Strange Waves [A Psychedelicompilation] [SludgeSwamp Exclusive]

Sorry for the lack of posts (again) folks.. but i've returned with something special for you! You all should be familiar with the mighty SludgeSwamp blog? Over the years i have discovered a hell of a lot of good tunes over that way. The regular fan base is pretty incredible, and the staff are always free for a chat. It's a really rewarding blog to frequent, that's fo' sho. Anyway, i couldn't help but notice they are now taking Reader Compilations for the Fall, and thought to myself what better way to begin giving back to their community than mixing my very own.

Here I've compiled a great mix of psych, post-rock, prog and doom, and mixed them in a unique way, editing track segueing and playing around with layers etc. I think you guys will really dig the diversity and how it all flows along nicely. This is basically my soundtrack while browsing the NASA picture of the day archive: (http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html) It's a really sweet place to kill some time and read up on all the incredible cosmic fuckery, while listening to the appropriate tunes of course. In turn, my cover designs were influenced by these images, hope you folks dig. Keep watching the skies! ;)

Link: http://sludgeswamp.blogspot.com/2009/09/freak-out.html
Alternative: http://sharebee.com/a2f6038d

Assemble Head in Sleepy Sun! cont.

Try It - Myspace

Try It - Buy It - Myspace

A week or so ago i mentioned the September tour Sleepy Sun & Assemble Head are about to set off on. Figured what better way to fire some of you up who might be deciding to go, than with these sweet live recordings from each band. I can't see either of them stepping foot over here in my native Australia any time soon, so sadly i gotta make do with this for now.

The Assemble Head here is an unofficial recording of their set at Roadburn last year. The quality sounds great, as they work through material spreading from all 3 albums. I quickly dodged up this horrible cover, using a photograph taken from the performance and a shitty res image of their band logo (feel free to dispose of it at your own will). These guys rock!

The Sleepy Sun iTunes Exclusive recording is most excellent. It has only been available from the iTunes store so i got myself a copy. They work through some 'Embrace' material, extended and even adding a new song ('Mating Season') to the end of 'New Age'. If you need a reason to get this, it's their amazing cover of Fleetwood's 'The Chain'. The harmonica used towards the end of 'White Dove' here sounds so much more powerful than on record, really really cool!

Enjoy. Go see them if you can!

Titan - A Raining Sun of Light & Love, For You & You & You [2007]

So we now have the incredible NASA astronomy images (seen below) to kill some time, now all we need is a suiting soundtrack to explore the cosmos! This excellent Tee Pee release will do the job just fine. I'll just put this right on out there for you. If you're a fan of the big-time, grandiose, space rock epics.. the extended track lengths, big ass bass, big ass riffs and one hell of an atmosphere then A Raining Sun of Light & Love.. is for you, & you, and yes.. even you! However if by some off chance this ain't your kinda thing.. drop it and walk away now. Come to think of it, what the f*** are you even doing here?

Serious, we're talking the big-time space rock influences here. Hawkwind obviously come to mind first, perhaps even mixed with a little bit of krautrocker's Can. The pounding bass and guitar is reminiscent of some of the desert scene stuff, which is certainly a plus! The production is a little bit murky throughout which might limit repeated listens.. but i guess it's just another one of those ass-kicking, brain-melting records you throw on at that perfect moment.

Another solid Tee Pee gem. These guys have been quiet for a few years now.. heres hoping some new material surfaces sooner rather than later.

Try It - Buy It - Myspace

Astra - The Weirding [2009]

Vintage space/prog-rock fans rejoice! Astra's debut record is an excellent throw-back to the wonderful time that was. The moment i seen the Arik Roper designed artwork i immediately knew what i was in for.

To lead you into what lies ahead, the opening track is five minutes of pure build-up. Spacey flutes simmer over some ridiculously rockin' Hawkwind-like guitar exploration. Like i said, build-up. It segues into argueably the absolute highlight of the album, the title track. It is in these next 15 minutes you really get a sense of what this band has to offer. First up is the 'Echoes' like vocal harmonies, as well as the melodic guitar work. Up until this point it all sounds like an early Floyd epic, that is however until the KC-like Mellotron, Brass & Sax take over and blow you the fuck away. Hell, throw in some early Iommi-like riffs in for good measure. The other high point for me is the short psych-folk piece, 'Broken Glass', making use of some nice acoustic Mediterranean-like guitar, which serves a great contrast to the rest of the ear-raping awesomeness.

If you're a fan of all the bands who did this kind of thing back in the day, you will really get a kick out of it. The production is a little dodgy, but i'm sure they've locked into this retro kind of sound and production on purpose. One can only wonder what this might of sounded like had it taken advantage of all the modern day crystal clear production techniques. Having said that, it most certainly kicks ass! I wouldn't have it any other way.

Try It - Buy It - Myspace

Ancestors - Neptune With Fire [2008]

What better way to rattle off some Tee Pee with Ancestors' debut album 'Neptune With Fire'. These guys came out of nowhere and eventually started making noise after signing with the label. However it seems it wasn't until they started gigging with the heavyweight label-mates (Earthless, Witch etc.) that they suddenly exploded. Take the magic of that delicious 70's spacey psyche sound, throw in some mammoth 90's stoner/doom riffage, ala Kyuss. Add in some Gilmour solo work (circa 'Atom Heart Mother') and wrap it all up with some superb modern day production.

The album consists of just two songs-- "Orcus' Avarice" is over 16 minutes, the title track is more than 20-- and both serve as launching pads for extended jams. It's the kind of lumbering meganess that easily turns on a dime. So by the time the drums have reeled in, and the guitars ascend into outer-space, it's hard to recall the tumult that came only moments before. Ancestors, able to do more than whip up a simple fervor, spend just enough time inspecting the same guitar scale and a slippery blues bassline that gradually builds to climax.

Their debut LP, Neptune With Fire — a conceptual, two track record with a title track that tells of a metaphorical character and his cosmic, psychological ordeal through war, celebration, remorse and revelation — was released in August 2008. Artwork for the record was delivered by psychedelic visionary Arik Roper, the artist behind such record covers as Sleep's Dopesmoker, and Earth's The Bee Made Honey in the Lion's Skull.

Can't wait to see what these guys do next.

Link: http://sharebee.com/5ac39e20

Dead Meadow - Feathers [2005]

These guys are probably one of my favourite modern day bands. They met in the DC punk/indie scene, though their music draws from more faraway sources. The band formed in the fall of 1998 from the ashes of local bands The Impossible Five and Colour, when singer-guitarist Jason Simon, bassist Steve Kille, and drummer Mark Laughlin set out to fuse their love of early 70’s hard rock and 60’s psychedelia with their love of writers J.R.R. Tolkien and H.P. Lovecraft.

Their sound fuller without losing its live essence, the band grew to encompass everything from ambient guitar drones to surging psych-funk sludge, blues-folk tunes to barbiturate space-rock, and some southern slow boogie thrown in for good measure.

Although all their studio releases are very good, this is my favourite. Enjoy!

Link: http://sharebee.com/b73092a3

Pure Reason Revolution - The Dark Third [2006] + NEARfest [2007 Live]

Pure Reason Revolution is probably one of the most interesting prog related bands of today. On one hand they are a modern day rock band with lovely vocal harmonies, on the flip side they smack you in the face with their mesmerizing brand of Floyd-style space rock! Take The Beach Boys poppish tunes for example, and mix it all up with some heavy guitar riffs, complex song structures and otherworldly concepts. The result is a beautifully flowing record produced by Paul Northfield, who also worked with Rush, Porcupine Tree & Gentle Giant.

It seems there has been a different tracklist for every country this was released in. The version i am posting is the Euro release, which is actually the entire US release as well as 5 bonus tracks.

Link P1: http://sharebee.com/e00623f1
Link P2: http://sharebee.com/03ba9d27



Two years after the release of "The Dark Third", PRR offers a livesession recorded at the NEARfest festival in 2007. The sound quality is absolutely amazing. They play majority of their material from "The Dark Third" as well as a few new tracks. These sound somewhat heavier and even a little more electronic, perhaps this is an early example of what their future work will sound like?

The melodic and atmospheric passages somehow find their way between the sonic guitar explosions, sounding like something Steven Wilson would be happy to call his own. Their highly anticipated sophomore album is expected to drop sometime in March this year. Keep your eyes out for that one!

Link: http://sharebee.com/9acd8a8b

Eloy - Power and The Passion [1975]

I think i'm kind of alone on this one, but "Power and The Passion" stands as my favourite Eloy album. This is the album where the band thought they needed to do away with the then limited hard rock style and focus on a more symphonic prog sound. Although they would go on to further develop this new sound on albums to come, "Power and The Passion" still mixes in some of their earlier psych hard rock beginnings which gives it a very unique balance. 1973's "Inside" might just be my second favourite, as you can tell i prefer that early lineup.

Unfortunetly this would be the final album from this band lineup thanks to difficulties with the the producer, Jay Partridge. The album wasn't selling too great but was still enjoying moderate success in Germany. The record company decided to give band leader Frank Bornemann a second chance. He went on to ressurect the band with new members and perfect the sound he was playing around with here.

"Power and The Passion" is an excellent mix of slowly moving space rock and full on hammond/guitar hard rock. It's a concept about time travel, society and romance, the playing is absolutely phenomenal and dare i say it again, it is the finest album in the Eloy catalogue.

Link: http://sharebee.com/ecbbd796

UFO - UFO1 [1970]

When people think of these British rock superstars they tend to forget the incredibly underrated original lineup, and focus on the Schenker years. Rather than the straight-up hard rock that would bring the band fame later on, this early face of the band had a really cool psychedelic, heavy blues rock sound. Phil Mogg has one of the best rock voices ever in my opinion, and Bolton was no slouch on the axe.

UFO's first two albums are easily two of my favourite hard rock albums of all time, with the second record ("Flying") even unleashing the full on lunacy of all things space rock! If only we got a few more records from this lineup.

Link: http://sharebee.com/a2dbc49b
Alternative Link: Rapidshare