Minerall- Bügeln (Sulatron Records)

This is a new trio featured the guitarist form Speck, drummer from Kombyant Robotron and Sula Bassana, who needs no introduction on bass and synths.. The guys got together for some jams on a weekend in Spring 2023 at Buffbergen Studios in Hanove and bam, a new band and album is created!   Each jam is one album side long and it starts with the title track, which will remind you of that classic NEU vibe and groove as things get going and then it heads into that heavy guitar psych of Electric Moon,, Speck and others. My favorite track is the side B, Sachebene, which has such an incredible spacey vibe with long delay guitars. I really just got lost in this track.. Fantastic track…  In the end Dave, who wrote the promo sheet describes it the best, “the three musicians lose themselves in the spheres of space echo only to land again after 45 minutes”.  Check it out..

http://sulatron.com

https://minerall.bandcamp.com

Astral Magic featuring Paul Roland-Mind Melt Machine

This is the first major release of 2024 for Astral Magic and something very different. First off Paul does most of the lead vocals. The opening and title track sets the feel for the rest of the album.  Spacey!  The main song riff is a synth line. Paul’s voice is a bit like Bob Calvert at times.  A sort of mysterious vibe percolates between the more happy main theme. Cool song. Beyond the Spectral Gate is very synth heavy with a simple drum. Lots of layers of atmospheric stuff going on. A nice floating instrumental track.  The Illustrated Man starts with a sound sample before the drums, guitar bass and synths take over and the song gets going. Nice opening guitar solo. Santtu also contributes some vocals as well. Another mysterious track. Samsara starts with a steady bass line and off we go on another instrumental space synth track. Nice lead synths. Mind Melt Machine (Blissed out Mix ) is a sort of reprise in a way. Some of the elements of the original opening version are more prominent on this one. A very cool EP. I enjoyed it a lot. Check it out..  CD is limited to 150 copies. 

http://astralmagic.bandcamp.com

POTHEAD- HUXLEY´S. BERLIN, GERMANY JAN 27TH 2024

Wow.. Hard to believe it has been 8 years since I came to Berlin to see Pothead.  It was so great to see the guys and hear them play again. It was a really different set from last time and more on the heavy rock side but also some rare tracks..

We arrived about 20:35 and they were to start at 21. Got a beer, found a good place in front of Brad. Place was about 2/3 full but still some folks outside. I guess in the end it was 3/4 full. Tickets were pretty expensive, 42€. A lot for one 2hr show and no opening band. 

Anyway, the mood was great and it was a mix of the old gray guys like me and the younger folks and lots of women dancing!! Sound was perfect!! What a great and more heavy set.. I liked it a lot. The band said they felt the show was a good one as well.. 

They went thru a lot of their catalog but not songs from Rocket Boy or Chardeire or USA.  Last year they played a lot from USA.  Some rare ones like Fairground, All those memories and Mary Jane, were great to hear. I also was happy to hear Constantinople. 

After the show I hung out and talked with Jonathan, a young Pothead fan, who has been helping me out with some info about the band that I am trying to hunt down.  They let us in the backstage after about 30mins and it was so great to see Jeff!!  I had hung out with Brad the day before.  We stayed for about 2hrs and went in rounds talking with everyone. Got a picture of me and Brad, my daugher and Brad, Silvana and Brad..  Fun.. They are the nicest people…

http://pothead.de