Sky Picnic - The Psychedelic Picnic in the Sky - Volume 1 (USA 2009)

This record was written and recorded by SKY PICNIC over the month of February in 2009. 

"It was, for the most part, recorded live on the first take, and is meant to show the more experimental side of the band." (liner notes)

"This is the first release of many in our 'psychedelic picnic series', which will feature experimentations by the band, a sort of alternate discography if you will and a deeper look into the band. - This releases coincides with the conclusion of the '2009 RPM Challenge' - in which a record is to be written and recorded over the month of February 2009.  For this LP, each band member composed a solo piece, and then there are 3 band compositions surrounding said pieces." (band info, Myspace)

Yes, indeed! The tracks on "Psychedelic Picnic in the Sky" are not quite as structured as the songs on their marvelous debut EP, they are more loose and sound more improvised - but they are excellent as well! Now don't expect any senseless sloppy noodeling - the playing is tight and the songs are not a second too long. One might imagine that this probably comes close to the sound of the band playing a live gig (watch out, there might be a surprise for you in the next days...). The early PINK FLOYD influence is even more evident than on the EP reviewed earlier (read here), and that is pretty cool, if you want my opinion. I don't know many bands in these days that have such a truely classic psychedelic rock sound...

My favourite track: 'For Miss Central London' - exquisite slide guitar playing!

SKY PICNIC - The Psychedelic Picnic in the Sky 

- Volume 1 (USA 2009)

(mp3 zip, 7 tracks/1 bonus track; 111,9 MB, 

2 x 48 min, artwork incl.)

1. The Mercurial Professor's Vast Array of Gadgetry (by Sky Picnic)

2. Strange Things Are Afoot (by Leah)

3. A Weightless Blur Before Me, Part I (by Chris)

4. A Weightless Blur Before Me, Part II (by Chris)

5. It Travels In On Phantom Wind Currents (by Pete)

6. For Miss Central London (by Sky Picnic)

7. March of the Spacemen (by Sky Picnic)

In addition, and keeping with the exprerimental nature of the record, Sky Picnic has recorded an audio commentary track discussing the making of the record and the ideas behind the compositions. - Really nice idea!

Get it here (complete w/audio commentary track) or 

here (7 tracks) and here (audio commentary track)

Enjoy! - And thanks, Chris, for sharing!

NEW: REMIX PLAYGROUND - Seed 1: Throw it out there, not away (USA 2000)

It's funny - sometimes different people have the same idea at the same time...

Last year I remembered that I had some unfinished 4 track tapes lying around somewhere, and I always wanted to send them to a friend, so that he could work with them, remix them and add something new to them. He then would send them back to me, so that I could work on and send the new version of that thing back to him (or to any other musician). Of course this never happened... But the idea was there.

Then - also last year - torstn kauke sent me an email, in which he suggested to start some kind of

COLLECTIVE REMIX PLAYGROUND (my words)

on this blog: post some material that others could work with and then repost it here... and so on...

Some weeks later Brian Andrew Marek talked about the same thing and then - recently - J. C. Thorne (aka: icastico) made a comment and also supplied the raw material: the tracks that you'll find here: "Throw it out there not away", originally posted on his blog http://penmallet.blogspot.com/

So I guess, it's about time to just do it!!!
And so today I'll post the first "SEED" - the mentioned tracks by J . C. Thorne - and I ask every musician who reads this and who digs the idea to download them, add instruments, remix 'em, drive over them, eat them, sleep with them... or do anything else that he wants to do with or to them... and to send me the results - so that I can post it.
Of course you may as well start your own seed - or change the first seed in a way that noone will recognize it...

Should be funny, I guess!!!
These tracks here were recorded by the follow up to para!helion (see Midaq Alley and 3 Miles from Mecca).
The original story goes like this (as reported by J. C. Thorne):

"In the summer of 2000, after Jeff graduated and moved away from Albuquerque, Dave and I recruited our friend Jeff Gassaway to join us on bass for some late night improv sessions. (...) in the end none of the tracks manage to quite gel into cohesive units. Each have moments I like - there are plenty of interesting herky-jerky, odd time-signature grooves and Dave does some of his best trumpet work - but in the end the project really needed an additional player if it was going to work. I have kept these recordings intending to do some radical remixes and to recruit some additional players to lay overdubs on the resulting tracks. But, given that I haven't gotten around to that after almost 9 years, it seems unlikely that will ever happen. (...) there might be someone out there who could recognize the potential in these tracks and turn them into something. In that spirit, I am posting the raw tracks, flaws and all, as loop fodder for the remixologists out there that may find them useful. For listeners, I would advise dropping these into a random mix rather than treating them as an album. They work better that way.

Album: Throw it out there, not away
Style: Free improvisation - jazz meets math rock
Recorded live to 2 track DAT summer 2000.

Trumpet, effects - Dave
Bass - Jeff
Drum Kit - me = J . C. Thorne"

THE FIRST SEED ("Throw it out there, not away")
(mp3 zip, 7 tracks, 52 min, 119,6 MB, vbr)
Get it here or (in two parts) here and here!

Walt Winston/The Waltles - Song Collection (USA 2001-8)

WALT WINSTON was the leader and founder of a band called THE WALTLES (originally formed in 1981 in St. Louis, Missouri), who created an album titled "Psychedelic Folk" for which Walt Winston wrote a #1 hit song (on the Folk Charts) titled "Man of Many Faces" (which one can find among other mp3 tracks on a site called www.mp3.com).

WALT's last album is "18 Wheels Of Mayhem", released December 2008. It's about his recent experiences as a Truck Driver.

"I was born in St. Louis, Missouri in December of 1964 and wanted to be an entertainer and now after 25 years in the industry, I couldn't be happier! I formed my first band called Walt Winston & The Cigarettes, Blue Street, then it became Zenith, and then The Waltles which have since disbanded. Since then, I've enjoyed mild success with newspaper clippings, an article in the Riverfront Times Magazine in St. Louis, my hometown and my own label Walteria Records." (W. W.)

Though WALT WINSTON surely isn't ERIC CLAPTON or J. J. CALE, he manages to write and perform solid, convincing folk/folk-rock songs, sometimes a little, well... old fashioned in style, with a strong mid-60s feeling (e.g. "Truck Drivers Aren't Supposed To Cry", "Knock At My Door" - the last sounding even a little bit like 1965 THE BEATLES), sometimes a little bit more adventurous (e.g. "Softly, I Leave You", "Roanoake Island" - that could easily have been recorded for an early TIM BUCKLEY album). Also to mind comes the mid-60s New York Coffeehouse folk scene, that produced quite some excellent artists...

This music for sure isn't stoned psychedelic guitar freak-out music, but if you like good folk and folk-rock songs with heart and soul and an occasional slight psychedelic tinge, then this here will be perfect for you.

Enjoy!
My favourite tracks: "44 Blues", "Softly, I Leave You"

Here is a selection of songs by WALT WINSTON/THE WALTLES, (including "Man of Many Faces").

(Photo credits: Alex Arce: Walt Winston/The Waltles 2002, King City, CA.)

WALT WINSTON/THE WALTLES - Song Collection 2001-2008
(mp3 zip, 12 tracks, 41,1 MB, 41 min)
Get it here or here!

Creamy Water Quiz - Flojo, Loco y Enigmático (USA 2009)

CREAMY WATER QUIZ is an experimental psychedelic electronic rock duo from Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA. 

Their album "Flojo, Loco y Enigmático" is a brand new 2009 production and strongly recommended!

"Experimental, free-form, lo-fi, ambient-electro-rock 

improvisations performed by Ryan 'Delano' Davis and Adam 

'Miracle Kitty' Walker.

Recorded during and for this century. All frequencies captured and mixed on 8-track analog, then edited and mixed again digitally.

Modus Operandi - loose, crazy and enigmatic

Used - guitars, bass, drum machines, samplers, synths, effects
Not used - midi, practice, sobriety or a plan

Creamy Water Quiz cherish confusion, understand the unusual, and worship the warped. 

Combining their individual successes with everything from rock to field recordings to electronic music, this Kalamazoo, Michigan 

duo formed in the mid '90s as an experimental outlet. CWQ is an 

antidote for the planned and an escape from coherency. Utilizing 

classic synths, ancient midi-less drum machines, cheap guitars, 

even cheaper basses, samplers, and far too many effects, they 

create exploratory, ambient-electro-rock improvisations. 

With a fee-from and lo-fi approach to sound, they layer duo-jams haphazardly on 8-track. All frequencies captured and mixed on 

analog, then edited and mixed again digitally. The result is a 

moody and meandering sonic catharsis." (Band info)

I think this is a pretty good description; I find traces of THE ORB or APHEX TWIN and the other usual suspects... 

Otherwise I've got nothing more to add - except that I find myself listening again and again to this fantastic 

recording. Strongly recommended!

Enjoy!

Favourite tracks: 'CW30 (Remix)'' and 'Quizbowl 

Odyssey'

http://www.myspace.com/creamywaterquiz

CREAMY WATER QUIZ - Flojo, Loco y Enigmático

(mp3 zip, 10 tracks, @ 128 kbs, 59 MB, 63:30 min, artwork incl.)

1. Early Morning Battery Chaser

2. Greenhouse vs. Green Tornado

3. Watersheet One

4. My Name Isn't Hopper Chopper!

5. Frank Plates Phallically

6. Majestic Layers of Cream

7. Quizbowl Odyssey

8. CW3o (Remix of The Charles Whitman Trio)

9. Wannabe Carmel Cops

10. Fungart

Get it here or here.

"Flojo, Loco y Enigmático" is also available in 

"deluxe download format" (in 320 kbs mp3s for only $7.00) 

on the website Infinite Number of Sounds Recording Company

If you like the music, please support the musicians!!!

War Tapes - Dreaming of You (album version/EP version; free mp3s) (USA 2009)

WAR TAPES’ debut LP, The Continental Divide, is set to be released on May 26th! 

"Things have been going very well for War Tapes. Earlier last month two WT songs were played on Carson Daly Show five times. Four War Tapes songs (including two live performances) were also recently featured on Greek, on ABC family..." (info mail from Kara from Sarathan Records in Seattle, WA.)

Here is a remix of “Dreaming of You” that will be on the new album; recently I posted the EP version, and I decided to add it here one more time, so you can compare which one you like better. The 2 versions are slightly different, with the album version probably a little "fuller" and the EP version a little more "dry"... Enjoy!

WAR TAPES - “Dreaming of You” (remixed album version + EP version) 

(mp3 zip, 2 tracks, 9:08 min)

Get it here or here!

Buy WAR TAPES' debut album here.

Sarathan Records:
http://www.sarathan.com
http://www.myspace.com/wartapes 

Next live gigs:

May 2 2009 11:00P

DOWNTOWN 81

Downtown LA, California

May 27 2009 8:00P

CD RELEASE PARTY! 

CLUB MOSCOW - 18+ 

Hollywood, California

Re:Interpretace - live APRIL 6TH 2009 (CZCH)

This here is a short excerpt from RE:INTERPRETACE's live improvisation on April, 6th, 2009, announced earlier (see here). Richard wrote me that they had some technical problems, when they tried to record the live improvisation on HD, thus most of the session is missing...

I added the music from the 3 videos (converted into mp3s) from the last Danubian session (look here), so you have got about 25 minutes to listen to. Enjoy!

RE:INTERPRETACE - Live April 6th 2009/The Last Danubian Session (2009)

(mp3-zip, 4 tracks, 25:15 min, 21,7 MB)
Links are dead - re-up only by request.

J. G. (James Graham) Ballard (R.I.P.)

James Graham Ballard (15 November 1930 – 19 April 2009) 

was a British novelist and short story writer who was a prominent part of the New Wave in science fiction in the mid- to late-1960s and whose work frequently focused on dystopian themes. His best known books are the controversial novel Crash, an exploration of sexual fetishism connected to automobile accidents, and the semi-autobiographical novel Empire of the Sun, about his childhood internment by the Japanese during World War II after the invasion and conquest of Shanghai, where Ballard was born in the International Settlement. Both books were adapted into films, by David Cronenberg and Stephen Spielberg respectively. (source: Wikipedia)

Sky Picnic - Synesthesia (EP) (USA 2008)

Chris Sherman of SKY PICNIC from New York City sent me a mail and asked me to feature their debut EP "Synesthesia" on homemade-lofi-psych. And I'm glad he did, because "Synesthesia" is a marvelous debut!

When I started this blog, I thought I would get to hear lots of Sixties inspired garage/psychedelic rock/neo psych/paisly underground music - the kind of psychedelic music I love the most -, but in fact there were only a few bands/musicians that played that kind of stuff (first to mention: CLOUD NINE & THE VITAMIN C, ANYONE'S DREAMCOLOUR, RANCHO RELAXO, BILL ROGERS and some of BRIAN ANDREW MAREK's music - of course that doesn't mean, that I don't like the music I post here that is of a slightly different character... more experimental, more grunchy, ambient or dub style or whatever - very often I find myself surprised by the high quality and originality of the music - and I have to say that is really great!!! But nevertheless 60s inspired psych rock is and was my first love...). Luckily for the more 'old-fashioned' psych lover there now is another new band that explores those Sixties inspired psych rock spheres: SKY PICNIC! They are: Chris Sherman- guitar/vocals, Leah Cinnamon- bass/vocals, Pete Meriwether- drums/percussion and they play “abstract and intellectually driven psychedelia”...
"With a love of music, a penchant for exploration, and punctuated by elaborate and intense live performances, Sky Picnic bridges the gap between experimental and straight-forward music. Laden with creative songwriting, solid musicianship and a vintage, yet modernized feel, each Sky Picnic performance stands out as a one-of-a-kind musical trip that blurs the lines between music and art, with experimental instrumental breaks full of feedback, echoes and endless exploratory possibilities. The flight plan is laid out from the start on Sky Picnic’s debut EP “Synesthesia,” beginning with the ethereal drone of sitar in the opening notes of their ode to perpetual sleepiness, moving on to the menacing sounds transporting you to the outer fringes of the universe and finishing with a multi-part epic closer, “Synesthesia” takes you on a philosophical, artistic journey through space that you won't soon forget. Coupled with the aforementioned live performances, searing echo-drenched guitar solos, and pulsing fuzz bass, Sky Picnic re-creates the unique psychedelic experience that has been absent since the era of "Sgt. Pepper," and "Piper at the Gates of Dawn."- So check out Sky Picnic, give them a listen- who knows, it may just expand your mind." (band info)

Indeed "Synesthesia" has got everything any serious psych head wants. And any band that sometimes plays "Astronomy Dominé" as an encore for sure deserves our attention...Favourite Track: pretty hard to deceide, probably "Moons of Jupiter" - there isn't any bad track on that thing!
Enjoy! - Strongly recommended!!!

IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE SUPPORT THE ARTISTS AND BUY THE ORIGINAL CD (order at the website below or buy here: http://www.independisc.com/skypicnic.htm)!

Next NYC live dates:
05, 12, 19, 26 May 2009
Otto's Shrunken Head
538 E 14th St., New York, NY 10009
9:30 PM - FREE!!

http://www.skypicnicmusic.com
Wonderful web site - go and check out the fantastic free mp3 "For Miss Central London" from the Psychedelic Picnic in the Sky, Volume I, here!
http://www.myspace.com/skypicnic

SKY PICNIC - Synesthesia (EP) (USA 2008)
(mp3 zip, 5 tracks, 33 min, 78,1 MB, artwork incl.)
1. Tea Break
2. Half the Queen's Face
3. Moons of Jupiter
4. the Wise Man Lost His Head
5. Sequence IV
(I. Astral Projections)
(II. Magic Spells)
(III. Star Chamber)
(IV. Interlude, or the Event Horizon)
(V. Renaissance)
(VI. Mouth of the Vortex) 

Get it here. Re-up 04/2024

Charlotte & Magon - Love Happening (excerpt: some promo mp3s) (FR + ISRAEL 2008)

Love Happening - The story of Charlotte & Magon

"Charlotte (France) and Magon (Israel), met in 2006. At the end of 2007, after Magon reached a nice success in his country with his first auto produced EP, he invited Charlotte to create, without any doubts, an "authentically and marvelous" pop album in 12 days, in his parents house. Charlotte, curious and instinctive, took a flight and met Magon in March 2008 in Ben Gurion Airport.
They composed 9 songs and felt deeply in love. Their love became the core of their songs and brought to their music a timeless universality. They called their album "Love Happening" because that is what happened and still is. (...) The sweet and catchy melodies sung with passion and game, the energetic rhythmic section, the groovy guitars and bass, the lyrical pianos and the psychedelic synths create an intelligent pop assuming it believes in love and playing with it's naivety...." (promo info text)

Alexis Dew, the manager of Charlotte & Magon, sent me a mail and asked me to review this album. Since "Love Happening" is a relatively new album release (and available on iTunes/emusic/amazon....) we decided to only choose some tracks as a kind of appetizer for the album. If you like what you hear, PLEASE SUPPORT THE ARTISTS AND BUY THEIR ALBUM...

When I read the info text I have to admit I was very sceptical at first, to say the least... I mean: a boy-meets-girl-story, they make music together and fall in love... c'mon, man, don't give me that crap... Kitschy romanticism used to sell records, how new is that to you? - hello, Mr. Gainsbourg, hello Mrs. Birkin...
But I have to say: I was wrong! This really is a great record! It's very well produced, the compositions and the arrangements are excellent, and Charlotte's voice is really quite impressive, haunting, sometimes reminding of a young KATE BUSH or ALISON GOLDFRAPP. Ok, there is some soulful 'love whispering' on one or two tracks, that I could live without, but on the other hand it's not that bad - in fact it doesn't harm the music, as it could have done, if it was recorded by less talented musicians...

I wouldn't go as far as calling "Love Happening" a psychedelic pop masterpiece, but then: which record is?, and "Love Happening"... well, ... it comes quite close to that...

http://www.myspace.com/charlottemagon

http://charlottemagon.com/

CHARLOTTE & MAGON - Love Happening (excerpt)
(mp3 zip, 3 tracks, 11 min, 21,3 MB,@320kbps)
Get it here or here!