The Sand Pebbles - “Pleasure Maps” (2017) review

The Sand Pebbles - Pleasure Maps (Kasumuen Records, 2017)

This is a 5 Star Vinyl Worthy body of music ...

Pleasure Maps by The Sand Pebbles, their first release in nearly six years floats in on the most beautiful blue vinyl, and if you live outside of Australia, a rather pricey adventure to say the least.

“Rock St. Trop” - Lenny Helsing in conversation with Wally Waller of The Pretty Things

Lenny Helsing talks to The Pretty Things’ Wally Waller about the exciting remastering project that now gives us a brand new restorative re-release of the album “Rock St. Trop – Philippe Debarge with The Pretty Things” out now on Madfish/Snapper on both LP/CD formats.

With their truly magnificent S.F. Sorrow LP complete – yet still languishing in record racks – and the groundbreaking Parachute opus yet to be dreamed up; and with founder / lead guitarist Dick Taylor choosing to have a sabbatical from the group, the summer of 1969 looked a little dour for the Pretty Things. But that didn’t stop vocalist Phil May and bassist Wally Waller from creating an endless vat of songs within their infamous Westbourne Terrace digs. Furthermore, a new experimental idea brought to them by well-heeled French fan Philippe Debarge had just been agreed upon; a project that would involve Debarge taking on the role of lead vocalist, with the Pretty Things providing all the songwriting and musical backing – all other vocal duties would also be carried out by the group’s strong vocal arsenal: Phil May, Wally Waller, keyboards player and percussionist Jon Povey and the group’s new guitar maestro Vic Unitt – on loan from fellow underground freaks the Edgar Broughton Band.

Jefre Cantu-Ledesma - “On The Echoing Green” (2017) review

Jefre Cantu-Ledesma - On The Echoing Green (Mexican Summer, 2017)

https://shiningskullstudio.bandcamp.com/album/on-the-echoing-green

On The Echoing Green is a definitive change of heart for prolific ambient and noise artist Jefre Cantu-Ledesma. Released this summer, the album is ripe with a warm haze that beguiles and transfixes. The journey is gentle yet visceral, tenebrous yet astral. Swimming in and out of hard-edged loops and syrupy walls of sound, we float down into our seats. The bus has left the station. We are already on our way.

Los Marbles - “A Million Pieces Of Mind” premiere

Hiya, here’s some new recordings by Los Marbles. 

This first studio recording is three songs and we’re currently looking to see if some like minded soul would be interested in pressing it up on vinyl together with us.

Musically it’s a mix of all stuff we love, with no limitations. The pop sensibilities are here in form of melodies and arrangements and at the same time it’s a free form soundtrack to the movie we live - or would like to live - in. Our influences are everything and nothing.

Philosophical questions about the constructionist reality of past present and future and how to maybe change things for the better by altering how we see and describe it are there - but there’s also hedonism, freedom to choose how to live your life and of course the eternal call to just let go of your ego and come on and dance! 

Music may even be a wormhole to other dimensions and maybe magic will seep into the world through it!

The band:

Måns P Månsson - Guitar, vocals, fx 

Indy Neidell - Keyboards, vocals, fx

Tobias Resch - Bass

Jim Halvarsson - Drums

Jeremy Morris - “Invitation” (2017) review

Jeremy - Invitation (JAM Recordings, 2017)

Comprised of material recorded between 1975 and 1979, Invitation not only features Jeremy Morris’s freshman recordings, but the disc also marks the first time any of these pieces have been issued. Several years after these home tapes were laid down, Jeremy formed his own label - JAM Recordings - and since then, he has cut one album after another, which continually garner high-fives all over the world. Aside from being an ace singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, the Portage, Michigan artist plays and excels at a variety of genres, encompassing radio-ready pop rock, psychedelic rock, progressive rock, instrumental rock and spiritual rock. 

JUJU - “Our Mother Was A Plant” album premiere

JuJu is the brainchild of Sicilian multi-instrumentalist Gioele Valenti (Lay Llamas, Herself). Following on from the project’s 2016 S/T debut – widely hailed as one of the best, most innovative psych albums of the year – Valenti has signed to Fuzz Club for the release of sophomore LP Our Mother Was A Plant. Carrying on in its predecessor’s footsteps, the new LP is a continuation of JuJu’s ritualistic sonic exploration into the cultural implications of the ongoing refugee crisis and humanities increasingly strained relationship with Mother Earth. 

Our Mother Was A Plant Pre-order: 

https://fuzzclub.com/products/juju-our-mother-was-a-plant

Glass Sun interview with Rick Roll

One of the most out of sight singles was recorded by the Glass Sun. “Silence Of The Morning” is now considered garage-fuzz classic. The band recently released a wonderful book about their time.

Sir Robin & The Longbowmen interview

© Merzi Merzdorf

An interview with members of Sir Robin & The Longbowmen. We talked about their latest album, upcoming tour and even upcoming album.

https://sirrobinandthelongbowmen.bandcamp.com/

Who’s in Sir Robin & The Longbowmen and what do you all play? Have you all made any changes to the lineup since you started or is this the original lineup?

Right now we are six people on stage: Konrad Reichel (vocals/percussion), Stefan Hühn (guitar/sitar/vocals), Friedrich Griese (guitar), Manuel Puschmann (organ/synthesizer/vocals), Robin Heller (drums/vocals) and Felix Franzke (Bass). Only Manuel and Robin are playing in the band since it started, we had a pretty intense change of members over the course of the years. The first album for example was recorded with D.A. Humphrey (former member of The Blank Tapes) and Martin Uslaub (guitar) and Felix Raskiewicz (bass) as well as Thomas Jahn (synthesizer).

Frank Sabbath - “Are You Waiting ?” album premiere

With their third album Are You Waiting ? the French psychedelic jokesters Frank Sabbath present a concentrate of their composition style in four songs, ranging from high energy psychedelic rock, to progressive doom-laden melodies, and trippy atmospheric soundscapes.

The first track off the album, “Sasume,” album premiere is a japanese infused psychedelic tune, reminding the seemingly forgotten times where humor did belong in rock music.

Are You Waiting ? will be released on CD and digital format by the new associative label Bermuda Cruise, which is focusing on psychedelic, experimental and improvised music. The date of release for the album is set to October 2nd.

https://www.facebook.com/franksabbath.band/

https://franksabbath.bandcamp.com/

Remembering Jimi Hendrix (November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970)

In four years he built a world

Between Venus and Neptune

Planets of love and the sea

Stoned from the sun

Lighting its pastel colors

The lightning comes at midnight

Again in late November

And the road is revealed

Some dare to walk

Though many follow in his

Footsteps, none have filled his shoes.

(in remembrance of September 18, 1970)

By Kevin F. Wozniak

Larry Conklin & Jochen Blum - “Jackdaw” (1980) premiere

Larry Conklin bought his first guitar, a Gibson J-45, in 1970, after he got out of the army. “I taught myself to play. I wrote songs and instrumentals (at that time Bert Jansch was my guiding light). I listened to a lot of people - Leo Kottke, John Renbourn, Django Reinhardt, Lonnie Johnson, Robert Johnson - and especially Rev. Gary Davis, who played only with his thumb and index finger as I did.”

Larry's first record, Jackdaw was self-released in 1980 and includes beautiful solo 12 string acoustic guitar tracks, as well as gentle acoustic duets with violinist, Jochen Blum. Larry met Jochen in Florence, Italy, in 1980 and commented that “his violin playing put excitement into my music. It was special. I pressed 300 copies and sent them out into the world.”