Monarch interview

El Paraiso Records has a talent of finding incredible bands. One of their latest releases is Two Isles by San Diego outfit Monarch. There are lot’s of great bands in south side of beautiful California; Earthless, Joy, Brian Ellis Group, Astra and they are all making wonderful releases. Monarch adds a special warmth to the scenery.

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

Monarch is Dominic Denholm on guitar and vocals, Thomas DiBenedetto and Nate Burns on guitar, Matt Weiss on bass, and Andrew Ware on drums. We’re all part of the original lineup. We had a few jam sessions before we properly formed, but we only really had one song at the time, and by our first show we were the same bunch of turkeys we are today. Every once in a while we’ll play a show of cover tunes if a member is out of town, but it just never feels the same without everyone here, and it wouldn’t be nice to promise our fans the full experience without everyone.

Chuck Prophet - Bobby Fuller Died for Your Sins (2017) review

[laughing] Straight from the get-go, I’m sitting here looking at the album cover wondering if this is a good picture “of” Chuck Prophet, or a good picture “for” Chuck Prophet … either way, it slapped a mile wide smile across my face, as did the album.

If you’ve never seen Chuck and his band live, you should, because he splinters the floorboards at small venues all across this country, rocking you back like it matters … and believe me, it does. Chuck is from a bygone era, not that he’s old fashioned, it’s just that he makes music for records, where the physical pleasure of holding something in your hand is still the be-all and end-all for those of us still spin those large pieces of plastic, and scan liner notes that we can actually read. But you didn’t come here for a musical history lesson, so let me take you where you need to be.

From The Vault: Blair 1523 - Beautiful Debris (1993)

Blair 1523 - Beautiful Debris (Voxx, 1993)

Referencing their name from the San Antonio garage psych band The Outcasts (they were invited to appear in Houston, Texas with The Beatles, but turned down the opportunity), who had two brilliant hits smack dab in the middle of the 60’s “I’m In Pittsburg (And It’s Raining), along with “1523 Blair,” sent a sampler to Pete Kember, late of Spaceman 3, though by the time he could get in touch with the band found that they’d broken up. Nevertheless a compilation of sorts was compiled of these tapes.

E GONE interview with Daniel Westerlund

©Thorbjörn Skoglund 2017

Daniel Westerlund is a master of fusing different styles of music. The result is absolutely incredible release of his E GONE. Read our interview below.

Let’s start the interview with a quote from your website: “There are two kinds of philosophy; the first examines the world from the viewpoint of the traveler, the second from a resting point in a certain locality. E GONE belongs to the latter.” What is the concept behind E GONE?

The original intent was that of self discovery via music. A philosophy that examines the world “from a resting point in a certain locality” - that’s just a fancy way of saying “bloom where you are planted.” Without getting too personal I can say that for me the E GONE belongs to the latter”- part is an imperative call to myself. It is along the lines of “look around you, what do you see?”- type of self-questioning.

Cheval Sombre - If It's You / Give Me Something (2016) review

Cheval Sombre - If It's You / Give Me Something (Static Caravan Records, 2016)

Listening to Cheval Sombre is like embracing a hazy emotional transcendent ghost, one that comes to visit just when you need it most … unexpectedly, uninvited, yet welcome to linger for as long as it’s willing to stay.

The Asteroid No.4 - Time Bomb b​/​w Broken Moon (2017) review

The Asteroid No.4 - Time Bomb b​/​w Broken Moon (13 O'Clock Records)

    Hendrix managed it. The Airplane (at their best) got it down. In more modern times, the likes of Thee Oh Sees and Hookworms have brought a squeegee to many a rock fan’s third eye. 

    Now, we have The Asteroid No.4 to carry the psychedelic torch. And they carry it high. 

    Psychedelic rock is not synonymous with mellow. Which is a damned shame as many a supposedly “far out” band appear to spend a lot of time wallowing in the dregs of Woodstock’s mud.

Real Estate - In Mind (2017) review

Real Estate - In Mind (Domino Records, 2017)

Real Estate has been around just long enough, along with a following that is just intense enough, to make their new album In Mind, one of the most anticipated albums of the year. With that in mind, I’d like to assure you that most people will not be disappointed … though I for one refuse to use that subjective descriptor so many reviewers seem locked into using, “more mature,” as it says nothing and means even less, especially with all that’s happened to the band as of late.

From The Vault: The Darkside - All That Noise (1990)

No matter how well you think you’re prepared, there are some things in life that you’re not ready for when they come knocking at your door. I wasn’t even ready for the blinding cover art of All That Noise, yet alone for the far flung hazy musical intoxication that shifted my life into hyperdrive, that jettisoned me beyond the third ring of Saturn and fogged my space mask with multi coloured crystalline dimensional mist … with each breath, causing me to feel that I was having one of those acid flashbacks I’ve been waiting for since the 1960’s.

It’s Psychedelic Baby presents: The Underground Youth - ‘What Kind Of Dystopian Hellhole Is This?’ album premiere

What Kind Of Dystopian Hellhole Is This? is the 8th LP from Berlin-via-Manchester based outfit The Underground Youth and it’s arguably their most accomplished yet. Their latest effort will be released by Fuzz Club on February 15th 2017. Perhaps what is most exceptional about The Underground Youth is their ability to create a brooding melting pot of psychedelia, post-punk, Berlin chillwave, goth and shoegaze but delivered with a dreamy pop sensibility. TUY's blend of dark psychedelic post-punk music has developed a worldwide loyal fan base that continues to grow.

Steven Warwick

“I’m optimistic”

With Nadir, Steven Warwick made a short, personal and deliberately unfinished album.

I often have the impression that your music is as much about music than it is ‘real music’, meaning: your music makes me question what ‘dance’ means these days, or what ‘a song’ still means these days. It makes me wander about which role music plays in our culture right now. This way, I see your work more in the line of artists like Felix Kubin, Leyland Kirby, Goodiepall or James Ferrraro than in the line of ‘real dance producers’ or ‘real songwriters’. So to come to my question: what you you think about this? Does this make sense to you? 

I don’t really want to follow what I see as a false binary narrative between real and .... what do you mean: fake? Or even worse: smart? If you mean: people/producers who play with forms etc, I think enough club music I hear right now which I would happily align myself with would fuck with things just by default, without having to be presented as something like ‘experimental’ or ‘intelligent’. Neither of those terms seem relevant nor interest me.

Diminished Men at Fred Wildlife Refuge in Seattle January 26th

© Jack Gold-Molina

Diminished Men have been playing psychedelic music for more than 10 years, and have the albums to prove it. While they were formed in the Seattle area, they have toured Europe and the U.S. – drummer Dave Abramson particularly extensively with psych juggernaut Master Musicians of Bukkake. Their recent performance in Seattle at the Fred Wildlife Refuge venue demonstrated that with this band, no two shows are ever the same.

From The Vault: Spacemen 3 - Recurring (1991)

I was alone in the dark, hazy blue smoke filled the small ten watt radio station the night this album found its way into the studio. To the glow of the red and green lights of the console board I made a sincere attempt to read the liner notes, failed, and dropped the disc into the tray. At 11:35 a musical adventure took control of not only my head but of those out there in the night, riding the waves of the radio ... together we listened to the disembodied voices and guitar driven electronics that were washing in from another side of the universe.

Trip Hill - Takes From Oblivion (2000) review

Trip Hill - Takes From Oblivion (Psych-Out, 2000)

Trip Hill opens the first track of “Takes From Oblivion” sounding for all the world like Sonic Boom [late of Spacemen 3], delivering a comprehensive guitar driven bit of wanderlust that draws the listener in with rapture and delight … though in this case I don’t think that he’s so much playing in the style of, but rather setting an atmospheric stage from which he can branch out both lyrically and instrumentally. The second number “The Choice”, is a choice bit of garage psych that’s laced with all the right hooks and momentum to carry you forward into an adventure that began so long ago that I care not to consider the years that have swept by me.

Lamagia - Lamagia (2017) review

Lamagia - Lamagia (LP on Cardinal Fuzz/Sunrise Ocean Bender, 2017)

Listen: https://lamagaia-sob.bandcamp.com/album/lamagaia

Sophomore full length from Sweden psychsters features 35 minutes of brain-crushing, throbbing deliciousness split across two sidelong tracks. ‘Aurora’ pummels forth like that proverbial train that kept a-rollin’ down the line, awash with fuzz-frying, dive-bombing guitar, stutter-stepping drums, and head-throbbing basslines. The metallic crunch kicks off right out of the starting gate and doesn’t let go of your throat for nearly 17 heart attack-inducing minutes. Doomladen vocals are so distorted you’d need a secret decoder ring to understand the lyrics, but the swing’s the thing and you can shout just about anything you want along to the eternal, buzzing throb.

Steve Gunn - Eyes on the Lines (2016) review

Steve Gunn - Eyes on the Lines (Metador Records, 2016)

Steve Gunn doesn’t take many chances, and as much as I enjoy his lazy harmonic psychedelic meanderings, I’m beginning to wonder just how much more of Gunn’s music I’m ever gonna need … or perhaps at this stage, I should construct one of my infamous compilations, selecting the cream of his material, and let the rest drift off toward the setting sun.

The Murlocs interview with Ambrose Kenny-Smith

© Jamie Wdziekonski

The Murlocs formed a few years ago in coastal town of Ocean Groove, Australia. They released two albums, both of them are in category of perfect sunny laid back garage rock, reflecting lazy sunset’s of their coastal town. Currently working on their new album. Two members (Ambrose Kenny-Smith and Cook Craig) are also active members in King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. Gizzard is releasing albums like mad, already working on their ninth album, Flying Microtonal Banana.

The Psilocybin Mushroom Bible by Dr. K Mandrake (2016) review

Mushrooms are grown on a substrate material thus they don’t need light to grow. This procedure requires sterility so that the fungus can grow. The cultivation of mushrooms could be quite intricate however; The Psilocybin Mushroom Bible provides an in-depth insight into every phase of the growing process. It adopts a comprehensive approach to the cultivation of the psychedelic mushrooms and goes even further to offer an overview of the makeup of mushrooms, the requirements needed for the cultivation of cannabis as well as on how to introduce psychedelic mushrooms into garden. The book is saturated with pictures and illustrations that would enhance learning and understanding of the entire process.

Gioele Valenti of Herself and JuJu

Gioele Valenti is a man behind JuJu, his latest project that was issued on Sunrise Ocean Bender. He’s well established underground artist from Italy. JuJu is one of the many projects he’s been part of during the years including Rebekah Spleen, Lay Llamas and Herself, the latter being an incredible well produced folk rock. Valenti’s drawing influences from a broad spectrum of worldly sounds.

https://herself1.bandcamp.com/music

You’re very busy working on a few different music projects. Would you tell us a few words about your background, who you are and how did you first got interested in music?

I’m a writer, I think I have no better definition about who I am. I began to write short stories at the age of 14. In the same period I was into early 70’s music and late ‘80, stuff like Kiss, Velvet Underground, Joy Division. I colonised all the vinyl collection of my older brother. I passed so much time listening and being astonished and mesmerised by tunes and lyrics in my room. Music possesses me, literally. I started my first band at the age of 17. We played extreme metal, then punk, then hardcore, Misfits, DRI, Hard-Ons. After that, I began to love folk music, Nick Drake, The Waterboys, Phil Ochs (it was the period in which I started my folk project Herself), New Wave, then all Shoegaze scene, The Loop, The Telescopes, Jesus And Mary Chain, Barbie Bones, The Seers. Better I stop here, I’m an authentic maniac!

The Vacant Lots - Berlin EP (2016) review

The Vacant Lots - Berlin EP (2016)

https://thevacantlots.bandcamp.com/album/berlin-ep

The Vacant Lots made a bold move by titling this shimmering EP Berlin, a city that has come to stand and embrace so much as of late, delivering a dynamic bit of psychedelic shoegazing wanderlust that’s laced with hypnotic hooks, guitar riffs, and lyrical vibes that seem to be beamed in from another side of the universe.