4 cases of beer, water, etc… we joked we can’t leave until we drink it all! They allow smoking in the club and backstage room (no window or ventilation at all so I basically can’t be in there, as nearly everyone in the band smokes!).

19:35 Soundcheck is over and the sound is good but really loud in this club. Wow.. Mics are set up and they will also do multitrack recording. Sabine video taped the show in Hamburg and will also do this show (only OSC). People are in a good mood. I got a back massage and feel much better.

Mantric Muse (Ola and Michael)

20:15 The food came quite late and people were really hungry. The 3  lasagnes (meat and veggy) were really good. Show must start at 20:30 and end at 23:30. Mantric Muse will play for 1hr tonight. Sebastian is drinking and smoking a lot but seems in control. He had a great sound on stage tonight so I think he will be on fire. Not a lot of people here yet but mark said they usually come just before 20:30..

21:30 About 40 people and I met Favio from Brazil who is an artist who says that ØSC inspires him a lot. Cool to meet him. I will dedicate a jam to him later. Mantric Muse played a killer set again. Massive sound tonight. Soon space time…

Set List: DMU, Sinbad Søfareren, Sfunx, Azur, Wobbegong Wookie, Cinope, Encore: Nanoid

Dr Space and magnus

00:05 Wow.. what a killer crowd and we played the best show of the tour so far. People were really into it. Michael played bass for the first two jams and we started off with this Black Tomato pt3 jam but Sebbe had not remembered the parts at all so it was a bit of a mess but still a cool riff to jam on. Søren was so intense this night and working really hard. Michael misses jamming in Mantric Muse since the material is so sequenced and computerized these days. I hope they can find the balance and introduce some more improv into their set like the old days. I am sure they will. Great concert and the heaviest one this tour.

Søren on the drums

01:00 Very fun night. Backstage people are really getting blasted and super high. We only have to walk 50m to the sleeping place but the guy is passed out at home and we can’t get in now. We only have 3hr drive tomorrow.

Listen to this concert!

Day 4

10:00 We did not get into the apartment until 02:15 and the guy was really sorry. It was their 2 year anniversary and it all got a bit carried away. We left the gear locked in the club so we could load it in the morning. We agreed to meet at the club at 10:30. Still totally gray. No sun for the 4^th day. I think the gig last night was very intense. Both guitar players were awesome. Magnus is always amazing. There were some issues with the multitrack recordings though. The high hat mic is missing for two songs of the MM set and they had to replace it. Not a big deal as I am sure you can hear it on some of the other mics. For ØSC it is a bigger problem though as the kick drum mic died so half the concert it is missing. Unlikely we can do much about that.  I am curious how the audience recording is. I just had a shower am pretty relaxed but did not sleep that well compared to the night before.

11:25 We stood outside the club for 45mins for the owner to show up (11:15). It is cold out but we are finally loading up the van and then we will do all this GEMA stuff and have some lunch (breakfast) and hit the road.

Mantric Muse and ØSC in Jena

Papir with Nik Turner

12:52 We are finally on a real highway after all these small roads and some construction. We heard the new Hawkwind- Spacehawk CD, which is basically a cool compilation of new and old stuff, different mixes and rerecorded tracks. Pretty cool. We are now hearing the Taylor’s Universe-Evidence CD again. Good way to easy into the day as people partied pretty hard last night. I think tonight will be the highlight of the tour for sure. Café Cairo is so cool and the crowd at the Psychedelic Network is amazing. A short pee and smoke break and we are on the road again. GPS says 1hr 10mins.. This means we are there about 14 and can maybe hear some of the Papir set! 

18:00 Papir played a killer 2hr set and Nik Turner joined them for the last jam. People really seem to like them as well. I have seen them many times but never play for hrs.. Kozmik Klaus’s visuals are amazing!

20:00 I am a bit stressed as we only have about 1hr to set up all the gear and soundcheck before Mantric Muse and OSC start. Camera played a cool set, very hypnotic stuff.

Camera

21:15 Mantric Muse is playing now and it sounds great. Massive huge sound. I am mostly resting up so I can give it all during our show. I have been sharing Nik Turner’s backstage room where there is a couch that I can lay down on. Sabine gave me a massage as well which really helped me out. I spoke to Nik about a lot of different things and he will come out and join us at 23:00. We talked about the current Hawkwind issues with Dave Brock and himself. It is all pretty sad. I think he wishes they would just call him up and talk to him. Anyway, it is not my business. He is a very nice person. I also chatted a lot with the guitar player from Space Invaders (either Dirk or Tipi). Nice guy. I have talked with a lot of the fans as well and spent a lot of time selling merch, etc..  Now that I have heard the gig, I think we played a really cool gig and Nik fit in very well on all the jams except the last one, he was dominating a bit too much and was in his own world. Great people and Awesome festival and thanks Nik...

Listen to this concert

Day 5

What can I say, just a totally amazing festival. I think we played a strange and very spaced out set. Magnus played a lot more synthesizer than at any of the shows, leaving Sebastian alone on the guitar but he was pretty creative. The crowd was into and as usual it took a while but then we really played pretty cool. It was strange when Nik appeared as I did not even see him and then there he was! He played with us for about 50mins, which I think was too long but people seem to like it and said he played his best of the entire festival with us. We will see. It was a bit to short only playing less than 2hrs but that is the way it goes.

Anyway.. a great tour and despite my back issues I also had a great time and we are all such good friends for so many years how and playing music together on and off for nearly 10 years. It will be 10 years in April this line up started jamming!

Nik Turner

The line up on the tour was: jocke and Michael- bass, Magnus- Guitar and Synths, Sebbe- Guitar, Søren- Drums, Ola- synths, Dr. Space- Synths, Nik Turner- sax and flute (only Würzburg gig)

Thanks to everyone who came out to see us and bought merch, etc… See you again one day… Peace..

http://www.mantricmuse.com http://www.oresundspacecollective.com

http://www.sapphirerecords.de (Nearly all photos by Sabine!)

Siena Root and Øresund Space Collective- Loppen, Christiania Nov 19th, 2013

This was one of the rare occasions that ØSC decided to take an opening slot. Due to the improvised nature of the music and that it takes some time for us to warm up (and we prefer to play for 2-3hrs), we rarely except offers to open shows. Siena Root have been our friends for many years and former and current members have also played with us live and in the studio, so when Anders asked us to play, I accepted. It was really shit weather outside, with a light rain when Sabine and I loaded up my Christiania bike with the gear and headed off for the club. The band I had assembled for the night, were mostly there already as well as Anders, the local promoter and his assistant, Rhona. The mood was good but we were a bit wet!

               The guys in Siena Root were due to arrive about 18:30 and we had decided to share the backline to make everything go a bit faster on this Tuesday night. I was not sure how many people would come out. We had some food, set up our small merch stand, and got some of the synths ready and that was all we could do before they arrived. They did, we greeted each other and they got down to business quickly and all was set up and people were just hanging out until the show started.

            

ØSC hit the stage right at 22 (this is the earliest any band can start at Loppen due to the restaurant upstairs) and we played until 23. The line-up tonight had never played before and since we did not have a proper soundcheck, we decided for a slow space in starting only with the drums and bass and then the guitars and synths would enter. This actually worked very well, if you listen to the recording. The first jam was really spacey, the 2^nd Rune came up with a heavy riff that was cool and we were all really coming together. The 3^rd piece was a bit like early 70’s Miles Davis but more psychedelic. The last piece, Rune nearly stole the opening riff from the song Black Sabbath. I even did a partial vocal part and would have done a few more lines but I could not get the attention of the soundman, who had turned off my mic. The closing piece was 20mins long and had great dynamics. I was happy with our set and about 40 people were present, I guess.   If you want to hear the show go to this link:  http://www.archive.org/details/OSC2013-11-19.FLAC

              We did not mess about and took our gear off straightaway and within 40mins or so Siena Root was ready. I took a picture of them just before they hit the stage (see right) and they were off with their usual western intro theme. For the past few years they either open with an instrumental or a sort of jam. Never totally free form but a structured jammed out intro. This is the first tour without the original guitar player KG, so it might feel a bit strange for the original members (Love and Sam). Anyway, the band were playing fantastic and I have to say they are jamming out the songs with longer solos than ever before and the new guitar player, he reminds me of Warran Haynes and Dickey Betts, so he is very good. They played their new single, Conveniently Blind, which was supposed to arrive in physical form for the tour but was delayed, which they were not happy about. The set is mostly tracks from the first record and new material, with no tracks from the bands records with Sonja or their last studio album.  Pity the crowd was so small for this amazing band. There are a lot of bands in Sweden and Europe playing this 70s style rock but few are anywhere near as good as this one. Don’t miss them on this tour. They are smokin’!  Great visuals and sound as well so thanks to those folks…

Set List: Intro Jam>Conveniently Blind, Words, Waiting for the Sun, Sabbath Shuffle, Fever, Little Man, Between the Lines, Kitchen, Long Way, 7 Years, Rasayana, Coming Home

Http://www.sienaroot.com

NYMF- From the Dark (Transubstans TRANS115-666)

NYMF are back with their 2^nd record. This band features the fantastic and intense vocalist, Niklas, who also sings in the Graviators. This CD features 13 tracks. The band is from Sweden and features two members of the Graviators (Singer and one guitarist) as well as guys from other Swedish bands (Seeds Of Cider and Trollfnask). The record features a number of different styles mixing stoner rock with a more metallic and Black Sabbath like sound at times. The opening track, Fear of the Doom (after the intro track) starts fast with some double bass drum but then slows down a bit but the track maintains a mostly metallic sound. Possessed and Blackcore slows things down and reminds me a bit of Candlemass in the slower parts. Evolution Blues is a longer track which reminds a bit of Pentagram with a more metal sound than 70s sound. Thin Ice starts as a ballad before gaining in intensity with huge double bass drums and the mid-section has some nice guitar solos (which there are far too few on this record). Postmortem, is a mixture of slow and faster riffing sections and a lot of evil vocals. Drive starts with a Kyuss like riff but then never returns to that territory really but stays in a stoner rock like vibe until the middle section where it chills out and there is a beautiful guitar solo and a more laid back singing style (Niklas can be pretty intense!). Lucifer takes the Crown again reminds me of Candlemass (recent). In the Name of Vlad slows things to a doomy pace and has a killer riff but they don’t stick to this for very long. Later it slows down in a heavy riffing section which is followed by a guitar solo to end the short song. Your Soul is Mine is pretty intense and reminds me of King Diamond a bit. The Greatest Burden is probably the most melodic track in some ways on the record but still intense.  Like a Giant Orange Sun features Tommy from Dozer on lead guitar and ends this very intense record. One of the best tracks as well. Phew…

https://www.facebook.com/NYMFofficial  http://www.transubstans.com

Sasquatch- IV (Small Stone Records SS-138)

The US stoner rock band, Sasquatch is back with their 4 release. I think I only ever heard the first one.. Anyway, I have to say this record really rocks like a MF. The Message is a really cool melodic opening track but he just sings, I’ve got a message, just way too much. Started to drive me crazy… Eye of the Storm slows things down a bit but has a nice stoney groove that almost reminds me of some old Warrior Soul, in a way. Sweet Lady starts with a pretty aggressive wah guitar before the massive power riff kicks in. Keith (vocals and guitar) plays a really cool solo and after that the intensity is raised a notch. Great song. Money has another strong riff and killer groove. Smoke Signals is 7½ mins and the band get really psyched out for a long section of the song…. Wow..get stoned…. The next three tracks are shorter 3-4mins and often Keith reminds me a lot of the Stone axe vocalist (Dru) and some of these songs could also be like a stoner rock version of Stone Axe at times. Wolves at my Door has a foot stomping and a bit more bluesy approach, while Me and You is another strong track with a Kyuss vibe but without the massive bass and passionate singing. Corner has a cool power riff and groove when it picks up the pace in this under 3min track. Drawing Flies is the closing track and the longest at 7mins and 41 seconds. A fucking good record…

http://www.smallstone.com https://www.facebook.com/sasquatchrocks

Insider- Event Horizon (Andruid Records AR001)

The instrumental Italian band Insider is back with their 2^nd release in less than a year after quite a long break between releases. I have been a fan of the band since the old days when they released Simple Water Drops. This new album features 8 tracks in 58mins and some pretty intense heavy riffs and a lot of double tracked guitars. The line up is the same as on the last jam record called Vibrations from the tapes with Marco Ranalli on guitars and synths, Stefano di Rito on drums and Piero Ranalli on bass. Escape Velocity starts things off with a pretty complex track with a lot of different time changes and heavy riffing and some nice chorus, harmony guitars before the main guitar solo section hits, where the wah guitar comes on heavy and in multiple layers til the faded end. Magnetic Field Lines continues in the same complicated mode but with an even more heavy riff until the solo section when some synths come in and he goes into a very beautiful melodic solo. Gravitational Mass slows things down to a more melodic almost doomy feeling (except the sound production is so clean). The guitar solo comes in early on this track. I really like the riff section on this track and marco goes into a killer guitar solo while keeping the melodic one running underneath. Great stuff. Jet starts off with a Slayer like riff and some synths. Eventually Marco comes up with another really killer riff but returns to this harmony guitar theme. Synths come in here and there. Event Horizon is an acoustic track with some really spaced out sounds in the background. This leads into the Expansion of the Universe track, which is a 9 min 6 piece suite. It starts with some really nice melodic guitar and a synth line, which later switches but the focus is really on the cool guitar playing of Marco in this really complex track. The next two tracks are called Black Hole and White Hole. The first track is slower and features some repeated guitar lines and melodies in it’s 8min journey, with the synths coming every minute or so. The riff gets a big heavier at the end and he kicks in the wah pedal as well. I like the opening riff, which he doubles up that starts the last 6min track, White Hole. The synth that repeats is pretty cool as well. This is quite a different record than the last jammed out one the band made and features a lot of really complicated tracks. Enjoy.

http://www.andruidrecords.com

The Golden Grass- One More Time 7” (Electric Assault records ASLT-05/Svart SVR237)

The Golden Grass is a new act from the USA. They are a three piece. The singer reminds me of the guy from Kadaver! The band also plays 70s rock as well. Anyway, this is a pretty cool track with cowbell, a nice melodic theme but also some heavy guitars and riffs as well. A real classic rock track. Tornado is about a woman and is a slow heavy bluesy song. The last section the band really takes off and the track really develops goes in a different direction with a short solo and a lot of changes. There is some acoustic guitar in the outro and echoed vocal that closes the B side. Just a small taste. I for sure want to hear more.

https://www.facebook.com/thegoldengrass http://www.svartrecords.com

Hogjaw- If it ain’t Broke (Swamp jaw beamusic 2013)

Hogjaw are a southern rock band from Arizona and this is their 4^th record. They write some damn good songs and mix up more melodic southern rock with more hard edged Clutch like stuff but without that killer swing. They also write some damn good lyrics that people can really relate to as well. One More little One starts things off with a foot stomping shuffle that reminds me a bit of Skynryd. Built my Prize is a melodic mid paced track with a decent groove. It is with Am I wrong that this side really starts to cook. This track is a great and features the other vocalist (drummer?). Dig the riff on this one and it reminds me of Cactus until the more laid back section with the dual guitar solos. Shiny Brass and especially Cold Dead Finger are cool songs and especially the hard rocking uptempo CDF track. Side B starts off with The Wolf pt1 and pt2! It starts with a nice heavy guitar riff and a short guitar solo straight away and then into the main track. The part 2 is a long and very cool spacey guitar solo section. The Devil’s Eyes is a more bluesy track and now the vocals have changed (I think it is the drummer Kwall). ’83 is a very fun song and has a long about listening to Iron Maiden on your Walkman! I was totally into Iron Maiden in 1983! The last track is sort of silly, Beer Guzzlin’ ‘Merican and for sure my least favourite on the record but I am sure this is a great one live and the audience totally get into it. Glad they mix some serious playing and some fun as well. I liked their last record better but maybe this one I have just not heard enough.

http://www.hogjawmusic.com http://www.southern-records.de

Monomyth- Monomyth (Burning World Records BWR032)

Monomyth are a new Dutch band with the drummer from 35007. It is all instrumental music with a lot of mood and drive. the band are a five piece with one guitar, bass, drums and two synthesizer/keyboard players. The double LP features 6 songs and side A starts off with the track Vanderwaalskrachten. It starts slow and spacey but then slowly builds up and Thomas plays a very cool and intense guitar solo and later the organ takes the lead as it builds up more and more intensity. Great start. Vile Vortices reminds me a bit of Pink Floyd the way the organ and slide guitar is played and the spacey vibe in the track. Then, it gets into stoner rock and a heavy bass line licks in and everything is lifted to a higher level. Wow.. The Groom Lake Engine starts off very spacey and has a really nice slow build. This is really space rock, slowly building a bit like My Sleeping Karma, not in sound, but vibe. Almost predictably, the bass kicks in again and the whole track lifts in intensity and they just take off. First the guitar solo which is intense and quite short and back into the main theme again and repeat the cycle once again with more added organ as it evolves. Now, the next phase of the trip begins with a slow build and this one just stays in the spaced zone for nearly the entire track and then you get quite a surprise when the organ starts to raise the intensity. The guitar plays some freaky stuff that is panned around as are the synths at the end. Spaced out! Now side C and D are each full album side track so get ready. Huygens slowly builds and has a cool third stone from the Sun inspired guitar section as the rhythm section is very steady and repeatitive supporting the long solo section. Then it goes off into some sort of almost like mainstream rock style music and then it all starts to distort and get nasty and build up with the same riff and theme repeated over and over and over and over. I wish they would break out into a killer guitar or organ solo but they don’t until the very end when it all reaches climax. Spaced out ending. Particles has no sound to start the side for like 30 seconds and then slowly the synths and stuff start to fade in, The sound is very far out to start and then suddenly clears like the cloudy sky turning blue. It takes a long time as the synths just get totally spaced out before the rest of the band decides to join in 10 mins later and then it is a very simple drum and the intensity of the synths builds up and they add more and more delay and until it is just reverberating.  If you are fans of Monkey 3, My Sleeping Karma, Colour Haze, you will for sure dig this record. A very cool debut.

http://www.monomyththeband.com http://burningworldrecords.com

Hipiersonik- Czarna Skrzynka (Falani 2013)

Hipiersonik is a band that I saw opening for Hawkwind in Liverpool. They are a 3 piece band of saxophone, drums and a guy with a sampler. A lot of stuff is sampled. The guy on the sampler also provides the spaced out vocals. The music is a mixture of techno beats, mostly melodic spacey rap or vocals but with some cool drumming and great saxophone. Some nice piano is featured on some of the songs as well. It is quite a mixed back of electronica. The 10^th hidden track is actually a short pretty cool version of 21^st century schizoid man by King Crimson. Check out their web site. The CD comes in a cool 5 ¼ inch floppy disc! If any of you remember these?

http://www.hipiersonik.net

Circle and Mammifer- Enharmonic Intervals (Sige Records SIGE-020)

I think a lot of people are wondering just what the hell this collaboration will be like. Let’s just say it is like a mostly instrumental trip to the dark side of the mind, where evil things dwell, where people are tortured, exposed to extreme violence, visual madness, and insanity. There are 7 themes spread over the 3 sides of vinyl. I would not recommend a CD version as you would most likely kill yourself or someone else if you heard the entire 3 sides without a break. Be careful as this is very dangerous when consumed, in even small quantities. You have been warned!

http://www.circlefinland.com

Aerosmith- Rock for the Rising Sun DVD (Japanese Edition)

Aerosmith is one of the bands that I grew up listening to in the early 70s and I have a real soft spot for the bands early albums and they play mostly that material to this day. I think this must be one of the few bands from the 70s that play mostly improvised and jamming on every single song (on this tour!). On this DVD they rarely play a single song like the records, every song is played with long guitar solos, having fun, not worried about being super tight.  This concert opens with Draw the Line (1977) and they are just jamming.. Love in an Elevator, while having a very poppy chorus has a pretty heavy riff and both Joe and Brad just do great and pretty long solo sections. I skipped Livin’ on the Edge but Hangman Jury was played even though they did not rehearse it and they mix in some backstage banter about Steven wanting to play it even though they did not rehearse it. Throughout the DVD they mix in some backstage banter, pics and interviews of the band in and around Japan, etc. between most songs. All but a few of the songs are shown completely.  No More no More, Mama Kin, Toys in the Attic… every song just jammed out all the time.  I got the Japanese version from my friend Hatsumi and it is well worth it with nearly 30mins of extra songs (One Way Street, Lord of the Thighs (Best song on the DVD with a great long Brad Whitford solo), Train kept a Rollin’ and Lick n’ Promise!). I don’t think there is another band from this era that plays so much early material and just jams out every single song and not just sticking to the formula.  Which bands still play 3-4 songs from their first record? Not UFO, Scorpions, ZZTop, Deep Purple, none… Great DVD… A huge surprise and I had not expected it to be that good.

http://www.aerosmith.com

Hawkwind and Hipiersonik- O2 Academy, Liverpool, UK Nov 9th, 2013

I had to see Hawkwind on the Warrior on the Edge of Time reissue tour where they would perform the entire record in it’s entirety. Sue and took the train to Liverpool and spent the afternoon on the Magical Mystery tour, which took you around to all the historical Beatles sites in Liverpool, then we had a nice Indian meal and headed to the venue around the corner. The place is upstairs and holds a bit over 1000 and it was quite an intimate small place to see Hawkwind. Stage was pretty small for them and all their dancers. When we came in about 19:45, a band from Poland called Hipiersonik was just starting. It was a mixture of some pretty cool jazzy, electronic, GONG like stuff with more electronic stuff with rapping that I did not really dig so much (like the video I shot. The song before was really great). I think they played about 45mins. The 2^nd to last song they played as a short crazy version of 21^st century Schizoid man (King Crimson) and that was really cool.

               Hawkwind hit the stage just before 21 and it was really hot in this place now, even though it was quite cold outside (8C). They opened with an old Calvert poem and straight into Master of the Universe. The soundman was working on the sound as it was a bit out of balance, with Dibs standup bass being the loudest instrument drowning out all the guitar. Dibs voice was clearly hurting after 5

nights in  a row and was sounding pretty rough but hanging in there. Steppenwolf was next and a big surprise for me and Dibs played the main frontman (well, he is basically the voice of Hawkwind these days) and actor. The Hills have Ears is the best song off Onward, so that was cool to see. The dancers and the projections were really cool but they guy doing the main lights had these blue lights going straight out into the audience and it totally bleached out the visuals and was quite annoying. Southern Cross also off the Onward record and then they went directly into the complete Warrior on the Edge of Time. It was great to hear this classic record live and I enjoyed it so much but I was surprised they played it even shorter than the studio version with shorter versions of Magnu, Opa Loka and others. These are great songs for the band to jam and space out but they didn’t at all and infact there were no

guitar solos yet in this concert. The beautiful one that is usually in the Goldn void that Dave plays was replaced with a short sax solo! Kings of Speed was so fantastic to hear live and they all had a fun time playing it. If I have one complaint besides the jamming is that Dave hardly sings anything and when he does, Dibs voice is also singing and much louder than Dave. Since Dave is taking a lot of breaks and hardly singing, he has been sort of sidelined, almost. Sentinel, also from Onward, and then into Silver Machine with Richard singing lead. Two more from Astounding sounds (Reefer Madness and Assassins of Allah, with a long electronic section). The show ended with a new version of Utopia (the only song they played from the 80s (with no songs being played from the bands catalog from (1985-2012). The show ended with Seasons (also from Onward and also on the new Spacehawks CD). Great concert. Hawkwind still kicks some ass live and provides a great visual and musical show.

The Awakening, Master of the Universe, Steppenwolf, The Hills Have Ears, Southern Cross, Assault and Battery>The Golden Void, The Wizard Blew His Horn, Opa-Loka, The Demented Man, Magnu, Standing at the Edge, Spiral Galaxy 28948, Warrior On The Edge, Kings of Speed, Sentinel, Silver Machine, Reefer Madness, Assassins of Allah Encore: Utopia, Seasons

Taylor's Universe- Evidence (Marvel of Beauty Records)

Multi-instrumentalist, Robin Taylor is back to take you into Taylor’s Universe. It is quite a few of the same folks with Karsten Vogel on sax and bass clarinet, Klaus Thrane on drums but also some new blood with Thomas Ulstrup on synthesizer solos and Claus Bøhling on guitar solos, with Robin playing everything else you hear, except Louise Nippers voice on Red Afternoon. This is the first new records from Claus Bøhling since his work with my band, the Øresund Space Collective and I have to say he is still in top form! This album was recorded between May and October 2013, so they put it out weeks after finishing it!  The CD begins with the long and moody track, Buildings, which features a number of solos by all those involved. The end gets really freaky before coming back to a normal sound and beautiful outro solo by Karsten. The synth solo prior to the freaky section had a really cool sound. Red Afternoon is next and starts right off with the dreamy voice and keyboard and bass before the others join in. This is a pretty cool track with a really slow pace and just drifing bass that I like. Great balance between heavy and lightness. Claus plays a killer solo at the end of this track. Great wah guitar! Marie Marolle has a mysterious theme, almost like it should be in a Dario Argento movie but then it really changes when Claus kicks in around 2½ mins. They return to the strange theme that it started with eventually. Karsten comes in later than on the other tracks. Forever and a Day features a lot of great guitar and synths solos and they just trade back and forth over a good portion of the song. Karsten is playing a much smaller role in this track. For those of you out there that are not familiar with Taylor’s Universe it is basically an instrumental jazz rock outfit with a bit more improvised flavour than Robin’s other work. Robin composes, arranges and produces all this records but he leaves a lot of space for all the other players and actually rarely is the one taking the lead, except on the bass on this CD, even though he also plays guitar, keyboards, flute and percussion and other things you can hear. I like this stuff a lot…

Pale Moon (Private Release Finland 2013)

Pale Moon is the solo project by Mikko (Ex-Dark Sun) from Helsinki, Finland. He plays all the instruments and it also features some guest including his brother and Nik Turner from Hawkwind! The opening track has some spoken words and very deep base. IT is a really cool and spacey number and reminds me of the more electronic modern day Hawkwind stuff or the White Zone material. A Lion’s Roar is a short track with a long guitar solo and is sort of like a simple rock jam with himself. Down by the roadside by the River starts with a long sample by a guy who saw a UFO. The groove in the background is really cool and groovy and spacey but the music is mixed quite far away. The Colour of your Blood is a really old track featuring Mikko’s brother on vocals and Nik Turner on sax and flute. This is from a one track demo I got from Mikko back in 1998! Anyway, it has all electronic drums and percussion beats (as do all the tracks, I don’t think Mikko plays a real drum kit). It has a slow moving mood and feel to it with cool layers. Hard to describe. The Illusionist features Dark Sun guitarist, Jurza on guitar and Mikko on vocals. The programmed drums are more prominent and the music quite dreamy. Jäba Tuli has a really cool vibe and this single repeated drum beat (maybe drives you a bit crazy!) but some cool guitar, cryptic voices and shaking percussion that drives this one… I think he should have added some more layers of stuff in the middle though as I kind of lost interest but what a super cool track. The colour of your Mood is nearly the same as the Colour of your Blood without Janne’s vocal and again featuring Nik Turner. It is basically like a reprise with slight differences. Moon rising reminds me of Set the Control for the heart of the sun but without any drums. Very spacey and a cool bass line and guitar with layers of floating synths… I wish it was longer. Featherfall is primarily and effected guitar in layers and Mikko on spoken words (by his wife). The CD ends with Palaemoon elegans (anyone a biologist?). This one has a unique percussion rhythm and floating synths at the beginning and then there is some hand drum playing and just a real ethereal feeling to this ending track. You end your trip in a happy place. This available for 5€ at bandcamp or a limited edition CD-R version in 100 copies you will also be able to buy soon.

http://palemoon.bandcamp.com/

Föllakzod and Papir- Stengade 30, København, Denmark 11/1/13

I had not expected to go out to a show tonight and did not know anything about this but a Greek friend tipped me off and sure enough a lot of my friends (Tom, Sven, Jens, Christina, martin) were all there as well. When I arrived a little after 21, the Papir guys were just standing around and we talked for a bit and the band from Chile had not even arrived yet! I had hoped to be able to bring them the new ØSC record, that they also all played on but it sadly did not arrive today as expected.

          Around 22 Papir hit the stage and it was clear they had a lot of young local fans and some family into see them play. They opened with a new song, which was different from the new one they played opening for White Hills in September. The set was a cool mix of old and new and included one jam towards the end of the set. The crowd was really into it and the sound was excellent and not too loud. The guy doing lights tonight actually had a good idea what to do and did cool lights for Papir. The last 4 shows I have been to it has been a guy who basically just knows how to turn the switches but understands nothing about doing lights in the dynamics and mood of the band. Great set, about 50mins long.

          It took a while, perhaps 45-60mins before Föllakzoid was set up since they arrived so late. There was still a lot of people and the mood was good and the lights blue with a lot of fog for almost the entire show. He had used a lot of red for Papir but none for this band. Anyway, this 4 piece band from Chile (young) play very repetitive groove music in the vein of Neu, Mazerati, Wooden Shjips, White Manna, Monomyth, etc. I can easily describe one of the songs and this will cover the entire concert as every song was nearly the same with slight differences. The guitar player is very good at playing cool delay guitar. The drummer and bass player really groove well together. The bass player does the singing in this sort of effected laid back way, very much like the Wooden Shjips guy does and it is mixed into the music in quite the same way as well. The synth guy makes mostly drones and repeated loops of sounds in time with the groove. All the songs are probably around 10mins and take you on this smooth cruising journey. They really need projections to go along with each one. I thought it was cool but the band simply never reaches any peaks in their music and I really need this to take me to the next level. They just cruise with some change in dynamic and when they do build up a bit they never head into a killer guitar solo or a massive freakout or anything to reach a crescendo. They played this song from their new record called Pulsar and it has a groove a lot like You shouldn’t do that from Hawkwind but they never really took it to the higher level. Still I enjoyed the concert and with visual projections it would have been even better. No idea what the set list was but from hearing their vinyl, they played all of these songs and for about 75mins. 

http://www.papirband.com