Gas - 2000 - Pop

Quality: 4.75 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 5 out of 5

The title of Gas' final album is probably about 90% ironic. I imagine that Wolfgang Voigt drove Gas in general with a very specific aesthetic in mind, and "Pop" does little to break that. We still get oceanic synths and orchestral samples with ghostly house drums blaring away somewhere in the distant background. Still, each of Gas' albums somehow succeed in creating an identity of their own within this seemingly limited framework. "Pop" is no exception to this rule.

Like the other Gas albums, "Pop" sports no actual track titles and is best experienced as a whole. It's the little details that distinguish it. The album opens with the first few tracks featuring almost easy-listening style orchestral samples. Perhaps this is meant to reference the title. Of course, these samples are all phased out and weird sounding, but still, the sentiment seems to come across. The fourth track is based on a surprisingly clear (for Gas) piano synth riff whose syncopated bounce also suggests that the "Pop" title is not intended to be completely ironic. It's after this track that the listened is thrown headfirst into swirling, beatless sound for twenty minutes (this is where your mind is supposed to drift somewhere just east of the Vega system). The final track throws all the pieces together for a definitive example of the Gas sound.

The music of Gas is very much something that can only be experienced. While Voigt's project inhabited a small area of music space, he really managed to artfully milk it to its full potential. While "Pop" doesn't quite inhabit the almost sacred ground that I feel "Zauberberg" did, it's a wonderful ambient album that is certainly near the top of its class.

Buy Me:
Gas - 2000 - Pop

Gas - 1999 - Oktember

Quality: 4.25 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 5 out of 5

This is an EP from ambient master Wolfgang Voigt. As far as I can tell it's practically impossible to find (my own search was quite exhaustive). The sound of the music is very much in the basic Gas mold: heartbeat percussion, endlessly repetitive musical motifs plowing through your braing as you're lifted up on a bed of ghostly samples and synths. Yet, it's amazing how much milage and textural variation Voigt gets out of this template, and there is a dark facet to the Gas ethos that is on display on "Oktember."

The first track here is actually from the contemporous album "Konigsforst." It was on the CD, but not the vinyl, although it is certainly a fine track that has a space lounge twist on the Gas sound. The main event, however, is the second track. This 15 minute epic has a very dark, almost-but-not-quite grinding sound that makes me imagine a tour of a post-apocalyptic industrial wasteland. I don't think it's the best place to begin with Gas, but if you're already familiar with some of the proper albums, it's absolutely necessary listening for a band that only has four album. It's sort of a missing puzzle piece.

Gas - 1998 - Zauberberg

Quality: 5 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 5 out of 5

Back when Tower Records was still thriving in the US, they published Pulse Magazine, wherein folks would have their ten desert island discs posted every month. This album is a shoo-in for my personal ten desert island discs. Gas' music is formally described as 'minimalist techno,' but to me these ethereal loops and minimal, submerged-sounding percussion exist in their own netherworld which defies any easy classification. More than almost any other music (William Balinski excepted), Gas propels my mind somewhere else.

The tracks on this disc are all untitled, but it's probably best to consider the entire album as a single piece named "Zauberberg." We start upon an infinite ocean of sound, which ebbs and flows for several minutes. As the piece progresses, we start to move upon the surface, with beautiful, strange, and sometimes even disturbing images passing through our mind's eye. The tracks build upon a strengthening heartbeat. Maybe it's the sound of the abandoned lunar disko. Eventually we are returned to rest back in our infinite ocean. "Zauberberg" turns out to be a mystical musical pyramid. As listeners, we are allowed to explore the interior in all of its transcendent glory.

This is music that cannot be hummed while walking down the street, or chopped up into representative parts, but it is amazingly visceral. I imagine that if you're trawling around the Psychedelic Garage, you may be in the market for a musical trip. I don't think you'll find one much better than "Zauberberg."

Buy Me:
Gas - 1998 - Zauberberg

Michael Flower - 2005 - Return to Knowing Nothing (Phase Two)

Quality: 4.75 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 5 out of 5

Now here's what I was looking for with that Sitaar Tah! album. Michael Flower is also very interested in trance inducting sound, but his approach is very much rooted in modern minimalism along with those concepts that have carried on from eastern drones. This album is rife with experiments and most of them work out very well. The sound is a little ragged, but very charming. This is music that you'd expect to hear at 2am in the hippest of clubs.

While the emphasis is certainly on droning sounds, there is quite a bit of variety here. Bookending the album we find "FFR #1," which recalls 60's jazz weirdos like Pharaoh Sanders (although with less sax insanity and with more cosmic drone), and "Guitar Solo," which is like the more entertaining moments of your tripped-out buddies jamming in a garage. In between we find the chill drone of "ZAP!...That's Witchcraft," which must be near the top of my favorite song titles. "Antlers and Whiskers" mixes blaring horns with another good Terry Riley impression, while a touch of electronics find its way into "Twelve Tone Down" and "FFR 28 08 05."

This is a fun take on minimalism with a strong, grungy, urban twist. My father and I went to see the Japanese avant-metal band Boris a few months ago, after which he suggested that the band's height of guitar noise was like the sonic equivalent of blue smoke. I'm willing to attach a similar signifier to this album.

Grouper - 2005 - Way Their Crept

Quality: 4.5 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 5 out of 5

I have to admit that I've been listening to this one pretty obsessively over the past two months or so. Grouper is not really a band, but one Liz Harris hailing from Portland, Oregon. On the surface, Harris' approach is a terrible idea. The majority of the sounds of this album is simply her voice run through a phalanx of echoplexes, delays, and other assorted reverb units. The songs are almost impossible to distinguish from each other, and the whole damn thing runs together. Yet there is a steady hand over the proceedings and the end result is just short of genius. I don't think I've run across a recording quite this hypnotic this side of Paul Horn's Inside.

While I've given Way Their Crept quite a few listens, I still feel unqualified to make much comment on the songs. The first track almost has discernible lyrics, and then everything plunges down a deep well for the rest of the album. The variety comes only in the density of the sound that you are experiencing at a single moment. I have trouble coming up with positives to express in words, yet I really dig this. Once again, I feel that Paul Horn is the best comparison, but while his music holds a very tenuous grip with jazz, Grouper's music hold an equally tenuous grip with shoegazing sounds.

I rarely find myself so infatuated with music, yet also find myself without the means to express the reasons why. Maybe this album is like the sirens' song. You best lash yourself to a masthead before hitting play on this one.

Terry Riley - 1980 - Shri Camel

Quality: 4.75 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 5 out of 5

We have a soft spot for Terry Riley at the Psychedelic Garage. This album presents some of his more obscure recordings, but it's not for lack of quality. The basic framework here remains Riley's interlocking patterns or organ tones, but there is an attempt to meld his music with more eastern tones, especially those of the Indian variety. While it doesn't make any major stylistic changes, it's enough to distinguish this one from masterworks such as "In C" or "A Rainbow in Curved Air."

There are four tracks on this album, but I'd suggest that they probably fit in pairs. "Anthem of the Trinity" and "Across the Lake of the Ancient World" explore similar droning, lower level motifs more like what you'd hear with "In C." "Celestial Valley" and "Desert of Ice" tend to sparkle more and display more sonic relief. The eastern influence is subtle, but you'll hear it in small patches of melody wafting around through the lattuce of keyboard patterns. Riley also benefits here from clear studio production as all of the different threads of sound are distinguishable and clear.

I haven't heard anything by Riley that did not end up entrancing me and bring me back for multiple listens. This album is not exception. Yes, this music is technically minimalist, but there is a world of sound and infinite combinations available for the dedicated listener. You should hear this unless you simply have an absolute distaste for this tributary of music (yes, we are far from the mainstream).

Steve Reich - 1974, 1986 - Mallets

Quality: 5 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 5 out of 5

I have to admit that this is probably my most listened to of Steve Reich's highly regarded body of minimalist works. While I'm often a sucker for lots of strange instrumentation, I feel like composers in this genre are often at their best when confined to a small selection of instruments. As the track titles explicitly tell you what you'll hear, this music fits that bill.

First off is "Six Marimbas." "Under My Thumb" is one of my favorite Stones songs, so it may be no surprise that I have an affinity for the marimba sound. The track has sort of a jungle-like, monkeys banging around sound. At first it may even seem like a new age song, but where that genre would start slathering on the cheeseball melodies, Reich plunges deeper into the jungle with the relentless marimba rhythms. I'm not quite as big a fan of the second track, but it is still top flight Reich work, with the mallet work once again taking center stage as the other instruments add a variety of color. As good as it is, this one more overtly recalls Reich's seminal Music For 18 Musicians (you should probably go here if you are new to Reich).

This is the kind of music that I can listen to all day. It is wonderful as background music, but really starts to shine brightly if you are willing to give your attention to the myriad of texture and tonal variety.

Terry Riley - 1983 - Descending Moonlight Dervishes

Quality: 4.5 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 5 out of 5

Here we are for another Terry Riley freak-out. Sure the man is a legitimate composer, using plenty of classical theory and existing as one of the prime movers of minimalism. But at it's heart this is music that can only be experienced. From what I understand, this one is a live organ recital, but with the different patterns of sound it's often difficult to imagine that this involves only a single organist. I guess the man is able to synchronize his hands and feet like clockwork.

I only have a single track for this one, although I understand that the piece is often paired with something else. At 52 minutes, though, there is no lack of music to sink your teeth into. For once, I'm more or less at a loss to describe the music. Pretty much everything is a series of interlocking organ patterns that travel at often breakneck speeds and are far more trance-inducing than 99% of other sounds that bear a 'trance' label. If you already dig Terry Riley, than this will be manna from heaven. If you're not and can deal with a very extended track, this is not a bad place to start.

I wouldn't quite put this up with A Rainbow in Curved Air or In C. Those pieces have more instrumentation and thus provide more tonal color. This piece is even more minimalistic than those classics, but it does have the benefit of distilling Riley to his essence and providing an even more meditational sound than the others.

Magical Power Mako - 1973 - Magical Power Mako

Quality: 4 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 5 out of 5

First off: YES, THAT IS THE REAL ALBUM COVER. I confirmed this only through years of painstaking research.

I'm at pretty much of a loss to describe this one. While a large percentage of Japanese pop music is simply tired echoes of Western sounds, a few bravely trudge on in the other direction and make some of the more extreme music that you're likely to hear. This debut from Magical Power Mako is about as weird as you're going to get for psychedelic music in 1973. While there are hints of a rock band on the album, any semblance of a recognizable framework goes flying out the window as we mix in found sound, Japanese folk tones, odd electronic noise, children singing, and more.

Let's see if we can't take a quick tour of the album. We start with a news report a little like Hendrix's "ESP," but without the screaming flying saucer guitar sounds. This plunges directly into what sounds like a Japanese summer festival at its drunken height (and probably the ingestion of the wrong kind of mountain mushrooms), interrupted by a variety of odd noises and found sounds that eventually envelop the song. It's practically indescribable and completely unclassifiable. It has the potential to actually drive you mad. The next track, "Tsugaru," manages to scale things back with a wild koto and strange muttering. In fact, nothing here is identifiable 'rock' until a bit of space jamming at the end of "Flying," which is the sixth track. "Retraint. Freedom," while still completely demented, sound positively normal in this context with its discernible drum rhythm and churning guitars. This is immediately followed by what sounds like a Japanese "You Can't Always Get What You Want" backed by a local elementary school. After a few more tracks of various flavors of oddness, "Look Up the Sky" takes twelve minutes to shift from solo piano, to something kind of Berlin school-like, to an utterly strange wall of sound.

Nothing I write is really going to capture the tone of this album. It's a completely unhinged journey into whatever trip as flowing through Mr. Magical Power at the time. I can't promise that you're going to dig it, but something here will managed to bend space-time and blow your mind; probably frighten you a bit as well.

Buy Me:
Magical Power Mako - 1973 - Magical Power Mako

The Taj Mahal Travellers - 1974 - August 1974

Quality: 4 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 5 out of 5

This music is pretty far out there, and seems to me to be the Japanese equivalent of the most deranged kraut rock. Using a variety of acoustics and a barrage of electronic instruments, the Taj Mahal Travellers attempted to reach as far into the sonic frontier as they could on an album side. Live, I can easily imagine that they'd continue until they simply passed out.

I have a pretty high appreciation for this album, but as the "4" rating above suggests, something doesn't completely click for me here. When we consider music this ambient and/or avant garde, it's often hard to put a finger on it, but I think it has something to do with their use of jarring noises in the middle of otherwise relaxing passages. I'd prefer to float into the ether. Another very subjective criticism would be their occasional tendency to throw in everything including the kitchen sink. That said, the first track probably ranks as the most etherial one with panning. buzzing electronic noises on top of a sea of ringing bells, marimbas, and electronic tones. Eventually some spaced-out wordless vocals enter the mix too. The second tracks produces a wall of shimming, amorphous sound (complete with kotos deep in the mix) before thinning out into a 'monks of doom' sounding choral section. "III" plunges into really avant garde sounds ala Can's "Peking O," while the final track makes me think of a prototype, way more experimental version of something Kitaro would have done when he was making music that didn't suck.

There is a lot of avant garde variation at work on this album, and it definitely one of the more psychedelic bits of music to crop up from Japan. Use it as aural room decor and see if it fits or not. It costs about the same as room decor with the current Amazon price tag of $359 for the 2001 vinyl reissue.

William Basinski - 2001 - The Disintegration Loops I-IV

Quality: 5 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 5 out of 5

This collection of sounds really rates more as an experience than music. The concept at work here came about purely by accident. Basinski intended to simply convert some loops from tape to digital. Unfortunately (at first), his tape machine was slowly destroying the tapes. In a stroke of inspiration, Basinski simply let the tapes run on to their end, and that's exactly what we hear on this album. No music is really being legitimately played, and we hear only the sounds of slow decay. As a strange coincidence, Basinski converted and thereby intentionally destroyed some of these tapes with the smoke of 9/11 billowing over his NYC apartment (I think I saw a very well done 9/11 documentary that used this and ambient street sounds alone on its soundtrack to account for the events of that day; unfortunately I saw the doc on TV before becoming familiar with these discs, so I'm not entirely sure). Far from exploitational, this drives home the concept of mortality as the tapes degrade. This makes the music potentially depressing, but I find the loops far more intellectually stimulating than simply being depressing would entail. I think it's best to view this as a zen experience as we hear something beautiful fade away into absolute oblivion.

The loops themselves are mostly ambient sounding orchestral bits. Yes, this are intensely repetitive sounds, and just by listening, you would notice little change. If you skip around, though, you'll find that over time there are major changes to the loops until they finally sputter beyond the veil of any defined sounds. The tracks go on as long as is needed for the sounds to disintegrate. The shorter ones run out of gas in about 10 minutes or so, but some of the loops go on for more than an hour. All in all, there are four distinct loops heard in various stages on different tracks

This is the last thing that you're going to grab for your next party, and I would wager than this is best experienced in solitude. If you put in the effort to really listen to these very avant-garde sounds, I think you may find the dividends very rewarding. If you have any interest in ambient drones (like Coil's Time Machines), you very well may consider this an absolute masterpiece. As the rating above suggests, I do.

Popol Vuh - 1971 - In den Garten Pharaos

Quality: 5 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 5 out of 5

This is a close kin to the previous album, Affenstunde, but Florian Fricke and his small crew did a fine job innovating the sounds they pioneered on that 1970 release. This is widescreen mystical music, finding an awesome balance between the cold, deep space tones of Fricke's Moog and the the warm, primitive percussive sounds. I do not hesitate to call this one of the cornerstones of electronic music. It's not too hard to imagine modern sequencing and pro tool technology rendering this as IDM ('intelligent dance music' for those that may not know), but I prefer this one just the way it is.

The opening track communicates its imagery perfectly, and I always appreciate music that I can describe in non-musical terms. We stand on the shores of the celestial ocean (or Nile as the title seems to suggest) as the god-like entities slowly enter, scouting the land for possibilities and bringing in their royal processionals. Eventually the building block for human civilization are introduced, both figuratively and literally. Reaching into the future, all traces of man are erased, leaving us with only the sound of receding waters. The organ-like, sunburst sounds of "Vuh" follow as our tour of the great beyond. The sounds combine over 14 minutes, attempting to attain that cosmic OM sound (or maybe Vuh in this context). I'm not quite sure how to fit the organ and detuned Moog sounds coda into my tale, but it certainly sounds fine. The bonus tracks here are a great addition, although they definitely do not fit the tone of the album proper. Forming what may as well be considered an EP, "Kha-White Structures" is much more overtly psychedelic and trance-like. My imagery here typically involves the idea of creatures living inside of of your multicolored-DNA who want to teach you about reality (I should mention that I'm not completely making this up - this somewhat arguable idea comes from Graham Hancock's book Supernatural).

We have here music that demands creativity from the listener. That means that you need to give this a dedicated listen to really appreciate it. The imagery it suggests is the gold at the end of the psychedelic rainbow. I'm happy to give this one my highest recommendation.

Buy Me:
Popol Vuh - 1971 - In den Garten Pharaos

Popol Vuh - 1970 - Affenstunde

Quality: 4.5 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 5 out of 5

Popol Vuh is the name of the Mayan holy texts. It is also the name of one of the premier krautrock band, although the mystical implications of the former meaning shine through clearly on this record. Florian Fricke, the band's leader and visionary, seems to have been trying to reach for primitive sounds through cutting-edge technology at this point of his career. He was one of the first in Germany to use a Moog synthesizer, and those extra-terrestrial sounds are often juxtaposed with walls of percussion on this collection. It still manages to come across as sound ahead of its time.

The first side of the original LP is a suite entitled "Ich Mache Einen Speigel," which translates to "I make a mirror." I suppose the shimmering synthesizer sounds and clanging percussion would certainly support this idea, but I get a very different image in my head. I see our ancestors seeking shelter in a dark, damp, and forlorn cave many years past. They tentatively creep out as the spring arrives and begin their hunting anew. Then winter arrives with the third section of the suite. Following that 20 minute piece is the eighteen-and-a-half minute long title track. It's is very good, but much more in line with the sounds of contemporary Tangerine Dream. But the fact that Fricke already had a Moog at that time and Tangerine Dream did not gives this one distinct and impressive coloring. There's a nice bonus track also present on the recent rerelease which picks up the pace a bit with some chugging synthesized train percussion, and actually makes for a pretty nice addition even considering the flow of the album

I think I'm in the minority here, but I feel that Popol Vuh began at the peak of their powers and slowly de-evolved into less-interesting and more conventional krautrock (if there is such a thing) and 70's bloated psych-rock sounds. As such, I see Affenstunde as one of the band's magnum opuses (the next one also deserves that tag) as they tear open the curtains of time to reveal mystical and otherworldly sounds.

Buy Me:
Popol Vuh - 1970 - Affenstunde

Wendy Carlos - 1972 - Sonic Seasonings

The same year Carlos finalized the score for A Clockwork Orange, the composer recorded a double album named Sonic Seasonings; it was a complete turn away from the majestic synthesizer soundscapes and classical inspirations that had marked the movie score. Instead, Carlos recorded large amounts of environmental passages to produce a work that cycled through the four seasons. Beginning with bird calls and a thunderstorm to mark "Spring," Carlos phrases the synthesizers only in terms of the nature sounds heard. They rarely interject themselves, and the result is closer to a nature recording with occasional effects than a synthesizer recording with nature sounds. Of course, there was no precedent for "nature," "environmental," or even "new age" music in 1972 -- Sonic Seasonings was basically the genesis for several entire genres of music two decades later. As part of East Side Digital's Carlos CD reissue campaign, Sonic Seasonings was issued as a two-disc set, including the original LP plus a second disc of "natural" recordings, originally begun in 1986 and known as Land of the Midnight Sun.

Dr. Schluss' ratings:
Quality: 5 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 5 out of 5
(I should probably mention that this album happens to be one of my all time favorites; thanks Pablo!)

Ash Ra Tempel - 1973 - Seven Up

Quality: 5 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 5 out of 5

Sometimes I get the impression that I may be a little dense. Schwingungen is considered a masterpiece, but I just don't see it. Meanwhile, this one is seen as a misstep in an otherwise stellar run of albums. The catch is that I love this one and pretty much see this as Ash Ra Tempel's shining moment as a proper band (I'd still give the top slot to Inventions For Electric Guitar, which is a Manuel Gottsching solo album in all but name). With the revolving door in full swing, we get new drummers and guests appearing here, most notably LSD guru Timothy Leary. He provides vocals for the album. He can't really sing, but he does sound focused, yet demented, which I think perfectly matches the music.

The first side of the album is listed as "Space," which is probably a fitting name for any track this band produced. Leary merrily belts out what I would classify as bubblegum blues as the band blasts at full tilt on sections like "Downtown" and "Right Hand Lover." Now this alone would rate the music as an amusing novelty, but these sections are juxtaposed with full-tilt walls of intense psychedelic noise. It's like the band was hired at a party to play some groovy dancing tunes, but are so blasted away on acid (with Leary on board there's no alternative substance-wise) that they keep getting distracted and begin searching for the great cosmic sound of Om. Then they realize their error and return to the bubblegum blues before gleefully losing focus again. It's this disorienting loss of focus that makes "Space" one of my favorite tracks period. Just picture these freaks playing this stuff at a bewildered high school dance and maybe you'll dig it.

Side two's "Time" is more Ash Ra Tempel by-the-numbers if such a thing is possible. It's a very chill ambient that lightly recycles themes from the last album and bears a bit of resemblance to Tangerine Dream's Alpha Centauri. This makes sense as Steve Schroyder played organ on both recordings. Leary has a very different role with some strange spoken word vocals often over some beautiful wordless female singing. We don't hear quite so much of Gottsching's guitar on "Time" as is typical, but Ash Ra Tempel was still a proper band at this point, so it's ok. Realistically, "Time" is probably superior musically, but I just can't get over the rush of "Space." But as Einstein theorized, space and time belong together.

So I'm going to put this album forth for some serious reassessment. This is about as psychedelic as rock music gets. You really don't need the help of any substances for this one to utterly and completely blow your mind. It doesn't hurt that the cover art is completely dang awesome either. Give it at least two listens.

Buy Me:
Ash Ra Tempel - 1973 - Seven Up

We're Late For Class - 2007 - Live in the Theater of DisBelief

Quality: 4 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 5 out of 5

Digging through the archives of these internet psychedelic troubadours, I found this gem hanging out among the group's many recordings. At base a 32 minute collection of wild, improved psychedelic racket, this one presents itself as a pretty oddball concept album. Apparently, this is based on a random idea for a sci-fi television show whereupon a group of Star Trek-style explorers cavort about the galaxy searching for oddball radio waves out in space. This performance, therefore, would be an example of this interstellar noise. I'd say that the band pretty well achieved their goal.

Never truly coalescing, these sounds really seem to ride the strange waves that float through the emptiness of space. It's really hard for me to even make out what instruments I'm hearing, which is always a plus for me. This is a true tightrope walk of an improvisational performance, with no core holding the sound together and the musicians forced to plow further in their sonic exploration or fall apart. I'd say that 32 minutes is a pretty good run to hold together. Last year I reviewed the Pyramid album, which presented itself as a 1974 krautrock performance, although its authenticity was in question. This does not come with the krautrock label, but if it did I'd be pretty easily convinced that it was the real deal.

Live in the Theater of DisBelief is not comfortable music. It probes pretty deep into the unknown and will probably not be playing at your next dinner party (if it is, invite me). For those of you that like to hear the stranger end of those 'bleepy-bloopy' sounds, this should be right up your alley.

Listen to Me:
We're Late For Class - 2007 - Live in the Theater of DisBelief

Flower-Corsano Duo - 2006 - The Radiant Mirror

Quality: 4.5 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 5 out of 5

Here's one that I've been anesthetizing my brain with for the past couple weeks. The All-Music Guide calls this one jazz, although the drums and distorted guitar combo definitely suggest more of a rock air. Really, with the modus operandi resting on a drone this is more of a future-injected raga. It kind of feels like the final five Cylon music out of Battlestar Galactica, but stretched out over 40 minutes. I mean that as a positive thing.

We've got tracks for three of the elements here; I guess these fellows aren't to hip on water. "Earth" gets this to a roaring star over its ten minute length. This must really send my brain into a trance as I've never had the impression that ten minutes have even passed when this one ends. The drone acts as the bedrock of the track while the drums spill all over the place in a style similar to Rashied Ali's pummeling on John Coltrane's very late period recordings (like the amazing Interstellar Space). I suppose that's where the jazz comes in. On top of that are some free form modal guitar runs that are pretty much the top form for that sort of thing. "Wind" brings things down a notch, although the basic instrumentation is the same. Our wild drummer does manage to reign himself in for an actual beat while the guitar attempts to cross the sitar barrier. Then everything comes together for the twenty minute "Fire," which passes us through raging torrents and graceful ebbs of roaring sitar-guitar and beats that seem to crest over rolling hills and epic mountains. This music will make you travel.

On The Radiant Mirror, you'll have the opportunity to hear rock/jazz/raga improvisation at its finest. I hesitate to refer to this as fusion as it doesn't really match up with that particular genre, but you will get an amazing blending of sounds different from anything you've experienced before. This is a true psychedelic experience.

Oren Ambarchi - 2006 - Grapes From the Estate

Quality: 4 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 5 out of 5

Standing pretty close to the edge of the ambient avant-garde, Oren Ambarchi displays his skills as a master sound painter on this album. He works primarily with electric guitars, but after the strange treatments, edits, and feedback orbs that make up this album, even Brian Eno would have trouble figuring out how a six-stringed instrument made these sounds.

The album opens with the ten minute "Corkscrew." According to the liner notes, the very ambient track was made exclusively with guitar, but it's difficult to rationalize that with the overlapping, brain narcoticizing carrier tones that make up the track. It comes across as an even more primal version of Coil's drones on Time Machines, which I would not previously have imagined possible.

On "Remedios the Beauty," which logs in as side C on my record, we get to hear a few more instruments as Ambarchi further extends his sonic world. There's a bit of percussion and bells added in, which serve to suggest abstract hints of world music and jazz. This is a very relaxing album, but I'd hesitate to label it new age as the sounds are likely to hold your mind hostage.

I understand Mr. Ambarchi has a new album coming out next month. I'm looking forward to hearing it as the sounds here seem to lay out the groundwork needed to create a whole new sonic vocabulary.

Buy Me:
Oren Ambarchi - 2006 - Grapes From the Estate

Morton Subotnick - 1968 - The Wild Bull

Quality: 5 out of 5
Trip O Meter: 5 out of 5

A year after "Silver Apples Of The Moon," Morton Subotnick and his trusty Buchla synthesizer returned with "The Wild Bull." Really, to completely understand this stuff, it may be best to get a view of the Buchla:




















Although the same set of sonic tools are at work on this album, the aural picture is very different.

Bringing the sound down to earth, Subotnick focuses less on the seemingly random pings and bleeps that formed the backbone of "Silver Apples." Side A of "The Wild Bull" builds on roaring background oscillators, until the bull finally begins to rise. Here, we find Subotnick focusing more on melody as the bull gets a sort of melodic theme from a fuzzed-out oscillator.

Side B sounds even more progressive with the bleating Buchla forming what could almost be mistaken for a modern IDM rhythm as the ominous, synthesized tones of the bullring wail in the background. The fight ensues as the bulls theme returns, violently rolling around with the rhythm, and finally the bullring returns with its own roar. It's amazing that such a colorful story could emanate from such a primitive machine. I suppose that's a big part of Subotnick's genius.

"Silver Apples" is the electronic breakthrough, but "The Wild Bull" refines and even perfects the alien tones of the Buchla. It's a very listenable piece for what it is and is sure to take your mind on an interesting sonic journey.

Morton Subotnick - 1967 - Silver Apples Of The Moon

Quality: 4.5 out of 5
Trip O Meter: 5 out of 5

A true pioneer of electronic music, Morton Subotnick's work is usually not the easiest music to listen to, but if you're willing to give it your time and attention, it can be very rewarding. Subotnick is a classically trained composer who fearlessly pressed beyond the reaches of even the typical avant garde. Most typical concepts of melody and rhythm are thrown out the window as Subotnick works out his battles of music theory with the Buchla synthesizer.

These early modular synthesizers have no conventional interface such as a keyboard, forcing the player to work with the different variables of analog oscillations and a strange series of touch pads. 'Otherworldly' probably isn't even enough to describe "Silver Apples Of The Moon," but the playfulness and sense of intelligence helps to reveal that the machine is not taking over and there is a man behind the curtain.

As a work debuting on vinyl in 1967, "Silver Apples Of The Moon" is split into two parts. Side A is constructed around softer pings and bleeps, a probe satellite orbit the mysterious moon and slowly gaining information. While side B is somewhat similar, especially with only the Buchla synthesizer at work, we've landed on the moon. Some of the playfulness turns a little more serious and the oscillations are a little more distorted as we're up to serious work now!

Far from a pop record, "Silver Apples Of The Moon" requires that you invest your full time and attention. For those who make the effort, you'll find that a jovial spirit presides over this jungle of primitive electronic sound. It really is a landmark of electronic music and should get at least one play from anyone even slightly interested in that genre.