Arkivet

We’re so glad to have Lance Barresi of Permanent Records joining the show again. Last time we spoke was more than a year ago and a lot has happen since. In this episode we focus on the newly released “Sixth Trip” of the Brown Acid Compilation Series and we listen to five tracks from this volume. Lance also gives us a first listen to a track for the “Seventh Trip”, which will be out on Halloween this year. We also listen to Spiny Norman - a band featured on the second Brown Acid volume but which a full length album of unreleased material was released by RidingEasy Records earlier this year. Besides that we also discuss record collecting in general and the future of vinyl. 

Truth & Janey (Sound Communications, 1972) -Midnight Horseman West Minist’r (Magic Records, 1971) -My Life Flight (Blecman Records, 1974) -Luvin’, Huggin’, and More Purgatory (Not on Label, 1970) -Polar Expedition Zendik (Pslhrtz, 1970) -Is There No Peace Summit (North Room Records, 1969) -The Darkness Spiny Normen (RidingEasy Record, 2018) -Bell Park Loon

This episode doesn’t follow a particular theme but instead focus around some recently acquired 45s. Although the theme is not clear it turned out to be a pretty heavy episode with some hard rock-sounding tunes, like Babylon, Rebel Woman and Lovin’ You (which was recently included on the Brown Acid compilation series). Other highlights includes a nice version of The United States of America’s Coming Down, done by an unknown band, which only known recording is an acetate we recently came across.  Special for this episode is that we also had the pleasure to interview Sid Bradley from the band Erik, who shed some light on this little-known group for us, which cut two great 45s in the early 70s. For this episode we have also talked to Charlie Day, who played in Conception, and John Lally from Travis, and they revealed some interesting facts about their groups and the recordings they made. We also wish to thank Lance Barresi from Permanent Records, who helped us get in contact with John Lally.

Travis (Starshine Production, 1970) -Lovin’ You Micah (Sterling Award, 1971) -I’m Only One Man Erik -Child of the Sea (Coliseum, 1971)  -Rebel Woman (Eden, 1972) Unknown Artist – Coming Down (acetate by an unknown band, 196?) The Group Image (Community, 1968) -Hiya Conception (Perfection, 1969) -Babylon Frank Monroe (Eternity, 1977) -Looking Back at You Home Grown (Westmount Records, 1976) -Here in the West

Reine Fiske is well-known as a musician in various bands and musical constellations, most notable as the guitarist of Dungen, Träden and The Amazing. Besides his own musicianship, Reine has long been a devoted record collector with an impressive collection of experimental, psychedelic and progressive music. In this episode, he plays some incredible rare and extraordinary records for us, such as Christian Yoga Church, one of finest psychedelic commune recordings ever made, as well as an acetate copy of Mandrake Memorial’s Medium with a different mix on several of the songs. Reine has also been involved in several reissue projects, including the 3 LP box-set of Pärson Sound, the band that later evolved into Träd, gräs och stenar. Here we listen to their composition Tio Minuter (Ten Minutes), which was originally recorded for Swedish radio in 1967. We also listen to the “dark and epic” music of Jake Holmes and Radiomöbel as well as some fine Turkish psychedelic folk by Ersen. With that said, we hope you’ll enjoy this show as much as we do!

Ersen (Şahinler, 1972) -Kozan Dağı Jake Holmes – Letter To Katherine December (Tower, 1968) -Leaves Never Break Christian Yoga Church – Turn On!! Music For the Hip At Heart (Memorare, 1967) -Excerpt from side 1 Mandrake Memorial-Medium (Poppy, 1968, acetate copy) -Smokescreen (with a different mix) Radiomöbel – Tramseböx (Chockskivor, 1975) -Hav Pärson Sound – s/t (Subliminal Sounds, 2001) -Tio Minuter

The concept album format really started to evolve during the psychedelic era of the late ‘60s, and reached its height in the progressive scene of the early ‘70s, where the album became the main artistic expression. Here, we highlight some unusual concept and context-based albums, with some concept ideas being stranger than others. We hope you find the selection interesting and that you seek out some of these albums to listen to them as a whole (to fully grasp the meaning of the concept!).

A New Place To Live-s/t (Mandala, 1972) -The Moon Tune Mandrake Memorial-Puzzle (Poppy, 1970) -Earthfriend Dr Z-Three Parts To My Soul (Spiritus, Manes et Umbra) (Vertigo, 1971) -Evil Woman’s Manly Child Dreamies-Auralgraphic Entertainment (Stone Theater. 1974) -Excerpt from Program Ten Robert Callender-Le Musée de L'Impressionnisme (Phillips, 1975) - Henri De Toulouse-Lautrec Jimmie Haskell-California ’99 (ABC, 1971) -Jessica Stone

We’re continuing our series of episodes of cheap quality records. In this episode, we’re mainly focusing on psych 45s but we also included a few full length LPs, which all coast around $10 and are easy to find. As usual, the bulk of the artists are from the US but we also mix it up with some affordable Italian prog and Swedish progg. We hope that some of these record are new to you and something that you look for next time you're out digging.

Scorpion (American Recording Company, 1973) -I’m Only Human The Tow-Away Zone (Epic, 1968) -Shabd* Dennis Stoner-s/t (Vantage, 1971) -Lost Along the Highway Dalton, James and Sutton (RCA, 1972) -Esatoria Tritons (Barclay, 1973) -Drifter Thomas Wiehe-Drömskugga (Silence, 1974) -Raga vid de relativas nollpunkt Jordan (Golden Chariot, 1974) -Do You Know What It’s Like

*We're discussing the meaning of the word "Shabd" during the episode but without reaching a conclusion. After a quick google we realized that "Shabd" means "word" or "sound" in Hindi.

For this episode we’ve put together a selection of lesser-known or possibly unknown (?) records. It’s a strange mix of strange music with all possible genres, including real people, lounge-psych, dreamy psych-pop, breezy soft-rock, folk and hard rock.

Dr. Fuzz (Flippist, 1977) -I’ll Be There at the End of the World Randy DeMoss and the Space City Group (Planet Records, ?) -An Angel Blessed Luellen Reese-s/t (Musican’s Co-op International, 1981) -Silvery Waterfall Duke (Joy Records, 1975) -Runaway Girl Charlie Bleak (Main One Records, 1973) -Never You Mind The Weirz-s/t (Parallel Records and Tapes, 1979) -Hard Luck Story

In this episode, we celebrate the guitar and highlight some of our favorite guitarists. It’s not only through epic guitar solos and technical skill that make you a great guitarist, instead it’s about creating a mood and a feeling through your instrument. The guitarists featured in this episode have that skill and they really can pull some spellbinding guitar wizard tricks out of their hats.  

John Berberian and the Rock East Ensemble – Middle-Eastern Rock (Verve Forecast, 1968) -The Oud and the Fuzz Myke Jackson – Alone (Yi-Yi Records, 1975) -In Search of a Home David Chalmers – Primevil Road (Same Old Label, 1976) -Houston Jeffery Liberman – s/t (Librah, 1976) -Phenaphen #3 Steve Tibbetts – s/t (Frammis, 1977) -The Secret Bernie Schwartz –The Wheel (Coburt, 1970) -Sunshine Woman

Summer is here (and is almost over in Sweden) so we put together a special episode with some favorite summer tunes. The selection in today’s show is not only sunshine pop and breezy vibes but instead we cover a broad range of styles, including heavy Swedish progg, real people, private press psych, downer folk and only one sunshine pop track. A perfect mix for lazy days at the beach.

Stone Harbour - Emerges (Stone Harbour, 1974)

- Summer Magic Is Gone

Michael Farneti - Good Morning Kisses (Full Moon, 1976)

- Nineteenth Summer

Dagens Rätt - Sommarregn (IMAS Records, 1972)

- Jag ville, jag vore

Jeff Eubank - A Street Called Straight (Dorothea Records, 1983)

- Summersong

Mecki Mark Men - Running In the Summer Night (Limelight, 1969)

- Running In the Summer Night

Mark Eric - A Midsummer’s Day Dream (Revue, 1969)

- Where Did the Girls of the Summer Go

Hard Meat - Through a Window (Warner Bros, 1970)

-A Song of Summer

This is an interview with the Canadian singer-songwriter Michal Hasek, who did several privately pressed albums and performed all over Canada and the US during the ‘70s and ‘80s. In this interview, he share some of the stories from his time as a traveling musician, including hanging out with Alan Watts at the Ottumwa Heights Catholic College and being kicked off stage by Janis Joplin.

Michal was born in Czechoslovakia in 1946. Not long after, his family fled from the Soviet Union and after a few years living in various countries they eventually settled down in Canada. As a teenager in Toronto in the ´60s, he found himself in the midst of the current folk boom and he soon become part of the community of aspiring musicians hanging out in the hip neighborhood of Yorkville. He started playing coffeehouses and bars all over Canada as well as doing several tours in the Midwest. In 1974 his first album was released on his own imprint, Naja, which received some airplay and was later distributed by A&M (check out Acid Archives for a review of the album). He continued to play throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s and privately released two more albums, The Radio Play in 1978 and Night Fear in 1989.

We wish to thank Aaron Dunn for helping us get in contact with Michal, David Brown for kind permission to use some of his photos and Nathan Wisnicki for helping out with the recording.

Michal Hasek - s/t (1974)

-Naja (intro tune)

-Strange Man

-Kick'N The Ass - Amchitka          

Alan Watts - This Is It (1962)

-Love You

Michal Hasek with Sundog - The Radio Play (1978)

-The Radio Play

Michal Hasek - Night Fear (1989)

-Night Fear (second version)

Michal Hasek

-Northern Lights (bonus material to the CD version of his debut, recorded in the early ‘70s)

Michal Hasek - Hasek (compilation)

-Nottawasaga (recorded in the early ‘70s)

We’ve put together a new mix of mind-manifesting music, including some singer-songwriter tunes, communal folk, hippie idealism and plenty of hand drums.

Thrower, Spillane and McFarland – Crow (Ranger, 1973)

F.B. Worster – Autumn’s Child (MPI, 1974)

Turid –Stjärnor och Änglar (Silence, 1975)

Cymbeline – Sixth Image (Green Light, 1971)

Bob McBride – 90 Degrees on the Moon (Capitol, 1973)

Peter Kelley – I Been Told (Sire, 1971)

Ptarmigan – Go Dancing (Columbia, 1974)

Lila – Beneath The Sky (Lila, 1978)

Shawi – Un Air De Printemps (Intervalle, 1981)

Om Shanti – We Are Home (Solace, 1977)

Kevin Vicalvi – Another Day, Another Time (Starizon Studio, 1974)

Kold Duc – Evil Woman (Vat, 197?)

John Braheny – Don't Cry For Me (Pete, 1968)

Rex Holman – Debbie (Pentagram, 1970)

Jerry Merrick – Please Clear the Air (Mercury, 1969)

John Berberian – The Fuzz (Excerpt) (Verve Forecast, 1969)

Our friend Rodney Pate sits in with us on this episode to talk about Michigan area bands from the ‘60s and ‘70s. Rod is a DJ and collector from Ann Arbor Michigan, and has been focusing on collecting local private press records. He also has his own radio show, Right On Radio at the long running freeform radio station WCBN based at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he plays an all-analog show of obscure psychedelia and conducts interviews with artists from the area. For this episode, Rod has selected some of the lesser-known bands he has encountered over the years and it’s going to be a varied show - ranging from heavy psych and garage to real people music and folk.

Beau Biens (Malibu, 1967)

-Time Passed

Glass Sun Band (Sound Patterns, 1972)

-Silence In the Morning

Jef Fisk & Tom Shader-For Sam (Bird Productions, 1976)

-Larvae

Bob Boden-Rick Hamming (Silver Circle, 1978)

-Home Wrecker

Rick and J.B.-Wake Up and Smell the Coffee… (DGA, 1977)

-(You Keep Me) Satisfied

Pat’s People-Silver Rain Afar (197?)

-December Sequel

Peter Stark-Mushroom Country (Montage, 1976)

-Many Times

Stoney and the Jagged Edge-Chasing Rainbows (Big Beat, 1968/2014)

-Rainbows

Bob Cameron-Home-Style Stone Soup comp. (Sweetwax, 1974)

-Four in the Morning

In this episode Viktor take a stand for the cheap record and have picked out some affordable but still great singer-songwriter and folk albums for the show. In this age of high-bidding eBay auctions, record flippers and monster rarities everywhere it is easy to forget the vast amount of cheap quality music that is still around and easy to find. So in this episode we try to remember that great music doesn’t have to come with a big price tag.

Cheap vinyl – for your health!

Jerry Merrick - Follow Follow Follow (Mercury, 1969)  -Sweet Baby  Tommy James - s/t (Roulette, 1970) -Meet the Comer Two Friends-s/t (Natural Resources, 1972) -Long Way Hard Road Jeffrey Cain - Whispering Thunder (Racoon, 1972) -Soul Train John Martyn- Inside Out (Island, 1973) -Fine Lines  Mike Cooper - Do I know you? (Dawn/Janus, 1970) -Think she knows me now Sören Hansen - Ikväll (Mistlur, 1978) -Dagen är över

In this episode we talk to Douglas Mcgowan of Numero Group about the misunderstood genre of New Age music. Douglas is the curator of the New Age compilations, “I Am the Center” and “The Microcosm” and he also runs the successful reissue labels, Yoga Records and Ethereal Sequence, which have re-released some fantastic music over the years. New Age has been a part of psychedelic culture that we have found difficult to get a hang of and we’re therefore glad that Douglas joined this show and gave us a proper introduction to the genre. He has picked out some wonderful tunes for us in this episode and we hope you’ll enjoy this as much as we do!

Satoshi Ashikawa (1982) -Still Space David Casper – Crystal Waves (1984) -Crystal Waves I Suzanne Doucet and Christian Buehner-Transmission (1983) -Shiva’s Dance (excerpt) Don Slepian-Open Spaces (1980) -Awakening (excerpt) Swami Kriya Ramananda-Hymn To A New Age (1981) -Hymn To A New Age (excerpt) Joanna Brouk-Sounds of the Sea (1981) Diving Deeper, Remembering Love KZ Smith and Dave Erickson-Blue Skies (1985) -Sweet Dreams

Folk music played an important role in the development of psychedelic rock and folk musicians were part of introducing psychedelics to mainstream popular culture in the mid-‘60s, which until then had only been known among “bohemian jetsetters” and academics. In this episode we play some favorite folk-psych acts from different parts of the world. The selection of songs covers a broad spectrum of the genre and includes both group- and communal oriented bands, and solo acts as well as some of the many different styles, e.g. blues, eastern, “acid” and downer, which exist within the realms of psychedelic folk music. We hope you’ll enjoy!

C.O.B-Moyshe McStiff & The Tartan Lancers Of The Sacred Heart (Polydor Folkmill, 1972) -Sheba's Return/Lion Of Judah All That the Name Implies (Oro, 1968) -Black Tuesday Jake Holmes-The Above Ground Sound of (Tower, 1967) -Lonely Turid-Vittras Visor (Silence, 1971) -Chrystal Shade of Loneliness Graham James-What Is Me? (Rene, 1974) -The Superlative Life Is Free Peter Kelley-Dealin´Blues (Sire, 1971) -He Could Never Feel Oriental sunshine-Dedicated To the Bird We Love (Philips, 1970) -Across My Life Amory Kane-Just To Be There (CBS, 1970) -Evolution

For more info on C.O.B, check out Patrick Lundborg’s excellent in-depth review and for the full story on Oriental Sunshine see Flashback Magazine issue #6.

We are proud to have Lance Barresi from Permanent Records as our special guest editor in this episode and he has put together a great tracklist for us with a lot of rare hard rock and heavy psych bands. The majority of the cuts are taken from the Brown Acid compilations, a project that he runs together with Daniel Hall of RidingEasy Records, and in April the fourth trip in the series will be released.

Since a young age, Lance has been interested in music, especially unusual and independent artists – “I've never been one to be satisfied with the status quo or mainstream culture. When I discovered punk, independent, and underground music in junior high school, I never turned back”. His interest in records led to the opening of his own record store in Chicago in 2006, which he started together with Liz Tooley, and in 2011 Permanent Records expanded to Los Angeles, where they live today. The need to stock records for the stores and his own interest in discovering new music has led to an never-ending hunt for records, and like many serious collectors he has also spent a lot of time tracking bands down that are of particular interest to him. Through the process of contacting the bands, he also got the idea to compile and license the music and this developed into the Brown Acid compilation series. In this episode we’re going to hear a few of the artists that Lance has been in contact with over the years.

Headstones (Rome, 197?) -Carry Me On Bad Axe (Permanent, 2014/1973) -Coachman Iron Knowledge (Tammy, 1972) - Show Stopper Crossfield (Toy, 197?) - Take It Grand Theft – s/t (No label, 1972) - Scream (It's Eating Me Alive) Factory (Oak, 1971) - Time Machine Chicago Triangle – Emergence (Dynamite, 1977) - Ripped Off Zipper – Zipper (Whizeagle, 1975) - Rollin' and Tumblin'

This episode we dedicate to Lounge music and due to the vastness of Lounge albums being released we have invited the expert Stefan Kéry for a proper introduction to this brand of music. Lounge differs from many other types of music as it is not a music genre, style or a scene but is instead defined by the setting of where it is performed, namely in a Lounge environment. These bands were hired as the musical entertainment in cocktail bars at motels, resorts etc for the customers to enjoy while they were sipping their drinks. To keep the customers satisfied the band played a broad variety of styles, which often included familiar and popular tunes of the day. A few daring bands also had one or two self-penned songs in their repertoire. To make some extra money they usually had an album or two to sell to intoxicated customers during their show, and a small fraction of these Lounge albums have the X-factor that create an unique and sometimes psychedelic experience. In this episode Stefan Kéry, who has been collecting Lounge albums since the 1980s, has picked out a few of these special albums for us. So make yourself a cocktail and let Stefan guide you through the dim lit twilight zone that is Lounge music.

Willy Wall Trio-The Traveling Sounds (No label, 1969)

-Snowfall

The J Ann C Trio-At Tan-Tar-A (Birdland, 1966)

-Voo-Doo-Doll

Los Bandidos-Live At the Velvet Coach (Little Crow, 1972)

-Hey Jude

Lloyd Lindroth-Superharp (Mitchlind, 1970)

-Evilways

Sandra Kaye and the New Breed-On the Road (Dunn, 1973)

-Let It Ride

Onstage Majority-Solo Flight (No label, 1971)

-For Now

Kaplan Brothers-Nightbird (Quinton, 1976)

-Nightbird

In the last part of our two episodes with Måns P Månsson we focus more on the music and keep the talking to a minimum, as this is jam-packed with great garage-psych singles that Måns have picked out for the show. The selection is a mix of major label artists and obscure local presses, and includes both classics like The Third Bardo as well as less-discussed bands, such as The Spontaneous Generation and The XL’s. Just sit down, tune in and enjoy the Roller Coaster ride!

The Mystic Tide (Solid Sound, 1967) - Frustration Lemon Fog (Orbit, 1967) -Echoes of Time The Wild Things (Blue Onion, 1968) -ACID (Another Colored Ink Drawing) The Castaways (Fontana, 1968) -Just On High ESB (In Arts, 1967) -Mushroom People The Third Bardo (Roulette, 1967) -Five Years Ahead of My Time Stained glass (RCA-Victor, 1967) -A Scene in Between The XL's (Paro, 1968) -Maryjane The Trolls (ABC, 1967) -Baby, What You Ain’t Got (I Ain’t Need) The Spontaneous Generation (Fevre, 1968) -Up In My Mind

In this episode we’re joined by the psychedelic expert Måns P Månsson and he brought some amazing garage-psych 45s from his exceptional collection to play for us. We also took the chance to ask him a little bit about his own music and the garage scene in 1980s, as well as the Stockholm based psychedelic “commune”, the Lumber Island Acid Crew. As we talked for almost two hours we had to split it up in two episodes and the second part will be released in two weeks.

Children Of The Mushroom (Soho, 1967) - You Can't Erase a Mirror Caretakers Of Deception (Sanctus, 1967) - Cuttin' Grass Ninth Street Bridge (Cecile, 1968) - Wild Illusions The Dovers (Miramar, 1966) - The Third Eye Daybreakers (Dial, 1967) - Psychedelic Siren Heather MacRae (ABC, 1967) - Hands Of The Clock

Paul Major is one of the originators to obscure psych and private press collecting and many of the records he found and documented are now seen as classics, such as Fraction, Peter Grudzien and Marcus. Paul started buying records when the psychedelic movement was at its peak in the late 60s, digging through the local K-mart’s dollar bins looking for anything that looked “psychedelic” and was able to pick up many rarities by today’s standard (e.g. Morgen, Easter Everywhere by The Elevators and The Moving Sidewalks). In the 70s he became aware of private presses and real people music (a term coined by him) and started to distinguish between those records and major label releases. This “realization” happened when he for the first time heard Attic Demonstration by Kenneth Higney and since then private presses has been his prime interest as a collector. During the early 80s he turned record collecting into a profession. His main sales channel was his homemade catalogues, which was sent out to other likeminded collectors. With the catalogues, he also introduced these types of records to a much wider audience and among the collectors receiving the catalogues was the psychedelic scholar Patrick Lundborg, who have said that “Paul Major is perhaps the single most important person for re-discovering the whole "private" and "local" music scenes of the 1960s-1970s" and that "The Acid Archives book is basically an extension of what he did in the late 1980s and early 1990s.”*

Paul went into the record label business in the mid-90s when he started the label Parallel World, which both released contemporary artists as well as compilations and reissues, including Bobb Trimble, Blo and Steve Linnegar’s Snakeshed, which at that time must have been known to only a few hardcore collectors. Talking to Paul is like getting a history lesson in the development of obscure record collecting and together with several other devotees, he was part of laying the foundation to the collector community that we have today.

His musical history and the story about the catalogues have been made into a book called “Feel The Music: The Psychedelic Worlds of Paul Major”, which will be published by Anthology this spring. 

Kenneth Higney-Attic Demonstration (Kebrutney, 1976) -Children of Sound Marcus-From the House of Trax (No label, 1978) -The City of Inbetween Ilian-Love Me Crazy (Kitty. 1977) -Grease Lips (or See What You See, which is the correct title) Steve Linnegar’s Snakeshed-Classic Epics (Snake, 1982) -Kamakura Dragons

*interview with Patrick Lundborg for Dig It! Magazine

In this extra-long Christmas special episode, we do a recap of the first season (which we did in Swedish) and highlight some of our favorite music from the episodes. We have picked one or two songs that we like the most, with many being all-time favorites, from each of the episodes to include here. The set of songs will hence, be highly varied and include music from local psychedelic scenes, like Austin, San Francisco and Bosstown as well as specific genres, such as acid-folk, exploitation-psych and psychedelic pop.

We hope you’ll enjoy this selection of various psych music and wish you all happy holidays!

Skip Spence-Oar (Columbia, 1969) -Little Hands Common People-Of/By/For the Common People (Capitol, 1969) -I Have Been Alone Hickory Hollow (Musitron, 1968) -Never Happen St Steven-s/t (Probe, 1969) -Bastich 1 Rebecca and the Sunny Brook Farmers –Birth (Musicor, 1969) -Oh Gosh Trizo 50 -s/t (Cavern Custom, 1974) -Graveyard Cold Sun-Dark Shadows (Rockadelic, 1971/1989) -Here in the Year 13th Floor Elevators-Easter Everywhere (IA, 1967) -Dust Mu-s/t (RTV, 1972) -Ain’t No Blues These Trails-s/t (Sinergia, 1973) -Share Your Water Art Gee (Dominion, 1968) -Tea Gardens Thorinshield (Philips, 1968) -Lonely Mountain Again John Brahney-Some Kind of Change (Pete, 1968) -Some Kind of Change Bhagavad Gita (Phillips, 1967/World In Sound, 2006) -Long Hair Soulful Michael Angelo-s/t (Guinn, 1977) -Check Out  

We haven’t focused much on pop oriented songs lately so we thought we needed a psychedelic pop episode in this season. This sub-genre of psychedelic music is to our minds strongly linked to major label and with that also a bigger production and more commercial appeal compared to many private press releases. We don’t consider this to be anything negative and there was a lot of creativity at work here as well and some great use of studio sound effects. The majority of the songs in today’s episode is major label artists but we also play a few budget-label releases as well as some local and private presses.  

Georgie Porgie and the Cry Babies (Jubilee, 1968) -The Lake World of Oz (Deram, 1969) -Like A Tear NGC-4594 (Smash, 1967) -Skipping Through the Night Chris Lucey-Songs of Protest and Anti-Protest (Surrey 1965) -Girl From Vernon Mountain Spring Fever (Splitsound, 1968) -Sand New Mix-s/t (United Artists, 1968) -The Man Badge (Orinj, 1978) -It Doesn’t Mean Suzanne-s/t (Birchmount 1969) -Shendah

In this episode we focus on the very end of the first psychedelic period, namely the early 1980s. This period still links to the mindset of the late 60s but without becoming retro. Today’s selection is a mixed bag of DIY and later-phase hippie music. Genres in this episode includes folk-rock, singer-songwriters, AOR, real people music and rural rock but each of the artist brings their personal artistic vision into the mix that expand beyond genres to create something truly unique. We have tried to avoid the more classic titles of the 80s psych scene to instead concentrate on some of the less discussed albums.

Jody Koenig-Passion Creek (Rave 1981) -If I Walked For Miles Expanding Circle – Conscious (No label, 1980) -I Didn’t Believe Michael Styers-Bearing a Gentle Message (Myrrdin 1980) -Summer Evening Chant Anne T McBride-Sands of Gold (Honey Bee 1982) -Gypsy Rings Shades of Rayne (New Orleans Trinity 1981) -High Again Patrick Bowler-Bits of Wit (No label 1980) -Makem Shakem Lazer (First Time Records, 1980) -Sweet Thing

Here we continue to explore some more obscure heavy psych and hard rock singles. Except for the US artists in the episode, we also included two rare Swedish singles by Alexander Lucas and Zane as well as the UK band, Wolfrilla. There are a lot of new favorites for us in this episode and we hope you'll find some too. 

Zane (MM, 1976) -Step Aside Stone Axe (Rampart Street, 1971) -Slave of Fear Raw Meat (Blue Hour, 1969) -Stand-By Girl Seeds (Productions Unlimited, 1972) -Shuckin’ and Jiving Wolfrilla (Concord, 1970) -Come Tomorrow Alexander Lucas (Efel, 1973) -Svarta Skogen

This is the first part in our short exposé of heavy psychedelia and hard rock in the late 60s and early 70s. This is a subject we haven’t discussed previously so therefore we’re going to dedicate two episodes on this.  The focus of today’s episode is on private pressed singles from the US while the second part will include some UK and Swedish bands as well. The set list is quite eclectic, ranging from acid rock to full-blown hard rock and early metal, where heavy is the common denominator. We wish to thank Lance Barresi, co-owner of Permanent Records and curator of the Brown Acid compliation series, as well as Stefan Kéry from Subliminal Sounds who helped us with info and music for the two episodes.  

Masalla (Climax, 1970) -Burnin’ Feeling Gold (Golden State, 1969) -No Parking Macabre (Intermedia 1972) -Be Forewarned Punch (Raftis, 1970) -Deathhead SRC (Big Casino, 1971) -The Badazz Shuffle The Journey Back (Nottingham Disc, 1968) -Synthetic People Village STOP (Ruby, 1969) -Vibration

In this episode we continue to explore the seemingly endless singer-songwriter genre, trying to separate the wheat from the chaff. Here the main focus is on private press albums from the 1970s and the episode includes several classics of the genre, such as Alicia May and John Wonderling as well as less obvious choices, e.g. Tom Rosplock, Mick Softley and Kevin Vicalvi. Furthermore, we also included the mountain hiking Texas duo Patterson & Pults as well as a recent favorite of ours, the mysterious Bob McAllen. 

Alicia May-Skinnydipping In the Flowers (Golden Anchor, 1976) -Borderline Bob McAllen-McAllen (Spirit 1971) -It Depends John Wonderling-Day breaks (Paramount 1973) -Shadows Mick Softley-Sunrise (CBS 1970) -Ship Kevin Vicalvi-Songs From Down the Hall (Starizon 1974) -Lover Now Alone Tom Rosplock-Tom Rosplock (Johnny Dollar, 1974) -Wherever You Are Patterson and Pults-Grand Tetons (1977) -Loneliness is Only In Your Own Mind

In this episode we discuss some truly rare albums, which were originally released in 100 copies or less, making some of them highly sought-after and very pricey (if you ever get a chance to see a copy). Besides the rarity they also contain some quality psychedelic music that spans most of its subgenres, from acid-folk, psych-pop to garage and heavy psych. We touch upon many subjects, such as the elusive and murky tax-scam business and discuss one of its top records, Stonewall. We also pay a visit to the UK underground scene and listen to the great homemade recordings of Complex and Tony, Caro and John. Also included in the episode are music from the two (singer-) songwriters John Michael Roch and Gary Osborne as well as the lo-fi Northwest garage band Brigade.

Complex-s/t (1970) -Norwegian Butterfly Brigade-Last Laugh (Band n´ Vocal 1970) -Self-made God Stonewall-s/t (Tiger Lily 1976) -Outer Spaced Gary Osborne (Kinney Music 1971) -Grass Tony, Caro and John-All on the First Day (1972) -Sargasso Sea John Michael Roch-Wish You In My Arms (1976) -Memories

In this first episode of season four there isn’t a clear theme. We have just put together a show with some nice psychedelic music from 1966 to 1969, the short period of time when psychedelia went mainstream in our western society. We have also reduced our talking in this episode to make room for more music.

The Picture – Evolution (Nasco, 1969)

Injun Joe-Indian Priest (Reward, 1969)

Geebros-Let Me Find the Sun (Orange, 1968)

Adrian Pride-Her Name Is Melody (Warner Bros, 1966)

Travel Agency-Time (Tanqueray, 1966)

Mother Tuckers Yellow Dusk-I (Duck, 1968)

Joe Rosanova and the Vineyard-In Dedication To the Ones We Love (Astro Sonic, 1968)

-Dreams of You

Twentieth Century Zoo-Stallion of Fate (Vault, 1969)

Darius-I Don’t Mind (Chartmaker, 1969)

Jean Le Fennec-Phantastic (Barclay, 1969)

-L´abandon

Epitome-I Need You (Mona-Lee, 1967)

In the last episode of the season we discuss religious and spiritual psychedelia. As you know, we have already talked about the Christian psychedelic scene in an earlier episode but here we take a broader perspective and tough upon some other religious and spiritual beliefs as well, including Hinduism, Buddhism and Eckankar. There is plenty of good records with religiously and spiritually themed psychedelia and in this episode we’re listening to some Jesus Rock by Wilson McKinley and Last Call of Shiloh and the more meditative mindset of the Christian community Trees. We also have a listen to the Eckist Michael Dobbins singing about Tarot cards, ESP and UFOs, as well as the Siddhartha of South Bronx - Bobby Callender and the floating mind of the Amazing Grace.

Last Call of Shiloh – s/t (Last Call, 1972) -Great Day of the Lord Bobby Callender-The Way (First Book of Experiences) (Mithra, 1971) -Lord, Am I Dreaming Trees – The Christ Tree (Pomegranate, 1975) -Psalm 42 Amazing Grace (Baba Ram Dass) – Love Serve Remember (no label, 1973) -Floating Mind Wilson McKinley – Spirit of Elijah (Voice of Elijah, 1971) -Spirit of Elijah Michael Dobbins-Music For the Seeker (No label, 1975) -Two Keys

Jai Ram Ransom or Jim Ransom as he was known back in the ‘60s and ‘70s started his musical career at the Gaslight Café in Greenwich Village, playing alongside artists like Tom Paxton and Phil Ochs. However, in the early ‘70s Jai Ram decided that he had have enough of the east coast scene, took his guitar in hand and headed for Denver, Colorado. Once at place with the local folk scene he and a fellow New Yorker Laura Benson started the folk and bluegrass label Biscuit City, which over the coming six years recorded over twenty records worth of folk, singer-songwriter, bluegrass and dulcimer music. In 1979 Jai Ram sold the label and continued on his own. Soon after he moved to the Neem Karoli Baba Ashram in Taos, New Mexico, to continue the spiritual path he already started back in the ‘60s, It was from there on he dedicated to devote the rest of his life to the guru Neem Karoli Baba. Nowadays he lives in India for most of the time and has just published a book about the maharajji.

In the interview we don't only discuss his musical career but also other topics, like spiritual awakening, psychedelics, consciousness, transmigration of souls, Ram Dass, Bhagavan Das, and much more.

Biscuit City was a folk and bluegrass label based on the 17th avenue in Denver, Colorado. The label was founded by the two New Yorkers Jim Ransom (now Jai Ram Ransom) and Laura Benson and became a pivotal part of the local Colorado folk scene. During the years 1973 to 1979 they released twenty-five albums in many different genres, including recordings by dulcimer and bluegrass bands, folk artists and singer-songwriters. In today’s episode we take a look at this seldom discussed label and dig out some of its treasures. 

Thanks to Dan McCrimmon and Jai Ram Ransom for helping us with information for this episode.

Frummox-Here To There (Probe 1969)-There You GoDan McCrimmon – Colorado Folk, vol. I (1973)-Legend of the WasheenJim Ransom (Just Came Along For The Ride, 1974)-Ballad of the Fisherman’s SonPete McCabe-Colorado Folk, vol II (1974)-Sweet Jesus GoodbyeRandy Handley-Keepsake (1975)Papa Always SaidFingers Akimbo-Cowtowns & Other Planets (1978)-Abu Dhabi Man

The topic of today, rural aspects of psychedelic and singer-songwriter music, is very broad and here we loosely define rural as music that mediate a “countryside” feeling by drawing inspiration from roots genres like country and bluegrass or takes a nostalgic perspective, which is not always self-experienced, with topics of freight train drifting and the old west. The rural style is mainly related to the 1970s and usually has a laidback atmosphere, like a countryside retreat in the aftermath of the psychedelic heydays in the late ‘60s. Many favorites are included in the episode, from the Midwestern singer-songwriter duo Modlin & Scott and the reflective mood of the collage friends Thrower, Spillane and McFarland to the psychedelic cowboy Bill Madison, whose interpretation of “Buffalo Skinners” takes this traditional folk song into the third eye dimension, and the country-rock of McKay’s “This Road”, where Ray Pierle dreams of the freedom on the highway.

Special for this episode is that Bill Madison joined us to talk about the recording of his album “Sunday Mornin’ Hayride”. He also played two songs for us over Skype (so the sound quality might not be the best but the music is) and the tunes can be found on our webpage. 

Modlin and Scott-The Train Don’t Stop Here Anymore (700 West, 1976)-Loser, LoverThrower, Spillane and McFarland-Blue John (Ranger, 1973)-You Led MeBill Madison-Sunday Mornin’ Hayride (Saloon Records, 1973)-Buffalo SkinnersCambridge-Share A Song (Green Dolphine, 1977)-Faithless LadyWilcox-Sullivan-Wilcox-An Album of Original Music (Golddust, 1973)-Snow on a MountainMcKay-Into You (No label, 1978)-This Road

In this episode we’re going to focus on the downer/loner folk and singer-songwriter music of the late ‘60s to early ‘70s with an emphasis on the downer aspects. Therefore, we've tried to pick the most haunting songs, which reflects the artists most dark and tortured feeling. Human suffering has always been an inspiration for great art and many of the artists in this episode made music for therapeutic reasons as a way to cure their troubled souls or as in the case with Bob Desper, to help others in their despair. With the selection of this episode we also wanted to highlight both the reflective side, which deals with mankind’s miseries at large but also the more common introspective and self-centered side, which leans more towards the self-abusive and suicidal feelings.

As always we have included some of the true classics of the downer style but also some less discussed artists and one odd choice with Shaun Harris, who is usually not associated with this style of music.  

Dave Bixby – Ode to Quetzalcoatl (No label, 1969)-Drug SongMichael Lloyd Lipitz (JMC, 1973)-Search For YouthRichard Kneeland-Present Your Errors (Gothic, 1976)-Present Your ErrorsShaun Harris-s/t (Capitol, 1973)-I’ll Cry OutBob Desper-New Sound (Rose City Sound, 1974)-To a Friend of MineBill Clint-The Crying of a Generation (Joint Artists, 1975)-Angels Don’t Need Friends

It’s time again to return to Midwestern United States with a second episode of local/private press psychedelia from this region. We have already dedicated one episode in season 1 to Midwest, in which we included some of the finest artists of the psychedelic era, e.g. Zerfas and Wizards From Kansas. This time we have chosen to focus on the late ‘70s psych and it’s going to be a lot of melodic guitars, rural vibes and stoned grooves in this episode. To us the Midwest is one of the greatest regions in the US for '70s local/private press psychedelia and is perhaps only matched by the West Pacific (including the hippie states of California and Hawaii). It’s astonishing how so many of the top private press records that came out from the Midwest, like Anonymous and Rick Saucedo, if just mentioning the ones included in this episode. The reason to this is unknown to us but could it be the regions geographical displacement to the major labels in New York and Los Angeles with little chance of being discovered as a small band resulting in the release of the music on local labels or as private presses instead? 

Except Anonymous and Rick Saucedo we also tried to add some lesser known bands in this episode, like Windwords and Clockwork, which we hope you will enjoy as much. 

Rick Saucedo – Heaven Was Blue (Reality 1978)-In My MindWindwords-Shootin’ the Breeze (WW 1979)-WisdomRay Harlowe and Gyp Fox-First Rays (Waterwheel 1978)-Gettin’ KeyedAnonymous-Inside the Shadow (A Major label, 1976/1981)-Baby Come Risin’Clockwork-Clockwork (Greene Bottle, 1973)-Country Side Woman

It's fascinating how the psychedelic ‘60s lingered on in the private/local recordings and how some artists continued on the psychedelic path long after mainstream popular culture had lost its interest. In this episode we highlight some of the fine psychedelic artists of the early 1980s, which is when many scholars consider the first psychedelic era to end. These artists are still part of the same psychedelic culture with a shared musical vision and aesthetics as earlier psychedelic artists but without any of the intentional revival and neo-psych moves that started to appear in the middle of the decade. The originality of the early ‘80s psychedelic artists comes from the merging of the late ‘60s songwriting with the instrumentations and expressions of the ‘80s to create something very unique and genuine. 

No matter when it was recorded we think that the open-minded listener (which we know that you are) will enjoy the timeless psychedelic quality of the music in this episode. 

Doc Holiday-Lady Free (no label, 1980)-(I Dreamed) I Went Sailing Last NightT Kail-Somewhere, Sometime (Jade 1980)-Peace of MindCarl Erdmann-Bizzarophytes (no label 1980)-Turritella FlatsJohnny Blackburn & Mary Lauren-Echoes of Love’s Reality (Wind’s Eye Music 1981)-Beautiful DreamerSteve Linnegar’s Snakeshed-Classic Epics (Snake 1982)-Desert

In this second and last part of our interview with Rich Haupt we continue to listen to some of the mind expanding releases of Rockadelic Records, and just as in the first part the music here include contemporary acts, reissues of truly rare records and unreleased archival material from 70s psych bands. Rich also tells us the legendary digging story of how he and Mark Migliore found the Jr. and His Soulettes album in a record warehouse in Oklahoma City, which led to the bizarre meeting with Harold Moore Sr, who was the father to the children that recorded the album, and everything about this story is just unbelievable.

Rockadelic Records was a unique label in the early days of reissuing obscure music as they also put out unreleased recordings, which today are standard procedure among reissue labels but was largely unheard of in the late 80's. True is also that much of the unreleased material matches the quality of many of the classic titles of the era and has now become classics themselves among underground psych collectors.

Brain Police-Rather See You DeadStone Garden-Oceans Inside MeMill Run Band-EasyPeacepipe-Bikers Tune/Open Your MindWailing Wall-Scissor-Tailed SwallowKath-Lonely AgainFish Eyed Lens-Turn It Up

This is the first part of an interview with Rich Haupt from Rockadelic Records, one of the earliest and most important labels for reissuing and releasing unreleased material of '60s and '70s psychedelia and heavy rock. Rockadelic was founded by Mark Migliore in 1988 to release records by contemporary Dallas bands and after a few 7” releases Mark invited Rich to join him. Both of them were heavy collectors and during that time they got the idea of releasing older material. This development seemed to have happened by coincident as Rich tracked down members of the band Hickory Wind and found out that they had unreleased recordings of their previous band, BF Trike. This became Rockadelic’s first LP release and was the first of many classic and today desirable titles from the label. The most notably of their records is the legendary Cold Sun album, which was previously unreleased but is now seen as one of the most important artifacts of the Texas psych scene. Mark Migliore tragically passed away in 1996 and Rich continued with the label on his own until the late '00s before he called it a quit.

In this interview Rich picks some of his favorites out of the around 60 releases that Rockadelic did and gives us the full backstory on them. The selection is varied and spans the whole Rockadelic discography from the earlier 7” releases of the Dallas neo-psych scene to some of the most well-known releases of the label.  

Lithium X-mas-Message To CharlieBurnin' Rain-DreamsBF Trike – Time & ChangesCold Sun – South TexasKennelmus-Sylvan ShoresGold-High On Your LoveSeompi – Summer’s Comin’ On Heavy

Eastern philosophy and religion became highly interlinked with the psychedelic culture in the '60s as comparisons between the psychedelic experience and religious concepts of higher mental states were made. Eastern practices, such as meditation were approached as alternative to psychedelics because the method can lead to similar mental awareness and for reaching higher mind stages. However, as noted by Patrick Lundborg that “the religious model is an interpretation, whereas the psychedelic experience, if registered according to proper phenomenology, is simply a description”* and these organized religions with their explanatory belief systems and traditions is not always the ideal model for the psychedelicists exploring their personal inner cosmos. One of the most famous examples of the merging of Eastern religion and psychedelia is Timothy Leary et al.´s guide-book The Psychedelic Experience where they linked the psychedelic trip to the Tibetan Book of the Dead and similarities were drawn between the effects of psychedelics and the intermediate steps of life and rebirth.

The Eastern influences also made its way into the music and many artists started to incorporate Indian instruments, Eastern melodic structures and scales. For some, this was just a way to ride the hype whereas some had a more original approach to it and here we cherry-picked some of the ones that we think where more genuine in their influences of Eastern culture. 

Spikedrivers (OM 1966)-Often I WonderOrient Express-same (Mainstream 1969)-AzzarBhagavan Das and Amazing Grace-Swaha (1974)-Just Can't Keep From CryingNew Age-All Around (RD 1967/2007)-Alone in a WonderlandAnanda Shankar-Ananda Shankar and His Music (EMI 1975)-Dancing Drums13th Floor Elevators-Easter Everywhere (IA 1967)-Slip Inside This House

Finally it’s time for an episode devoted only to Canadian artists. However, to narrow it down a little bit we’ve chosen to focus on some of the excellent major label folk-rock albums recorded in the country during the 70s and for the most part we’re going to bury ourselves deep into the CSN and Neil Young influenced folk-rock but also have a listen to a few stunning acid-folk tunes. It’s striking how many quality artists that were signed by the Canadian offices of Columbia and Polydor, which expect for the artist in the episode, also released Fraser & Debolt, Roger Rodier and Life among others. So hats off to the A&R departments that provided us collectors with so many obscure records that both have that underground feel and at the same time the recording quality of a major label.

The songs in this episode are all good examples of the fine Canadian folk-rock and acid-folk sound and while most of them are renowned and appreciated today we also think that some artists, like D’Arcy Draper should be more well-known and could very well be placed up there with Riverson and Perth County Conspiracy as one of the top Canadian folk-rock albums.  

D'Arcy-Back at the Beginning (Absolu 1972)-ForestRiverson-same (Columbia 1973)-Winter GardenTapestry-Down by Maple River (Polydor 1973)-Years Going ByPtarmigan-same (Columbia 1974)-The IslandPerth County Conspiracy-Does Not Exist (Columbia 1970)-Crucifixation CartoonShawi-same (Intervalle 1980)-Un air de printemps

In this episode we're exploring some of the music that came out of the hippie communes in the early 70's. The communal living was nothing new but the 1970's saw an increase of new communes spread out in the countryside across the US and marks the start of the hippie rural movement, where the intense kaleidoscope colors of Height-Ashbury was replaced by a reconnection to nature and the more laid-back lifestyle of the 1970’s. The rural movement was partly a response to the decay of the hippie neighborhoods and the loss of spiritual clearness of the cities. Most of the communes came to existence through a shared spiritual awareness among people seeking a way of continuing their psychedelic lifestyle or the will to follow certain religious and political beliefs. All of this could be seen as social experiments which gave people a chance to distance them self from the rest of society and create their own way of living with rules only applying within the constraints of the collective. The need of detachment from the society could very well be a part of the growing distrust of the western civilization with the raging of the Vietnam War, nuclear weapons and governmental brutality during protests and manifestations.

The music was a major part of the communal living and in many cases used to spread the word of their newfound way of living and to recruit new members but as we are going to hear most of them still kept the creativity and artistic integrity while doing this. The majority of the communes did not last so long due to the hardship of living that close to so many people and following the sometimes unconventional and strict rules, which I can imagine requires true dedication from the members. Another problem, which became clear for many of the communes discussed in the episode, was the increasing power of the spiritual leaders that usually took God-like proportions resulting in delusions of grandeur, so the saying that “power corrupts” holds true, even for hippies. Anyway, the music that came out of this was usually as pure as the ideal that founded the communes and we hope you enjoy the selection.   

The Farm Band-same (Mantra 1972)-Let It RideGreenwood, Curlee and Thompson-One Time, One Place (No label 1972)-The Brother(s) songFather Yod and the Spirit of 76 (Higher Key 1974)-Fire In the SkyThe Apostles-The Living Gospel (The Divine Mission 1973)-LilaSun (Up-Sun Down 197?)-Memories of the Mind 

In this second part of the interview we talk to Stefan Kéry about Subliminal Sounds as a reissue label. In the mid 80’s a “psychedelic community” started to take form in Stockholm around Stefan and other musicians, writers and friends interested in psychedelic culture. Many of the musicians would also release their music on Subliminal Sounds (see part one of this interview). This “commune” was named the “Lumber Island Acid Crew” (coined as somewhat of a joke by Patrick Lundborg), and where a gathering of friends to explore the realms of psychedelia while listen to rare and at that time unknown records, many of which later found their way into the well-known Acid Archives book. Stefan, being one of the most hard-core collector among them, introduced many new rare records to the group, which he had acquired through dealers around the world. He also located many of these artists and in some cases this contact lead to a reissue of the LP on his label. This did not only spread the music to a much wider audience but also gave the artists a change to tell their story for the first time. The music in the episode is rather diverse stretching from outsider psych-country to lounge-psych and murky downer folk but they are all connected through Stefan’s interest in the weird and esoteric. For all of you Madrigal fans Stefan also gives some new info about this mysterious band and promise that more is to come.

Jade Stone & Luv-Mosaics; Pieces of Stone (1977/2008)-ManSaturn-Saturn (1977/2014)-The Rings of SaturnPeter Grudzien-The Unicorn (1974/2007)-The UnicornMadrigal-Madrigal (1971/2014)-The Ballad (Dreams)D.R. Hooker-The Truth (1972/2000)-Forge Your Own Chains

Stefan Kéry runs the independent record label Subliminal Sounds, which releases both contemporary psychedelic music as well as reissuing rare and unknown LP’s from the golden age of psychedelia. He is also known as one of the top psych collectors, who already in the 80’s started to collect obscure records. In the first part of the interview we go back to the early 90’s and talk about the start of Subliminal Sounds and listen to some of the artists released on the label at that time. Stefan got the idea to start the record label in the late 80’s with the intention of releasing music made by friends sharing the same interest in psychedelic culture as him. This idea still lives on 26 years after the first release, while Subliminal Sounds from the mid 90’s also has expanded to make reissues of rare and obscure psychedelia, which will be the focus of the second part of this interview.

The episodes are rather long but we felt that we didn't want to edit any parts of the discussion and the interview is presented as it was recorded.

S.T. Mikael -Claustromania (1991)-A New EraWord of Life-Furthur Ahead (1992)-Can You Feel It Flowing FreeAdam-Welcome Back (1995)-Welcome BackStefan-Consecration (1995)-One StarS.T. Mikael-Mind of Fire (2007)-Wizdom

In this last episode of the season we will have a look at some Christian underground psychedelia and Jesus rock. The Christian sub-genre has some very desirable titles as many were privately pressed or released on custom labels with few copies made. The music covers the usual styles of the time, such as psychedelia, folk-rock and loner but with biblical or religious lyrics dealing with the loss of God in modern day society, the salvation through Christ and personal existential musings. Some of the bands were most likely on a missionary quest while many of the artists had a deeper personal relationship to their music and charged with lyrics about the apocalypse and the degradation of man it can really reach some deep parts, even for a non-believer. As with the sub-genre this episode is musically diverse, spanning from folk and folk-rock to heavy psych and acid rock. We included a few of the classics but many of the renowned artists are left out of this episode as we thought they have been covered elsewhere but check out the list on the bottom for some soul-searching classics.

Help (Custom Capitol) 1969-Questions Why?Ark-Voyages (No label) 1978-New Civilization?Concrete Rubber Band-Rising Savior (American Artists Custom) 1974-WickedOur Generation-Dawning of the Day (Generation) 1971-Near the EndPhoenix Sonshine-Shinin’ in the Light (Destiny) 1971-Broken WingFocus-A moment’s Sunlight (RPC) 196?-Someone Here or ThereExkursions-s/t (No label) 1971-The Third Eye

During the 1960s psychedelic and progressive music were very much an underground phenomenon in Sweden but in the early 70s this alternative scene grow and together with an increasing political awareness among the younger generations lead to the start of the Swedish progressive movement. Many of the musicians in the underground groups would also form new bands and be a part of this movement throughout the 70s, until the era came to an end. By the early 70s the term progressive in Swedish popular culture was no longer used to define the musical genre as such but was instead used as an epithet for this alternative musical movement where the progressive aspect of the music was in the political lyrics and the idea of non-commercial music. However, many bands like Älgarnas trädgård, Handgjort and Träd, gräs och stenar were truly progressive and experimental (and also psychedelic) in their music. In this episode we’re not going to venture too far into the progressive movement but stay in the beginning of its development where the 60s underground sound still can be heard.  However, some of the bands in this episode became very popular during the 70s and are today seen as major artists of the progressive era.

Cymbeline (Green Light) 1971-Sixth ImageContact-Nobody Wants To Be Sixteen (MNW) 1970-Sounds of WindAtlantic Ocean-Tranquility Bay (Love) 1970-Take a Look AroundTräd, gräs och stenar-Gärdet 12.6.70 (Subliminal Sounds) 1970/2011-Lifeforce #3Gelin and His Boys (No label) 197?-Take Me AwayBaby Grandmothers (Forward/Subliminal Sounds) 1968/2007-Somebody Keeps Calling Me

A note regarding the discussion in the episode about the correct band name for the group Sogmusobil/Telefon Paisa.

A few weeks after the episode was released we heard from Einar Heckscher, one of the band members, and he explained the confusion of the group name. The band was initially called Telefon Paisa but around the time of the recording of the album three of the original band members had left the group. Therefore, they changed the band name to Sogmusobil (an abbreviation for ”StarkOchGodMusikUtföresSnabbtOchBilligt”, which if translated means something like ”strong and good music performed fast and cheap”) and named the album Telefon. The name Telefon Paisa they got from the idea that if every person in the world had a telephone and some pocket money for the call there would be peace on Earth (paisa is a subdivision of the Indian rupee where a paisa equals 1/64 of a rupee).

Thank you Einar Heckscher for clearing that out. 

In this very special episode I ( Viktor Ahldén) will share with you some of my latest finds.

This is all relatively unknown stuff that I had never heard of before buying and as with most private releases their are some real highs and lows on the albums. I think i have found some real gems and i hope you do to!

Big Brown Bear - Live from the living room - My Friend

WIllie Trasher - Spirit Child

Music Industry Arts 1976 (Don Spanner) - Jpurney Song

John Michael Green .- Trilogy for tomorrow 

The Good and Plenty - Song and Dance

Solenoid - Observations

Asbury Park - Tomorrow never comes

Tumbleweed was founded by Bill Symczyk and Larry Ray, which at that time worked for ABC-Dunhill but because of fears for a major earthquake in LA in the early 70s they decided to move to Denver, Colorado where the new label had its office. All of the recordings however were still done in studios in LA with seasoned studio pros backing the label artists. The whole project was paid for by Gulf+Western, which kept the party going for 2 years until the money ran out and the label folded in 1973. At that time Tumbleweed Records had released 9 albums and recorded many more, which until this day remains unreleased. The story of Tumbleweed Records is both unusual and entertaining and it seemed to have been a great time for everyone involved where not only the recordings but also the extensive partying was sponsored by Gulf+Western. Apart from that the label also succeeded in releasing some great music and in this episode we will play six of the most interesting albums released (the seventh and last artist was not on Tumbleweed but has a distant connection to it, as you will hear in the episode).

 Danny Holien-s/t (1972)

-Colorado Arthur Gee-s/t (1971) -Dawn of Time Robb Kunkel-Abyss (1973) -You Were the Morning Dewey Terry-Chief (1972) -Sweet As Spring Rudy Romero-To the World (1973) -Simple Things Pete McCabe-The Man Who Ate the Plant (1973) -Magic Box* Ruthie Allen-Colorado Folk vol II (1974) -Bow and Arrow

*In my excitement during the show I (Martin) mix up the song title Magic Box with Music Box, which is another song on the album but it's not the song we play. The actual titel of the song in the show is Magic Box and nothing else.

This episode will end our short exposé on the UK underground scene and in this last episode we are concentrating on some interesting crossover music. During the progressive period the bands started to incorporate other genres like jazz and funk to a larger extent, which created crossover genres like jazz-rock and fusion. Especially jazz-rock was very vital during this period with major bands like Manfred Mann’s Chapter Three, Keef Hartly Band and Traffic but what is also interesting is the mixing of upbeat more dance oriented music as heard in the two last songs in the episode (Hold On to Your Mind was even a standard tune at the Loft in New York). Mixing of styles in this way created some really great music and we think this episode includes some of the best tunes in our UK underground series.

 Christine Harwood-Nice To Meet Miss Christine (Birth) 1970

-Wooden ShipsTrifle-First Meeting (Dawn) 1971-Home AgainSunforest-Sounds of Sunforest (Deram Nova) 1969-Magician In the MountainEast of Eden-New Leaf (Harvest) 1971-Bradshaw The Bison HunterHemlock-Hemlock (Deram) 1973-Just An Old FriendAndwella-World's End (Reflection) 1970-Hold on to Your MindObeah Man (Bell) 1971-Iron Horse

Today’s episode continues to explore the underground progressive scene and here we are focusing on the heavier more guitar driven style, which many bands started to practice around 1969. Instead of being influenced by the keyboard dominated sound of King Crimson and Yes many psych bands choose another path of development, adding heavier elements inspired by the guitar virtuosity of Jimi Hendrix and Cream. This eventually evolved into hard rock and heavy metal and in the US same development can be seen with bands like Iron Butterfly and Amboy Dukes. However, this was a slippery slope to take and according to us there are many examples where the mixing of prog and psych with wailing wah-wah guitars and heavy drumming was not successful. In this episode we are going to play some songs where bands did succeed in creating some quality music and which we considered are good representatives of the British heavy psych-prog genre.

Blossom Toes - If Only For a Moment (Marmalade) 1969-Listen To the SilenceMighty Baby - s/t (Head) 1969 -Egyptian Tomb  Red Dirt - Diamonds in the Dirt (Audio Archives) 1971/1995-Mixed BlessingPink Fairies - The Never Never Land (Polydor) 1971-Never Never LandDark-Round the Edges (SIS) 1972-Maypole

Here we did an interview with Paul Marcano, one of the founding members of LightDreams, a Canadian trio known for their self released album Islands In Space from 1981. The album is considered among many psych collectors as one of the best psychedelic albums of the 80s, right up there with Sixth Station and Johnny Blackburn & Mary Lauren. Together with LightDreams Paul Marcano did two more albums, 10,001 Dreams and Airbrushing Galaxies, that formed a suite of three albums on the concept of space colonization but the music contains as much inner as outer space exploration.

This autumn Islands In Space will be reissued and 10,001 Dreams issued on vinyl for the first time. You can find more information on LightDreams and Paul's many projects on his webpage here.

Music featured in the episode:Being Here (Previously unreleased first virson)Atmospheric Dreams (from Islands In Space, 1981)Dreamer Forever (from Airbrushing Galaxies, 1983)Also bits and pieces of songs Paul sang and played for us during the interview.

Moving on with the UK underground scene and in this episode we are discussing the transition from psychedelic to progressive music. As the 60s came to an end the bands started to incorporate more progressive elements, which by the early 70s had developed into full-blown progressive rock with all its pretentious virtuosity and symphonic grandeur. This was a time when music development really accelerated and in this episode we will listen to bands like Arzachel and Pussy with one foot still in psychedelia to fully developed keyboard dominated progressive rock with Spring and Bodkin just a few years later. Progressive rock stretched the definition of modern popular music and really dominated the UK music scene for a few years until the genre crumbled underneath its own weight in the late 70s and with the introduction of punk and disco.

Arzachel – s/t (Evolution) 1969- Garden of Earthly DelightPussy- Pussy Plays (Morgan Blue Town) 1969-All of My LifeRamases - Space Hymns (Vertigo) 1971-Life ChildShuttah - The Image Maker, vol. I & II (IBC/Shadoks) 1971/2006Spring - s/t (RCA Neon) 1971-The Prisoner (Eight by Ten)Bodkin - s/t (West) 1972-Three Days After Death Part I

This is the first out of four episodes about the UK underground psych and prog. In this first episode we are focusing on the early psychedelia scene in 1967-68. As with the pop cultural development in the US, psychedelia really becomes big in the UK around 1966-67 and many of the R&B and beat band would be turned on by psychedelia and completely transform their style during this period of time. The early British psychedelia is usually very pop oriented with strong emphasis on melodies but would soon develop into more heavy psych and progressive with more complex song structures, as we will hear in later episodes. This is the beginning of a whole range of styles that would be dominating the rock music in the 70s.

Giles, Giles and Fripp – The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp (Deram) 1967- How Do They Know Dantalian’s Chariot (Columbia) 1967-Mad Man Running Through the Fields Skip Bifferty – s/t (RCA-Victor) 1967-Yours For At least 24Art – Supernatural Fairy Tales (Island) 1967Wimple winch (Fontana 1967)-Atmosphere Mike Stuart Span (Jewel) 1968-Children of Tomorrow

This is the second and last part (at least for now) of our explorations in the s/sw genre. This time we take a look at some private press artists that didn’t make it on big important record companies. Time wise we have now moved from the early 70s in the previous episode to the late 70s and early 80s, although stylistically there is not much of a difference and not many influences from contemporary genres can be heard. This lag phase is common among private presses and ties together genres otherwise spread out in time. As with mainstream singer/songwriters there is plenty to pick and choose from, perhaps even more, and we have put together a few of our favorites.

Bert Keely – Take Me Home (Man hole) 1979-Mari’s SongTed Lucas – s/t (OM) 1975-Plain and Sane and Simple MelodyJD Elias – Who’s That? (BIRC) 1978-Leavin' on My MindPoor Richard – Places of the Sun (Kazoo) 1978-The Ax of Good-byNaomi – Seagulls and Sunflowers (Cottage) 1976-More BeautifulSixth Station – Deep Night (No label) 1982-Deep Night

In the first episode we focus on major label s-sw that despite releasing for big record companies are largely forgotten today (with the exception of perhaps Jackson C Frank). The term singer-songwriter came into use in the 1960s as a way to define the folk and protest singers, which had become popular, especially around Greenwich Village in New York. The genre is heavily influenced by the preceding folk singers of the 1940s and 50s but historically this way of performing music is much older. After Bob Dylan merged folk and rock, musicians started in the late 60s and early 70s to play electric instruments and perform their songs together with bands and that’s where we land in today’s episode. This genre is definitely overcrowded and we like to highlight some of the artists that we think deserves a second listening.

Kathy Smith – Some Songs I’ve Saved 1970 (Stormy Forest)-TopangaBob Brown – The Wall I Built Myself 1970 (Stormy Forest)-Seek the SunMarc Jonson -Years (Vanguard) 1972-Rainy DuesKaren Beth – The Joys of Life (Decca) 1969-Nothing lastsAndy Zwerling – Spiders In the Night (Kama Sutra) 1970-Sifting Around in a Haze Jackson C Frank – s/t (Columbia) 1965-I Never Wanted YouDon Cooper – s/t (Roulette) 1970-Big Sur Mountain Air

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