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Sergius Golowin - Lord Krishna Von Goloka (1973)


Sergius Golowin was born in 1930 in Prague, Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic). In 1933, he and his mother, poet Alla von Steiger, emigrated to Switzerland, while Golowin’s Russian father, a sculptor, lived in Paris without the family.

After finishing school, Golowin became a library assistant at the "Berner Stadt- und Universitätsbibliothek" (literally: "Bern City- and University-Library"). He took part in the "Jugendbewegung". During the 1950s he participated in "Tägel-Leist," one of Bern's subcultural discussion circles. From 1957 to 1968 Golowin worked as an archivist in Burgdorf. From 1971 to 1981 he served in a local government office in Switzerland as a member of the party Landesring der Unabhängigen ("LdU", which was established by Gottlieb Duttweiler and others). In his LdU office, Golowin was an advocate for youth culture and worked to solve numerous ecological problems. Afterward, he was a free writer living near Bern.

Sergius Golowin wrote numerous books and articles, primarily about folklore and esotericism. For his work in folklore and exploring the counterculture, he was awarded the prize of the Schweizerische Schillerstiftung in 1974.

Golowin was a contemporary of many notable people and events. He provided assistance to Timothy Leary while Leary was in Swiss exile. Golowin was a friend of Friedrich Dürrenmatt, and was portrayed by H. R. Giger. Golowin was present at the first performance of Polo Hofer's legendary Bern band "Rumpelstilz" and the band played on behalf of Golowin's election campaign. Golowin was an acquaintance of Martin "Tino" Schippert, founder of the Swiss Hells Angels.

In 1973, Golowin teamed up with Klaus Schulze, Bernd Witthüser, Walter Westrupp, Jörg Mierke, Jürgen Dollase and Jerry Berkers (the latter two of Wallenstein) to record the album "Lord Krishna von Goloka". This very experimental and highly sought-after album featured chantings by Golowin over improvised electronic instrumentation and acoustic guitar, and is considered by many to be a classic example of cosmic krautrock. (wiki)


- Sergius Golowin / voice
- Jerry Berkers / electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, bongo's
- Jürgen Dollase / piano, melotron, vibrafon, triangel and guitar
- Jörg Mierke / electric guitar, organ, percussion
- Klaus Schulze / drum, organ, mellotron & electronics
- Walter Westrupp / acoustic guitar, flute, mouthharp
- Bernd Witthüser / guitar

An original psych/ folk project directed by the esoteric Swiss writer Sergius Golowin. It is in the mood of Rolf Ulrich Kaiser's « Cosmic couriers » series, including many musicians of the krautrock scene for psychedelic improvisations recorded in three epic pieces. Conceptually this album deals with India mysticism, ecstasy and undirectly with drugs experiences, put in music to create a unearthly, beautiful journey through the cosmos and the hidden side of the Humanity. It contains ravishing, odd, spiritual recitations in German taken from Sergius' personal writings. The musical background is essentially under the direction of the folk duo Witthuser & Westrupp who play here all the acoustic parts (flute, bongos, guitars.) in order to provide a timeless and an exotic touch to the album. With lots of psychedelic, electronic, meditative effects combined to spoken words, the atmosphere of this album delivers a very mysterious, refined 'trip' that can easily haunts the listener, brings him into an other galaxy, far from the materialist preoccupations of our common world. This album is uncomparable, the music is unbelievable and can be considered as the most achieved musical document recorded by Rolf Ulrich Kaiser for his delirious "Cosmic Couriers" adventure. A must of "Cosmic music" and a very nice prog folk effort.  (philippe)

I would consider this album to be really the last great Cosmic Couriers album. Lord Krishna von Goloka is another huge viceral mind numbing experience album...an album that plays out with raga like mannerisms and acts like a 40+ minute musical chant. Hypnotic vocals and psychy narration by Sergius Golowin add to the creative wierdness adorning this album. Heavily Eastern influenced themes with tons of acoustic guitar, cosmic flute, piano , mellotron, tabla and bongo and percussion, Glockenspiel (... need more glockenspiel !) Wow.... what a cosmic parade of musicians as well... Klaus Schulze, Walter Westrupp, Bernd Wutthuser, Jurgen Dollas and Jerry Berkers. "Lord Krishna" is really centered around 2 epic tarcks "Der Reigen (17 Mins) and Die Hoch-Zeit (20 Mins) which both play on the cosmic chant mood. The end result is a pretty trippy and pretty insane recording that plays nicely along on those slow moving Sunday mornings. (loserboy)

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Robbie Basho - Venus in Cancer (1969)


Robbie Basho is the least heralded of the three Takoma musicians who revolutionized the acoustic guitar in the 1960s. John Fahey is a legend, Leo Kottke even achieved commercial success, but Basho remains largely unknown, as spectral as his music. This reissue of his 1969 album Venus in Cancer reminds us that he deserved no such fate. The album sits well next to Fahey's Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death and Kottke's 6 and 12-String Guitar, even as it goes further than either into the spirit realm.

Like his comrades, Basho had a sense of humor about his work, evidenced immediately in the amusing cover shot of a woman made up with claw-hands and what we can only assume are supposed to be crab eyes accosting the nude, stoic Venus. As weird as it is, the image could never be as otherworldly as the music. The album kicks off with the title track-- nine-and-a-half minutes of superb solo acoustic guitar. Basho mixed elements and styles, using open twelve-string tunings to peek at Indian raga from a base in Appalachian folk. The harmony of the piece shifts between Eastern stasis and Western motion, and then within that Western motion between buoyant melody and foreboding dissonance.

The fretwork is even more dazzling on "Kowaka D'Amour", which features a hyperspeed mid-section that must have required jaw-dropping technique. The playing in the slower movements sounds influenced by the North African oud style, bouncing around in a scale and double-plucking notes at startling speed. If Basho's guitar playing was beyond impressive, another aspect of his sound is likely to rouse controversy: his voice.

Basho's vocals appear on half of the album's six songs, and there's nothing like his singing in pop, folk, or anywhere else. He sings from deep within his chest but doesn't project operatically, resulting in a strange, elemental tone that lends his florid poetry cosmic weight. On much of "Song for the Queen" he sings in long, hanging notes; accompanied by French horn, violin, and guitar, the song's spoken section has a Renaissance meets Shakespearean feel. Basho doesn't bother with lyrics on "Eagle Sails the Blue Diamond Waters", instead wailing wordlessly over fluttering finger work and harmonics, with an assist from Victor Chancellor's "drone guitar."

Venus in Cancer comes from a place-- part spiritual, part cosmic, and part earthen-- that's difficult to define. This singular work has been nicely cleaned up and remastered by the Tompkins Square folks, and the guitar leaps right out of the speakers with force and clarity, the sound of fingers rubbing strings intact. In these days of freak-folk and new guitar explorers like Steffen Basho-Junghans and Ben Chasny, this fits right in.

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The Children Of Sunshine - Dandelions (1971)


THE BACK OF THE ALBUM READS:
It was just two years ago when we met each other — thats when it all started. Jim CURRAN started giving us guitar lessons. After a while we always played together at the shows at school. Then we had a photography class with Frank. He taught us how to develop pictures and what a photographer should know. One day it was very nice out so we went over to the college to ake pictures and there was a great big dandelion field and so we thought why dont we take pictures here. So we all picked some dandelions and posed in them. Frank took our picture and we developed it. In a few weeks we were together at Kitsys home for the weekend and Uncle Scott and Aunt Judy were there when we started to make up some songs. Uncle Scott said, Why dont you two make an album since youre so good? We said, O.K.! So we started making up songs and Kitsy came up with the idea of using the picture of us as the album cover. We figured out how it was going to look and everything so we made up a whole bunch of songs. Some of them we forgot and they werent any good and so we had to make up new ones. Our new ones turned out pretty good. Then we had singing lessons with some of the teachers at our school. Before we could record we had to practice doing our songs, so Jim said we should have a show of our own for the school just to get used to crowds. We did and we sang all our songs. Finally we had a whole bunch of rehearsals for the album and we had background people like Wendy and Mike — Mike played the drums and Wendy the bass. It really started to sound good so we had our first recording sessions. On our first recording session we recorded 4 songs but we only used two: Dandelions and Tuffy. In our second recording session we were tired of rehearsing and recording so we decided we were going to do them all that day. They all turned out good. The following Monday night at 8 oclock we chose which songs we wanted to do which finished the album. We had everybody who wanted an album at the College School send in $5.00 to us. When we got pretty much money we finished the album and that made us very proud.

Wed like to say Thank you very much to Jim CURRAN, Wendy KATZ, Mike KIEFFER, John MacENULTY, Uncle Steve (Uncle Harry?) and all the people who helped us make our whole album. TRES and KITSY.

Interview: Tres & Kitsy (aka The Children of Sunshine, aka Dandelions)

EL: Evan LeVine
TW: Thérèse (Tres) Williams
KC: Kitsy Christner

EL: Can you tell me about yourself?

TW: My legal name is Thérèse Williams. The nickname “Tres” was created by a second-grade teacher who felt “Thérèse” was too difficult. I reclaimed my true name “Thérèse” as a junior in high school. Although I was married for fifteen years and had changed my last name to my husband’s in 1984, I changed my name back to Williams via my divorce in 1999, reclaiming my father’s name the year before his death. It was a good choice.

My father was Jimmy Williams, jazz pianist/composer/arranger. He had a strong 50 year musical history in St. Louis. He started playing professional jazz piano while only 15, playing with an adult jazz band in East St. Louis.  His original composition “Jim’s Tune” is covered on the vinyl album ‘Five Brothers’ on Tampa Records (sold for $1.98 back in the day), with Red Mitchell/bass, Bob Enevoldsen/tenor sax, Herbie Harper/trombone, Don Overburg/guitar, and Frank Capp/drums. I have two in my possession. He’s also on three CDs that I know of. A 1957 recording of Bob Graf’s ‘Bob Graf at Westminster’ and a 1995 issue of Jay Hungerford’s ‘Jay Hungerford presents The Keys to the City’. Each track is a duet with Jay on acoustic bass. He let my dad name his track; “Get Out of Town” – Cole Porter. My dad’s long-time buddy, and best man at my parents’ wedding, Joe Bozzi came out with a CD after my father’s death “Nice Vibes and a Trumpet” with a cover of my dad’s original composition “Jimmy’s bossa Nova (Only a Dream Ago)”, and the original recording from the late ’60s on the Charlotte Peters Show in St. Louis (ABC) of “Jordu” (the Jazz Salerno Quartet, later the Joe Bozzi Quartet was the house band at the Playboy Club Penthouse in St. Louis for many years-they performed on her show to promote the Penthouse shows at the Playboy Club).

I have recordings of his that I need to put to digital and release. I’m also doing a website for his musical legacy. He was the musical director and had the “Jimmy Williams Orchestra” for a jazz series for St. Louis’ PBS (channel 9). He was musical director and pianist for the Golden Rod Showboat in St. Louis, docked at Laclede’s landing. He did jazz arrangements for the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. The Doc Severinsen Band of Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show performed one of his arrangements (I have to find out which one and when). He studied with Henry Mancini. He was in the middle of the Gaslight Square phenomenon in St. Louis in the late ’50s, early ’60s due to the fact that he was the musical director and pianist at the Crystal Palace in it’s heyday. At the Crystal Palace my father played for the Smothers Brothers, Barbara Streisand, Odetta, Lenny Bruce, and so many others.

My father drowned in my presence in St. Charles, just outside St. Louis in September 2000 in the Missouri River. Twenty-three musicians from the ages of 23 to 60+ played his musical memorial. They played his arrangements, original compositions, and his personal favorites. We have video. I’ve inherited his music and piano…so it’s in my blood; I have great timing and a good ear…but I never mastered any one instrument, I never truly studied music. My father studied music at a young age. He was practicing piano four hours a day starting at age fourteen because something in him ‘had’ to. He was considered in St. Louis to be a musician’s musician; a master musician, of the bebop era. There are jazz musicians all over St. Louis that have suitcases of my father’s arrangements. When a band leader would hire my dad for a gig, they new they’d get amazing arrangements thrown in!

After Dandelions, I never played music again until after my father died, twelve years ago. I had to step back into that river gradually. Song writing is my life-long therapy.

Image courtesy Riverfront Times

EL: Can you settle the Dandleions/Children Of Sunshine/Tres & Kitsy thing?

TW: The album was titled Dandelions. We called ourselves The Children of Sunshine, but were known as Tres & Kitsy (Tres & Kitsy is what was printed on the album labels).

EL: The back cover of the record tells us a lot about the history of ‘Dandelions’ — but it doesn’t say how Kitsy and Tres met, just that you met two years before the album was recorded. So, how did you two meet exactly, and how was your friendship different before you started taking guitar lessons?

TW: Kitsy and I first met at The College School in Webster Groves on the first day of school in 1970. We were both ten years old and starting the fifth grade. I had been at the school since the second grade, but this was Kitsy’s first year there. At the time, it was an open-classroom school supported by Webster College, which is now Webster University, in Webster Groves, MO (The College School has been independent for many years now and is in a different Webster Groves location). We just happened to be thrown in together for a guitar class with Jim Curran, an art major at the college who was a work-study student teacher, giving guitar music lessons to the students at The College School (it was a very progressive school at the time and we were allowed to create our own schedules and curriculum). I had taken guitar classes from Jim in the previous year (fourth grade/1969-70).

We were at similar levels with guitar musically, and played surprisingly well together. We also sang together beautifully and we both liked the same folk artists: Judy Collins, Peter Paul and Mary, Buffy St. Marie, Joni Mitchell, Cat Stevens, John Denver, James Taylor, etc. Through the music, we quickly became best friends; we were inseparable! We were together all the time, in school, outside of school, weekends, vacations,  so we had every opportunity to play our guitars, singing the music we loved together…and we LOVED our guitars! We were real hams, performing for our parents/family and their friends. We participated in all the school concerts along with Jim’s other guitar students.

From the time we met and played music together in the Fall of 1970, to the time we began writing music together Christmas of 1970, was a total of only four months. In the song “The College School”, our opening line is “It was just two years ago, when we picked up our guitars…”, which was true for both of us, but this was independent of one another, prior to having met. Within five months, from Christmas 1970 to the Spring of 1971, we had written ten songs for the album and recorded ‘Dandelions’. We had enthusiastically decided upon the photograph we’d use for the album cover (one we had developed ourselves in our photography class).

Our friendship was very rich, and mutually inspiring. I feel that it was our unique chemistry that made our magic. Our chemistry as friends, as well as the alchemy of Jim working with us so closely, along with the support of the adults around us; family and school. No one tried to edit our creativity, instead, the focus was on our true unbridled expression. We were very fortunate to have a true creative philosophy surrounding and nurturing us.

EL: What was it like writing all the songs that wound up on the album? Do you remember who wrote which songs, or was it a totally collaborative process?

TW: Christmas was approaching in 1970, and Jim was late for our regularly scheduled guitar class. To pass the time, we started to talk about the Christmas party that Kitsy’s parents were planning. Kitsy wanted to make sure that I would come and spend the weekend of the party at her house. I told her that I’d have to ask my folks for permission, she was insisting that I get permission, so I assured her that I’d even ask my dog Tuffy. She asked me, jokingly, what he’d say, so I began to play my guitar and sing “Arf, arf, arf, arf”. At that moment, Jim came bursting through the door (he was never late). He had witnessed us laughing and singing “Arf, arf, arf, arf”. Jim said “Hey, play that again!” We laughed at his interest in what seemed completely silly to us, but he said “No, you guys are writing music! You just wrote a song!” He dedicated our guitar class that afternoon to our song-writing, encouraging us to develop our first song together, “Tuffy” written about my Boston Terrier Bulldog.

I remember it being very easy to write music and lyrics at the time. I had mine, and Kitsy had hers, and we’d bring them to one another and get excited about them and collaborate till we felt they were right. I wrote the song “War” and had bounced it off my carpool friend and schoolmate Crystal Gore, who made a few musical suggestions in the backseat of the taxicab that our parents chartered to bring us to and from school (along with other kids who lived in the city of St. Louis and attended The College School in Webster Groves). I brought “War” to Kitsy and we collaborated further, giving Crystal additional writing credit on the track (her name is on the label itself, listed on the track, not on the album cover, none of the songs are listed on the cover). While Kitsy’s family wintered in Steamboat Springs, CO, she wrote the song “If You Are Lonely”, then brought it back to me in St. Louis and we collaborated further. Every song on the album is original and represents some form of our collaboration together musically/creatively. Our unique alchemy was an inspiration for us both. All that we did, was because we had done it together. Our unique chemistry, our unique bond, seemed to have a life of it’s own, far greater than the sum of our independent creativity.


EL: Where did you record the album?

TW: Kent Kesterson of KBK Records recorded us in a Webster Groves church on Big Bend. It was modern with carpeted floors and a surround pulpit; it was a good acoustic choice. At the time Kent recorded High School choirs on location and did all his mixing in his basement studio in his new home in the newly developed Earth City which had previously been farmland for miles around. Ten years later he had created KBK/Earth City Sound Studios where he recorded albums for Mama’s Pride, voice recordings for John Davidson, and Black Sabbath used his studio for rehearsing. He was interviewed in Billboard Magazine in 1980 regarding his studio expansion which, at that time, was the most state-of-the-art recording facility in the Midwest outside of Nashville. Like many recording studios in the early ’80s, he was forced to sell the entire studio at auction to cover his bills…I think they went bankrupt. Unfortunately, Kent died of a stroke during the ’90s.John MacEnulty Sr. provided professional musical assistance. Al Schmeez designed the album cover. Wendy Katz played acoustic bass. Mike Keifer was on drum kit. Kitsy’s parents paid for the cost of the record being made. My mom printed our business cards “Tres & Kitsy, The Children of Sunshine, Guitar Entertainment” and included our home numbers. I still have four copies of the business cards!

EL: Do you remember being nervous your first time in a recording studio?

TW: Kent, as were all the adults surrounding our project, was wonderful. At the age of ten, we were allowed complete artistic freedom in all choices regarding our album and our music. Although we had scheduled a week of recording sessions, after two full days we were already tired of the long detail-oriented process and asked to stop recording at the end of day two. There was no day three. Our process was always honored. Kent invited us to his basement home studio to listen to our tracks. We were able to discern which cuts we preferred, as well as the order of the tracks. We were surprised to find two additional tracks added to our ten-song album. While the tape was rolling between official takes, Kent had captured Kitsy and I in conversation discussing the music, the last song we’d played, how we might perfect it or not, silly thoughts and feelings, and our excitement at being done with the recording process. It was a clever documentation of our age and sensibilities at the time in that unique setting. We were just happy to get out of the regular school day!

EL: Were there any songs you recorded during the ‘Dandelions’ sessions that did not make the LP?

TW: We only wrote together what you hear on the album. We were creating music all the time, but this album captures the only co-written material that we ever documented outside of radio and television performances.

EL: What’s your best/favorite memory of the recording sessions?

TW: We were also taking a photography class at our school and used a photo that we had developed of us as the album cover. In this photograph we were surrounded by a field of blooming dandelions. It was this dandelion field that inspired us to use one of the photos on the album cover and to title the album ‘Dandelions’. Only then did we write a song about it (title track 01).

We wrote songs about our school, a dandelion field, a family friend, my dog, divorce (which everyone’s parents around us seemed to be experiencing), heaven, god, war, how to make a record, and how not to be lonely. We never wrote any other songs together that ‘took’. Once we had a total of ten for the album, we figured we were done.

EL: Do you still have any of the pictures you took of the dandelion filed during the outing that inspired the album cover photos?

TW: We both have sets of enlarged photos from our dandelion field session that we mounted on board back in 1970. We made two identical sets for both of us. Each set had a portrait of each of us separately, as well as the one on the album cover of us together…we were squinting in the sun!

EL: Do you remember how many copies of the album were made, or how many were sold? Did you remember to keep copies for yourself?

TW: 300 albums were produced. Most were either sold one at a time to friends, family, and school-mates, or given away, so it’s fair to say that every copy that went out at that time was opened and played at least once. Our mothers kept the bulk of them, though we each had a few. A vinyl collector from LA bought most of what we had left and that was after he searched for us for fifteen years! A collector friend of his had found an old used copy of Dandelions at a yard sale in St. Louis and sold it to him.

Apparently the LA collector has been getting the word out. We’re still pretty shocked over it all. Grade school friends write to tell me how they lost the album in their divorce, or how they found their album after their mother passed. It seems to be a personal bond for people.

EL: How did you feel about playing your songs in a live setting at such a young age?

TW: We were never nervous about performing. It came very naturally to us. We’d perform every chance we’d get, and we created a few of our own opportunities. We performed twice on the Children’s television show Corkey’s Colorama, a weekend children’s program hosted by Corkey the Clown, otherwise known as Cliff St. James, the NBC channel 5 weatherman. Once on his show we performed our song “Tuffy”, written about my dog, and Mr. St. James found a sponsor in Tuffy dog food which he pitched on the heels of our song. We performed live on KMOX radio (another NBC affiliate) and KDNA, an independent college station. We managed to score a feature entertainment story for the St. Louis Post Dispatch that included large photographs of each of us. We had a few small gigs in St. Louis. We were always performing at our school and we loved to get out of school to perform for others!

EL: What happened after the album was released? Did you consider making a second album? Did you keep playing music

TW: The album was released in the 71/72 school year. We were both eleven years old and in the sixth grade. We sold our albums for $5 each. I had set that price based upon the fact that the double album “Jesus Christ Superstar” was currently selling for $10 (a big price in those days).

Kitsy and I were best friends in the fifth and sixth grades. While preparing to graduate the sixth grade, we knew we’d be leaving The College School, which was a sad prospect, so a handful of students and their parents decided to create our own junior high school. Kitsy and I attended this new school which our parents had helped to create and which we had all named “The Satellite School” (I had even designed the school’s logo). Although we started the seventh grade as best friends, much had changed between us during that school year. We moved in different circles and followed different drummers, but we’ve always kept in touch over the years. We were in each others’ weddings. We never played music together again, but often made fun of ourselves having recorded Dandelions at ten when we were on the verge of discovering rock, which made our music seem pretty silly and babyish. We were ashamed of our music for many years. We took a lot of hard-core teasing from Kitsy’s older brother and the boys at school. Some of the boys pulled off a great prank by getting hold of the school’s speaker system and mocked us by singing “Barf, barf, barf, barf…that’s what you would do…after you see the room that Tuffy got to…”. I’m still in touch with some of those guys today and they still laugh at their coup of 1971!

I was always close to Kitsy’s mom, Jo. I’d spent a lot of time in their home, and felt a strong heart connection with her then as I do today. Their family gave me my own pony, Dusty. I was also inspired by her father, Ted, who was one of the top architects in St. Louis. When I went to college at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, it was their pre-architecture program that drew me…that and wanting to leave St. Louis to be on my own. I remember how it felt to be in Ted’s office during the years Kitsy and I were close. Everyone at his firm was drawing blueprints and painting presentations and building models and it was all a beautiful candy store to me. I never completed the architecture program but excelled in all of my art classes. I should have changed my major to Fine Arts, I couldn’t grasp the physics required for architecture; I was great with calculus, but physics did me in. I also had an extreme fear of test-taking. A couple of family tragedies kept me from returning to school.

KC: While Therese became close with my family I too spent a wealth of time with her and her mother, Carol. She became like a second mother. She has a heart of gold, loved me, cared for me…She encouraged us to do anything that came to mind that was creative, never putting limits on us, making sure that we knew that we could do anything, be anything. She was a single mom, worked countless hours but always had time for us. She did not have any extra cash ever but I remember there always being enough for us to do something special, get an ice cream, or go to a movie.

EL: What are you doing with your lives currently?

KC: I am working in Residential Real Estate Sales in St. Louis. I am very happily married and have three beautiful children ages 22, 20 and 17. My free time is spent enjoying my family and in the outdoors.

TW: Today, I’m working in the field of permaculture. I’ve been working administratively over the past eight years in the executive office of the twenty-three year old 501c3 non-profit PAL-Permacultura America Latina. As PAL’s Administrative Director I handled all administration and financials from the executive office including all registrations, wires, scholarships, etc. Prince Charles wrote of his first permaculture tour to our center in Manaus, Brazil in his new book “Harmony”, where he’s photographed with PAL’s founder, President and International Program Coordinator Ali Sharif, and PAL’s Vice-President CarlosMiller. PAL…is serving communities and families in need of water and food security, as well as natural sanitation. This is a region that has survived civil war.

I fell into permaculture by accident. I am staying in the field because I strongly believe that sustainable design for living is the most viable solution for our current ecological, economic, and ethical condition of deterioration in our world. Through PAL, I was able to attend the IPC9 in Africa in 2009, where I received my 72hr International PDC-Permaculture Design Certificate Course at the Fambidzanai Permaculture Centre. The course was associated with the IPC9, which was held in Malawi. After the Malawi Convergence and Conference, I stayed for an additional week to receive a teaching certificate (TOT) in Permaculture Design from Rosemary Morrow of the Blue Mountains Permaculture Institute of Australia. I’m currently a member of the International PDC Support Group (the IPC selects a different continent and host for the IPCs every two years).

I recently started my own non-profit, Food and Permaculture for Communities, which is just getting off the ground. Working with numerous permaculturalists across Africa, my passion is to support and understand how permaculture empowers the women of Africa, and how the women of Africa empower their communities, though my interest isn’t in the women alone. Men and women are doing amazing work on their own. I want to support their work and network them with one another. I’m also interested in teaching people locally how to compost, harvest water, grow food, build with earth, and integrate systems for sustainable living. I spent weekends over the course of five months learning hands-on earth-building at Ampersand Sustainable Learning Center in NM. I spent last summer as an Executive Assistant for the Carbon Economy Series of lectures and workshops in Santa Fe. I’ve taught composting to fourth-graders. I work at a local organic farm. I grow food and raise chickens in my spare time.

EL: Did either of you continue to play music?

TW: For the past 12 years I’ve played agogo bell with Samba Fe in Santa Fe and am learning to play an 18″ surdo drum. I’m a guest agogo bell player for St. Louis’ Joya samba band when I’m in town. I’ve played agogo/cowbell for Mala Mana and also Batacutanga, of Albuquerque. I’ve been in the Albuquerque samba band The Lost Tribes of Mardi Gras for the past year (though I’ve played with them for the past ten years as a guest agogo and percussion player). They’ve got me singing again and I love it!

I’ve studied Zimbabwe Shona music over the years and have been in two local marimba bands and love singing vocals. I sang on stage with Michelle Shocked in Taos, New Mexico (we harmonized like angels – she is without a doubt a most generous soul). I’ve performed vocals with a few local musicians and poets in Santa Fe. I have a beautiful passion for Afro-Hatian dance and African Dun Dun drumming. I’ve been blessed with instruction from some of the best teachers in African dance and music. I continue to write songs, always have, always will.

I love music. I love creating it, singing it, witnessing it, dancing and making love to it. It’s in my blood. I still write music and lyrics, though I rarely play guitar. I still have my Yamaha steel string guitar, made in a Japanese factory, that I bought for myself for my tenth birthday in 1970. I had earned $30 doing odd jobs in my neighborhood and my mom matched it for a dealer price of $60 (the music store’s owners were friends of my parents). I had it cleaned up a few years ago and bought a new case. I’m now wanting a small-necked acoustic with pick-up (my hands are small). In the meantime, I’ve been blessed with a baritone ukelele with a pick-up. It’s very kind to my out-of-practice hands and is so much fun to play!

EL: Do you maintain a good friendship with each other? Has the recent interest in your music affected that?

KC: The new interest in our music over the last seven years has really brought us together with our communication. Although we lead very different lives it has been a true joy to get to know each other again and appreciate the different things that each of us has done.

TW: This new and totally unexpected interest in our album ‘Dandelions’ from 40 years ago has brought us closer together now than we’ve been in years. It’s been a riot. We can’t understand what all the fuss is about. Mike Appelstein of the Riverfront Times, in St. Louis, wrote a 2,300-word feature cover story on us April 15, 2011. We were very proud of that issue. I’m designing a website (we have a temporary website). We gather with our mothers for dinner now whenever I visit St. Louis. The album is a business now. We have seven offers to re-release the vinyl, and we will be releasing digital ourselves; pay-to-download, and a collector’s anniversary cd with memorabilia. We will also release a songbook. Someone is interested in doing a documentary film on our story. The eBay sales have not been ours. The internet and YouTube postings have not been ours. ‘Dandelions’ has taken a ride all on its own. It’s beautiful how the music and the message has rung true through the years. Now we’re stepping up to claim what was our creation. The phenomenon of ‘Dandelions’ 40 years after the fact has brought us much closer than we had been in many years. It’s a welcome reunion!




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The Stench Band - Pray For The Fred (1971-1973) [incomplete]


The Stench Band was formed in Omaha, Nebraska (of all places!) in the early 1970s. It was a mix of different artists, with huge influence from Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band. While largely unnoticed at the time, it gained a modicum of popularity in the late 1990s, when someone bought a used album at a garage sale. Finally, someone noticed! The Stench Band produced four albums to date. The final one, Pray for the Fred, was a compendium of their "Greatest Hits", if an unrecognized band can have greatest hits. It is available on vinyl.

"The Stench music has been called "proto-punk" and "experimental psych" and has been compared to Captain Beefheart, Zappa, the Gizmos, and even Nurse With Wound!" (from the insert). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED !!!




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Andrzej Pietrasz - Allen Ginsberg w Polsce


Poezja Allena Ginsberga w przekładach dotarła do Polski dość późno, bo po około dziesięciu latach od ukazania się tomu Skowyt w Stanach Zjednoczonych, później też niż legenda beatnika‐buntownika, jaka powstała w Ameryce już w latach pięćdziesiątych ubiegłego wieku. Ginsberg zresztą tę legendę podtrzymywał, a jego zdolności autokreacji były na tyle silne, że potrafił wpływać na swój wizerunek oraz obraz całej formacji Beat Generation właściwie przez cały okres swojej działalności literacko‐społecznej. Podobna legenda, potem wielokrotnie modyfikowana, ale czyniąca z amerykańskiego beatnika postać prawie mityczną, wytworzyła się również w Polsce. Pierwsze wzmianki o grupie niepokornych amerykańskich poetów, która później znana będzie jako Beat Generation, pojawiły się w Polsce pod koniec lat pięćdziesiątych. […]

Oprócz działalności literackiej był Allen Ginsberg również działaczem społecznym, angażującym się w różne przedsięwzięcia mające pomóc wykluczonym grupom społecznym w uzyskaniu pełni praw obywatelskich, a więc mniejszościom etnicznym (Murzyni, Indianie), niższym klasom społecznym amerykańskiego tygla, mniejszościom seksualnym będącym na marginesie, wreszcie młodzieży, która – nie godząc się na taki obraz Ameryki – postanowiła walczyć, najpierw kontestując tę rzeczywistość, a potem coraz donioślej domagać się zmian. Adresatami żądań byli amerykańscy politycy i uprzywilejowane warstwy społeczne, dostrzegający wreszcie, że obok nich żyją też inni ludzie, którzy powinni mieć takie same prawa. Po stronie tych wykluczonych stawał Allen Ginsberg jako ich nieformalny rzecznik, swoją poezją walcząc o zmiany, które powinny zostać wprowadzone dla lepszego i sprawiedliwszego funkcjonowania amerykańskiej demokracji. Będąc najbardziej znanym beatnikiem, korzystał z koniunktury, która przyczyniła się do wzrostu zainteresowania awangardową poezją amerykańską, również w Polsce. [ze wstępu]


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Roof - The Untraceable Cigar (1996)


Amazing band that ended far too early in their creative cycle due to the early demise of Tom Cora. The band continued under the name "4Walls", but the recordings under the name Roof remain stellar achievements.

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The Stooges - Heavy Liquid Box 6CD (2005)


Heavy Liquid comprises 79 tracks on 6 CDs including all of the unreleased studio demos from the original master tapes, rehearsal and live materials. It also includes a booklet with extensive liner notes featuring interviews with Iggy, Ron & Scott Asheton plus an Iggy photo book. CD1 features the Olympic Studio tapes, London 1972. The material is unreleased and taken from recently discovered multi-track master tapes. CD2 features a Morgan Sound Studios, Ypsilanti, Michigan, 1973, unreleased rehearsal taken from recently discovered ¬ inch tape. CD3 features the Los Angeles & Detroit rehearsals during the spring of 1973. CD4 features the CBS studios rehearsals, July 1973, for the upcoming shows at Max's Kansas City. CD5 features the five night stand at the Whiskey-A-Go-Go in September 1973. CD6 concludes with The Stooges Last Stand in Detroit, Michigan at the Palace in 1974. This recording has been re-mastered from the original tape and also includes 3 unreleased tracks. Easy Action. 2005.

Don’t wanna labour the point but the opening years of this century really are turning into The Golden Age of the Stooges, what with the band’s resurrection, the recording of new songs, deluxe re-issues of the first two albums popping out of the pipeline, a live album kicking around and the prospect of a new studio effort. This six-disc box set from UK heritage label Easy Action really does spoil confirmed Stoogeaholics.


You might be sceptical and you’d have a right to be, such is the confusing array of re-issued, re-booted and, in many cases, shoddy Stooges material out there. French labels Revenge, Fan Club and Skydog, plus US company Bomp, did us a huge favour by keeping the Stooges in front of the public for many years, but they also unleashed a few offerings that were mutton dressed as lamb. (I’m thinking Bomp’s most recent “Wild Love”, which reeked of bottom-of-the-barrel in a big way). And while Rhino’s “Fun House” box set was probably for the truly obsessed (like, how many takes of “1970” can you listen to back-to-back?), “Heavy Liquid” manages to mix things up a little more, drawing from live and rehearsal aspects of the “Raw Power” period.

Three of the discs are previously released material, but albums one, two and five are where the going gets interesting. The first is a series of scorching multi-track rehearsal tapes from July 1972 at London’s Olympic Studios (a home to the Stones) and probably demos for the album sessions that followed. Disc two is unreleased material from 1973 Michigan rehearsals with short-term Stooges pianist Bob Scheff which resembles some of the stuff that’s already out there. Disc five is from the October ’73 run of shows at Los Angeles’ Whisky-a-Go-Go and has never been aired, while there’s a speed-corrected chunk of live audio from the ’74 show at Bimbo’s Casino that Bomp released on “Open Up and Bleed” that’s better sounding in this form.

So should you sink your hard-earned into this one? That depends on whether you’re into the “Raw Power” Stooges, who were an entirely different animal to earlier incarnations. With Ron Asheton on bass (and it has to be said that he’s just as much a killer on four strings as six) and the installation of James Williamson on guitar, there was a shift into what most people would regard as a more “musically structured” direction. Iggy explains the essential differences in guitar approach in the accompanying booklet as one of Ron’s lyrical playing versus James’ brutality, and who’s to argue? Personally, I rate “Funhouse” as one of the four or five greatest and most primal things ever recorded, but I still listen to “Raw Power” (even the re-mix, if you’re asking) so I had to plonk down the cash to grab this.


Part of the attraction is undoubtedly the Car Crash Syndrome. You know the way people slow down and stare when they motor past a traffic accident on a busy highway? You have to ask how the Stooges managed to function as a unit once the Mainman money and CBS support dried up and the hard drugs kicked in. Iggy set the meter to Self Destruct and circumstances condemned the band to playing in shitty bars across a largely uncaring Middle America. So what headspace were these guys occupying, and how did they manage not to kill themselves (or be killed)? You can liken the Stooges of that time to a trashed and unregistered car that no-one wanted to steal, spinning its bald tyres on black ice just inches away from a precipice, but the dope-sick reality was much less romantic a notion than that. No Future, indeed.

Of course it should be about the music and it ranged from bar room blues to what we can now retrospectively dub proto-punk, and as such was several years ahead of the curve. Some of the tracks on “Heavy Liquid” are curiosities - it has to be said that their rehearsal versions of “Money” and “Louie Louie” are looser than a Hollywood groupie - but the duplicated outtakes of the “I Got a Right” sessions are different enough to avoid monotony. It’s those songs and the 1973 Michigan rehearsal that do it for me. While the latter may not be all that different from what you’ve hear on “Rubber Legs” or “Open Up and Bleed”, this version sounds a touch hotter. If Iggy and Co put this much into a practice, how intense must the shows have been?

No kitchen sink included but you do get a sticker, a booklet with new insights from Iggy, Rock and Ron plus a booklet of photos from Mick Rock (looking like a plug for the new edition of his Stooges portraits). Impressive stuff.

"Raw Power" notwithstanding, "Heavy Liquid" is the definitive, late-period Stooges release. - The Barman


Back in the 70’s, Iggy Pop’s father taught honors English at one of the high schools in my suburban Detroit hometown of Dearborn and the senior Osterberg would greet each new crop of students with good news and bad news: yes, Jim was his son and no, he didn’t want to talk about it. Now that the Stooges are no longer Detroit’s dirty little secret, it seems no-one can stop talking about him.

To most, initial exposure to the Stooges is akin to being sucked through the roof by a twister and deposited, shocked but intact, in some odd and blissful world. Never mind the Mars probe – one listen to “The Stooges,” “Fun House,” or “Raw Power” provides all of the evidence you’ll need that life exists elsewhere in the universe and occasionally visits Earth.

Although the image of Iggy as a one-man primer on a comprehensive litany of anti-social behavior has always been an iconic one, it’s taken 35 years of hindsight, analysis, and fine tooth combing to spotlight the contributions of Messrs. Asheton, Alexander, MacKay, Thurston, and Williamson, without whom the band’s legacy would be secure.

“Heavy Liquid” is a lovingly compiled, stoked-out (what the Brits would call “top gear”) six-disc mini box set that captures the Stootches during a period of flux (July 1972 – January 1974), still gaining their sea legs after welcoming (“welcome” being a relative term when it came to Ron Asheton, who grudgingly switched over to bass) guitarist James Williamson into the inner sanctum after the original line-up – Asheton, brother Scott, and Dave Alexander - crashed and burned in a shitstorm of bad dope and slight mental problems in 1971.

Like Rhino Handmade’s “1970: The Complete Fun House Sessions” box, this one’s targeted at the voyeurs; fly-on-the-wall adventures through a landscape of murder city nights, rehearsal sheds in London, Ypsilanti, and Detroit, and on the boards and under the lights in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, Iggy steadfastly struggling to re-invent The Stooges on Mainman’s dime.

“Heavy Liquid” takes major steps toward putting to rest the band’s image as a bunch of college town ne’er-do-wells entirely consumed with cheap thrills and even cheaper drugs, plugging in, tuning out, and grunting like cavemen inventing the wheel. The Olympic Studio (London) Tapes reveal Iggy The Taskmaster, knuckling down and leading the band through multiple takes of “I Got A Right,” joining in on some and standing back and taking stock on others, honing a black lump of coal into a hardened, sharp diamond, Rock Action’s double snare tap cueing up Williamson’s six-string meteor storm and what sounds like background noise from a Tarzan movie. To break up the monotony, there’s half-hearted passes at “Surfin’ Bird,” Barrett Strong’s “Money,” and a short, punch drunk “Louie Louie.”

Back on terra firma in the Great Lake state, in an Ypsilanti barn called Morgan Sound Studios owned by Scott Richardson of SRC as well as an unnamed Detroit location, University of Michigan music instructor Bob Scheff gets a quick tour of Planet Stooge, his insistent boogie-woogie piano struggling to raise its head above the din laid down by Williamson and the Ashetons, an interesting, but ultimately unnecessary attempt to add a bit of texture to “Raw Power” staples like “Search & Destroy,” “Gimme Danger,” and “Death Trip” as well as early workouts of “Wild Love,” “Open Up & Bleed,” “Jesus Loves The Stooges,” “Rubber Legs,” and “Cock In My Pocket.” Williamson’s guitar snarls, slobbers, and showers sparks over the proceedings, Ron and Scott venting their spleens and other internal organs, and Iggy, well, doing what Iggy does best.

If the live photos depicting Iggy as a bi-polar, shirtless, prima ballerina, complete with tights, sash, and slippers are any indication, it’s no surprise that patrons of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Farm, far to the west of Detroit, straight down Michigan Avenue, incensed by his baiting one particularly cold February night back in 1974, showed up loaded for bear the next night at Ford Auditorium, the ensuing battle of wills scrapbooked for posterity on “Metallic K.O.” Coincidentally (and even less surprising), the Rock ‘n’ Roll Farm was just a short jaunt down the road from the sprawling Eloise complex, at the time one of the country’s largest mental hospitals, known throughout the industry for progressive treatments like hypnosis, electroshock treatment, and music therapy (!).

Despite the singer’s on-stage foibles, the live material unveiled here is as close to the holy grail as you’re likely to get unless somebody in Ann Arbor stumbles across a strongbox filled with tapes buried somewhere along fraternity row. The Max’s Kansas City and Whisky A Go Go performances reveal four guys intent on laying down the gauntlet, recapturing the mojo, and riding off into the sunset, string of scalps hanging from their belts.

Iggy’s attempt at a bit of soul purging, a heartfelt lament on how the band never got any help (ever…), is usurped by a drunk who screams “Your roots are showing!” Shrugging their shoulders and throwing up their hands, the only appropriate response from the Stooges seems to be scorching a few inner ears with an outright malicious flogging of “Search & Destroy.” Run credits…

If you’re as obsessively, compulsively preoccupied with packaging details as I am, comfort awaits within. Easy Action have packed “Heavy Liquid” with stickers, a booklet full of photos and liner notes from Creem magazine hacks, a second booklet of Mick Rock photos, and individual cardboard picture sleeves for all six discs. Nicely done all around.

Until that long-promised/rumored/anticipated new Stooges studio album raises its ugly little head, “Heavy Liquid” is a classy stopgap, another trip in the wayback machine with all dials calibrated to "Palookaville." Stash all items in the overhead compartment, fasten your seat belt, put your head between your legs, and kiss your ass goodbye. - Clark Paull



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Popera Cosmic - Les Esclaves (1969)


One of the first salvos of true otherness from the French underground scene, this mindbomb features the notorious William Sheller, whose 1972 opus Lux Aeterna is a long heralded holy grail of this scene, here collaborating with both eccentric period singer/songwriter and former Alice vocalist Francois Wertheimer and Guy Skornik, who I've previously shared two albums of monster caliber acid folk and kosmniche weirdity by. How promising does *that* sound, eh? And while the orchestrations that frame the acid rock displays here clearly set the stage for the overwhelming sturm und drang of Lux Aeterna, it's absent both the churchiness conveyed by the relentless choral aspect of that album as well as it's shifts into Wakhevitch-like eeriness. Here, the swooning orchestrations creak under the weight of all manner of period psychedelic mad hattery; the spirit here overtly suggestive at times of Jean-Pierre Massiera's Les Maledictus Sound, with its outsized sense of theatricality (at times tipping over into Komintern and Grand Magic Circus territory), overloads of caustic acid guitar flailing and fabulously cooing, sighing, and keening vocals. (mutant sounds)




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New Race - The First to Pay (1981)


Rob Younger: Lead Vocals
Ron Asheton: Lead Guitar
Deniz Tek: Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals
Warwick Gilbert: Bass
Dennis Thompson: Drums, Backing Vocals

The First and Last is a live album released by the "once-only" supergroup band New Race. The First and Last is a collection of recordings from the various shows the band played along the East Coast of Australia in 1981. New Race contained members of the band Radio Birdman: Deniz Tek, Rob Younger, and Warwick Gilbert, along with guitarist from The Stooges- Ron Asheton, and MC5 drummer Dennis Thompson. The First and Last has often been hailed as one of the greatest live Punk rock albums of all time, though there is dispute as to the true genre of the album. Birdman were often regarded as one of the integral influences of Australian punk rock but their style and sound is often compared to that of the MC5 Detroit sound, and the broad genre of Proto-punk, which includes bands such as The Stooges, The Velvet Underground, and The New York Dolls.

This album earned credibility for documenting a unique, one-off event. In 1981, ex-Radio Birdman bassist Warwick Gilbert, guitarist Deniz Tek, and vocalist Rob Younger saluted their influences by joining the Stooges' lead guitarist Ron Asheton and MC5 drummer Dennis Thompson for a six-week blitzkrieg of Australia. The notion made sense, since Radio Birdman had been acclaimed on their Australian home turf yet relegated to cult fodder elsewhere, while the MC5 and the Stooges had never been commercial propositions either. Still, once listeners pass the "punk summit" angle used in promoting the album, they'll find the fruits of this alliance impressive enough to warrant further exploration. Not surprisingly, there's strangled, slash-and-burn guitar playing aplenty on burners like "November 22, 1963," a conspiratorial recall of President John F. Kennedy's assassination. This track, by Asheton's major post-Stooges outlet, Destroy All Monsters, would undoubtedly win filmmaker Oliver Stone's approval. Tek's "Descent into the Maelstrom" and "Haunted Road" open similar forays into the fretboard jungle, while the Gilbert-Thompson axis never lets up, especially on the drummer's MC5 standard "Gotta Keep Movin'." As these choices show, the set draws evenly from across the board, with "Looking at You" and an understated "Loose" nodding again, respectively, to the MC5 and the Stooges. Tek's moodier songs, "Breaks My Heart" and "Sad TV," inject variety into the proceedings, while time constraints only permitted one new song to emerge: "Columbia," whose propulsive riff and atypical space-travel theme closes the album on a powerful, decisive note. Strategically overdubbed backing vocals and guitar on three songs, as well as piano on "Descent into the Maelstrom," do nothing to blunt this album's appeal, which offers historical value from a one-off event that never occurred again. Tek's terse yet engaging liner notes aptly sum up the exercise: "Humor beats bitterness every time." It's hard to disagree when the evidence is this powerful.

New Race was a punk/proto-punk super-group based in Sydney, Australia formed in April 1981. New Race was a concept band featuring three members of Radio Birdman: Deniz Tek, Rob Younger, and Warwick Gilbert, along with their inspirational mentors: Ron Asheton of The Stooges, and Dennis "Machine Gun" Thompson of the MC5.

New Race played one tour of the East Coast of Australia which consisted of 16 shows. Many of these shows were recorded in anticipation of a live album at the end of the tour, and it was these recordings which formed the band's only "official" album, The First and Last. There are two quality "bootleg" albums, also from these recordings, released on French label, Revenge Records. The three albums include Radio Birdman originals, songs from the MC5 and The Stooges as well as songs from Deniz Tek's post Birdman band, The Visitors and Asheton's post Stooges band, Destroy All Monsters along with one original song, "Columbia", credited to the entire band.

At the conclusion of the tour both Ron Asheton and Dennis Thompson returned to the United States to pursue new musical avenues. (ChrisGoesRock)


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East Of Eden - Another Eden (1975)


Grupa powstała w 1967 roku w Bristolu. Założycielami zespołu byli: Dave Arbus (skrzypce, flet,saksofon, trąbka), Ron Caines (saksofon altowy), Geoff Nicholson (gitara, śpiew), Al Read (wokal), Terry Brace (gitara basowa), Stuart Rossiter (perkusja). Początkowo grupa występuje pod nazwą The Picture of Dorian Gray, lecz pod wpływem ekranizacji książki Steinbecka, którą muzycy mieli okazję obejrzeć, zmieniają nazwę na East of Eden. Skład East of Eden zmieniał się często, przez zespół przewinęło się wielu świetnych muzyków. Pierwsze płyty („ Mercator projected”, „Snafu”) cieszyły się wielkim zainteresowaniem i odniosły duży sukces w Anglii i Europie. Muzyka East of Eden nie daje się zdefiniować, wymyka się wszelkim próbom zaszufladkowania. Z pewnością twórczość tego zespołu jest kwintesencją rocka progresywnego, połączeniem ciężkiego rocka, jazzu, muzyki orientalnej, poważnej i folku. Ostateczne rozwiązanie grupy następuje w 1977 roku,ale w 1997 muzycy zbierają się ponownie i nagrywają dwie płyty ("Kalipse" 1997 rok, "Armadilo" 2000 rok ). Rok 2005 przynosi kolejne wydawnictwo - płytę "Graffito".

***
It may be hard to believe, but this is the CD premiere of this little-known, underrated, but quite important 5th release from such an amazing British progressive band! it was recorded in February 1974 (a whole year after violinist Dave Arbus departure, and now with Jo O'Donnell from Irish folk-rock band Mushroom on board) but released a whole year later by German Harvest label in striking, nude cover. Without a doubt it deserves for recognition. The band has offered a varied and well-arranged progressive-jazz-blues-rock songs stylistically similar to some of the tracks from the previous two albums (from 1971), but done in somewhat simpler and more consistent form. This CD has been expanded with many rare & unreleased live tracks!


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Clinic & Christophe & Bernard Gerard - La route de Salina [OST] (1970)


Młody hippis Jonas (Robert Walker, Jr) wędruje samotnie przez meksykańskie, skwarne pustkowia. Pośród malowniczych wzgórz pokrytych zastygłą lawą natrafia na przydrożny zajazd. Zmęczony do granic wytrzymałości, zostaje przyjęty przez właścicielkę Mary (Rita Hayworth), poznaje jej zalotną córkę Billie (Mimsy Farmer) oraz przyjaciela domu Warrena (Ed Begley, Sr). Nieoczekiwanie wszyscy rozpoznają w chłopaku Rockyego, zaginionego syna Mary. Jonas jest zaskoczony, lecz szybko oswaja się z tą wiadomością. Wkrótce, krok po kroku, pozna mroczną rodzinną tajemnicę... Jedna z ostatnich kreacji hollywoodzkiej gwiazdy Rity Hayworth. (filmweb)

Ścieżka dźwiękowa do tego klasycznego, francuskiego thrillera z 1970 (w amerykańskiej obsadzie) jest w ostatnim 5-leciu jedną z najczęściej słuchanych przeze mnie płyt! Wszystko przez film Kill Bill 2 (reż. Quentin Tarantino) w którym to pojawił się genialny, minutowy utwór Chase a ja musiałem mieć ten fragment w kolekcji! Początkowo muzykę do filmu miała skomponować grupa Pink Floyd, ale ponieważ była zajęta, to pracę tę dostał nieznany, francusko-brytyjski zespół Clinic i wywiązał się z umowy doskonale! Album zawiera 11 kompozycji zespołu (w większości instrumentalnych) z kręgu pop-psychodelii i wczesnego, floydowskiego rocka a także po 2 nagrania w wykonaniu orkiestry oraz popularnego niegdyś piosenkarza Christophe'a. Generalnie słucha się tego jednym tchem i chociaż sa tutaj fragmenty ewidentnie popowe, to jestem pewien, że niemal każdy słuchacz wrażliwy na pop-psych-rockowe brzmienia z końca lat 60-tych uzna tę płytę za wyjątkową! Na tyle CD dobrze ktoś napisał, że obok soundtracku z filmu 'More' jest to najlepsza (rockowa) muzyka filmowa z tamtej epoki! Doskonała jakość dźwięku i bardzo gustowna (choć skromna) oprawa graficzna! 100% REKOMENDACJA! (megadisc.pl)


This original soundtrack (from the cult movie) was released in late 1970 by French Motors label. The fabulous music was created by then unknown French-Canadian-British rock band Clinic (which was chosen after the Pink Floyd weren't available), pop singer Christophe (present on just two tracks) and Bernard Gerard Orchestra (responsible for two classical interludes). All the songs were sung in English, although most of an album was ?lled with instrumental and truly amazing, early Pink Floyd-like psychedelic sounds (with Hammond organ, mellotron, ?ute, hypnotic bass notes, whispering voices) combined with late 60’s French/British pop tunes. With the exception of 'More' it's really hard to imagine a better movie soundtrack from late 60's/early 70's rock era!




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Charles Lloyd Quartet - Love-In (1967)


Issued in 1966, Love-In was the follow-up to the amazing Dream Weaver, the debut of the Charles Lloyd Quartet. Love-In was recorded after the 1966 summer blowout and showed a temporary personnel change: Cecil McBee had left the group and was replaced by Ron McClure. McClure didn't possess the aggressiveness of McBee, but he more than compensated with his knowledge of the modal techniques used by Coltrane and Coleman in their bands, and possessed an even more intricate lyricism to make up for his more demure physicality. Of the seven selections here, four are by Lloyd, two by pianist Keith Jarrett, and one by Lennon/McCartney ("Here, There and Everywhere"). Certainly the '60s youth movement was making its mark on Lloyd, but he was making his mark on them, too. With young Jarrett in the mix, turning the piano over in search of new harmonic languages with which to engage not only Lloyd as a soloist but the rhythm section as well, things were certainly moving across vast terrains of musical influence and knowledge. Drummer Jack DeJohnette took it all in stride and tried to introduce as many new time signatures into the breaks as he could get away with, allowing the ever-shifting chromatics in Jarrett's playing to be his cue from 7/8 to 9/8 to 12/16 and back to equal fours ("Sunday Morning," "Temple Bells," "Memphis Dues Again"), no matter what the musical style was. And there were plenty, as Lloyd led the excursion from post-bop to modal to blues to Eastern raga to cool and back. On Love-In, everything was jazz for the Charles Lloyd Quartet, and what they made jazz from opened the music up to everybody who heard it. The album is a lasting testament to that cultural ecumenism. --- Thom Jurek

Charles Lloyd - tenor sax & flute
Keith Jarrett - piano
Ron McClure - bass
Jack Dejohnette - drums



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Twink and The Technicolour Dream - You Reached For The Stars (2013)


Having played with Tomorrow, the Pretty Things and the Pink Fairies, Twink should need no introduction to fans of underground rock. Following the ecstatic reception of Sunbeam's release of his legendary 1969 album Think Pink (SBR 5095CD/LP), the label is delighted to announce a brand-new Twink record -- the mind-expanding You Reached for the Stars, which finds him collaborating with highly-regarded Italian psychedelic outfit the Technicolour Dream. Recorded in Rome and mastered at Abbey Road in the summer of 2013, it comes complete with eight superb bonus tracks, and is sure to delight all lovers of psychedelic rock.

Interview

Twink just might be the nexus between hippies and punks. Named after a popular pomade, Twink formed bands in the early British R&B scene before becoming a member of early psychedelic band Tomorrow. After that, Twink moved onto The Pretty Things were he helped create the very first rock opera, SF Sorrow.

And then things got really good. After leaving the Pretty Things, Twink created the mind-melting Think Pink album which was equal parts summer of love and gothic horror... Maybe think Pink Floyd meets Bauhaus. Then, after that, he formed the legendary Pink Fairies, a band that was equally happy going on space-rock freakouts as it was kicking out hard-driving biker jams. For instance, "Do It!" and "The Snake" kinda sorta laid the foundations for the sound of the early punk scene... just ask the Damned and The New York Dolls.

Now Twink is back and re-energized. He just released the fabulous You Reached for the Stars album which picks up where he left off with the Pink Fairies and now he's about to start working on a sequel to the massive Think Pink. Editor John Gentile spoke to Twink about the new album, asking John Lennon to write him a song and… well… THE PINK FAIRIES MAN, THE. PINK. FAIRIES.

The Beatles have popped up in your body of work multiple times over the years. Tomorrow covered "Strawberry Fields Forever." You Reached for the Stars was mastered at Abbey Road and the booklet even has an homage to the cover of that album. What was it like the first time you heard the Beatles?
The first time I heard The Beatles was the "Love Me Do" single. I was playing in a band called Jimmy Pilgrim & The Strangers at the time and there was a lot of talk about The Beatles going around. I saw them perform "Love Me Do" on TV and I wasn't that impressed to be perfectly honest. It wasn't until I heard "Please Please Me" that I began to really appreciate them.

In those early days, I was a Rolling Stones fan and my band The Fairies became label mates with The Stones on the Decca Records label in 1964. When I listened to Rubber Soul and Revolver, I switched sides and became interested in what The Beatles were up to. Later I had the great pleasure to work along side them at Abbey Road Studios when I was with Tomorrow. We were recording our album Tomorrow by Tomorrow in studio three and The Beatles were recording Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band in studio two.

And again when I was with The Pretty Things recording at Abbey Road -- the first rock opera, SF Sorrow, in studio three. The Beatles were recording The White Album in studio two. The Beatles mean to me a changed world for the better.

People often think of the Pink Fairies as a sort of revolutionary group. But, going back, did you get along with your parents?
The Pink Fairies were more Pink Panthers than White Panthers. We did indeed take a revolutionary stance but we were careful and directed most of our activities towards the music biz. We supported The Underground Press, Gay Liberation Movement, White Panthers, Black Panthers, Glastonbury Fayre and other activities by way of fundraising.

My early life was full of rebellion especially when rock and roll music appeared. I lived in a loving family environment with mum and dad, and with my younger sister Margaret. I was often in trouble with my parents who had other ideas for me than becoming a rock musician -- although they had supported my semi-professional activities. However, when I moved to London in 1964 with my fuzz R&B band The Fairies they became incredibly supportive thereafter.

Think Pink is a totally far out album. How plotted was the recording?
I had demo sketches for most of the tracks for Think Pink. "The Sparrow Is A Sign" and "Three Littles Piggies" were worked out in the studio. "Mexican Grass War" was improvised there and then. "Ten Thousand Words In A Cardboard Box" had already been recorded by The Aquarian Age and this was well rehearsed with the main guitar man on Think Pink, Paul Rudolph, before going into the studio.

The sessions were well organized with Mick Farren handling logistics and the studio. Musicians and music was under my control. Jon Povey and Steve Peregrin Took shared their recording expertise and their assistance cannot be understated. There is an overall sense of craziness in the studio, but once the red light went on it was down to serious business.

Drugs, particularly psychedelic drugs, are often mentioned along with the Pink Fairies, Twink, Tomorrow and related bands. Do you feel the drug aspects of these bands are overstated or understated?
Certainly with The Pink Fairies, it is overstated and has been used as a rather weak selling point in my opinion. But, I hasten to add, not during my time with them. As far as the other bands I've played with, The Fairies, Tomorrow and The Pretty Things and more, our recreational drug use was never used as a selling point although the type of drugs we used could be found reflected in our music and lyrics.

Can drugs enhance the creative process? Do they destroy the creative process?
Some drugs enhance the creative process while others destroy it. The destroyers are heroin, cocaine and alcohol while hashish, grass and psychedelics enhance.

You once stated, "Flower power disappeared almost as abruptly as it began. The air of excitement I had felt in 1967 was replaced by an overwhelming feeling of defeat." Why did you feel defeated?
I felt defeated and disappointed that the money men moved onto the scene and commercialized it, which killed it. I've come to learn it always happens. In the beginning, it felt like it was a worldwide peaceful revolution that would change the world dramatically for the better and it did to a certain degree. We are approaching the 50th Anniversary of the summer of love in 2017 and I look forward to that.

Please tell us about the time that you got on King Crimson's stage and demanded that they play Chuck Berry songs.
We had just finished the last recording sessions for Think Pink and we decided to party at The Speakeasy where King Crimson were performing that night. It was our policy at the time to party hard and we did. We behaved like a bunch of bikers on the dance floor and every five minutes I jumped on stage and asked the band to play some Chuck Berry and in particular "Nadine." Champagne was supplied by Steve Peregrin Took and Mandrax by Iggy Rose and as the evening moved on, we became more and more unruly and some have said we destroyed King Crimson's debut performance. I'm not proud of that -- however at the time, it was a lot of fun.

Was the creation of the Pink Fairies a deliberate move to make more aggressive, confrontational music?
The creation of The Pink Fairies was a deliberate move to create a more aggressive, confrontational music in particular for our live performances. Getting the message out there directly and in your face with vibrant, entertaining live shows with killer guitar passages from Paul Rudolph -- And not forgetting the double drummers concept, Russell Hunter and myself.

However, recording is a different baby with an added instrument, the studio. The studio needs to be treated with respect and different things can happen and did on our debut album Never Neverland.

"Do It" has become one of the band's most lasting songs, becoming the mantra for several punk rock bands. What was the writing and recording process like for that song?
I wrote the song "Do It" on the way to The Pink Fairies first recording session after just receiving the news that John and Yoko, who we had asked to write a song for us, were too busy. Their reply was a Bag Productions form letter. We recorded "The Snake" and "Do It" that evening with Polydor Records A&R manager Peter Knight Jr. producing the session. The following night we returned to the studio to mix which was done under my direction.

Several punk rock bands have been influenced by the Pink Fairies. Henry Rollins even covered "Do It" with his Rollins Band. Are you aware of that cover?
I was aware of The Rollins Band cover of "Do It," which I quite like.

Did you feel a connection with punk rock?
My connection with punk rock began with The Rings, which I fronted as the lead vocalist. We started in late '76 and by June '77, we had our first and only single released on Chiswick Records "I Wanna Be Free" b/w "Automobile" -- both songs written by Alan Lee Shaw who went on to join The Damned.

Did The Pink Fairies and punk rock ever intersect?
There is an intersection of The Pink Fairies and many of the punk bands whose members were in fact Pink Fairies fans. The Sex Pistols, The Damned and The New York Dolls to name a few.

I believe you are working on releasing a collection of material that you recorded with Syd Barrett.
The recording of The Last Minute Put Together Boogie Band with Syd Barrett guesting has just been released and is out now on Easy Action Records. It is a live recording and at the time we were unaware that we were being recorded. It took place at Cambridge Corn Exchange in late January 1972 with The Last Minute Boogie Band supporting Hawkwind and The Pink Fairies. A few days later, STARS was formed with Syd Barrett, Jack Monck and myself.

Was Syd Barrett's insanity over stated?
Syd's insanity has definitely been overplayed. I had known Syd since 1967 and when we finally worked together in 1972, I found him to be no stranger than anyone else around at the time.

Your newest album, You Reached for the Stars is fantastic. What does the title track mean to you?
The album You Reached for the Stars by Twink & The Technicolour Dream means to me a continuation of where I left off after leaving The Pink Fairies, having just completed recording Never Neverland in 1971. I have done quite a lot of recording during the period 1971 through 2013, but as far as studio work goes, I feel finally back on track.

What do you have in the works?
I am going to Rome on June 13th to begin recording Think Pink II at Gulliver Studios, the studio where we recorded "You Reached for the Stars". I'll be there for ten days with The Technicolour Dream laying down all the basic tracks to 14 brand new songs.

In July we plan to return to London and record some guest musician overdubs before returning to Abbey Road Studios to mix and master with the great Peter Mew. We hope to have the album out at the end of the year or early 2015.



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Stephan Micus ‎- Archaic Concerts (1976)


Choć urodził się jako Niemiec jest jednym z najbardziej kosmopolitycznych artystów na świecie. Stephan Micus zaczął swoją karierę w 1976 roku i do dziś 22 płyty. Najnowszym albumem jest wydany w 2013 roku "Panagija".

Artysta czerpie inspirację z m.in. kultur azjatyckich, arabskich, afrykańskich. Wykorzystuje inspiracje z całego świata, odwołując się w muzyce np. do południowoafrykańskich, japońskich czy indyjskich tradycji. Na każdym instrumencie, który można usłyszeć na płytach gra sam. Nagrywając ścieżki poszczególnych instrumentów tworzy też własne techniki wykonawcze. Używa instrumentów niestandardowo, odkrywa ich brzmienie, zmienia w zależności od tego jak pasuje mu do danej kompozycji. Nie boi się też zestawiać ich dźwięku z popularnymi w Europie instrumentami np. gitarą.


Born in 1953 in Germany, Stephan Micus made his first journey to the Orient at the age of sixteen. Fascinated by the variety of musical cultures around the world Micus has travelled in virtually every Asian and European country as well as in Africa and the Americas. Studying with local master musicians he learned to play numerous traditional instruments, many of them unknown in the Western world. However, Micus‘s intention is not to play these instruments in a traditional manner, but rather to develop the fresh musical possibilities which he feels are inherent in them. In many of his compositions, which he performs himself, he combines instruments that have never before been played together. The resulting dialogues further reflect his vision of a transcultural music.

In addition to his exclusively acoustic instruments Micus also uses his voice, at times – with multitrack recording techniques – creating whole choral pieces by himself. The words he sings usually do not carry any known meaning. However, on Athos and Panagia he set to music ancient Greek prayers to the Virgin Mary, on Desert Poems he performed two original poems in English and on Life he has set to music an ancient Japanese Koan.

Many of Europe’s leading dance companies have chosen his work for their productions. He has performed hundreds of solo concerts over the last 30 years throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas. (ecm)
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By request: Charlie Tweddle - Greatest Hits (1974)



Country-Beefheart on acid

Charlie Tweddle. What a name. Figured it had to be a stage name, but nope, he's a real Tweddle from a long line of Tweddles. Also figured his obscure 1974 album would be the story when I met him, and nope again, it's just one of many crazy projects he's worked on in his life.

Charlie's a good guy. Very warm and open. Has a wonderful wife and carries himself like a simple, old-fashioned country boy. Before long it becomes apparent that he's anything but. Yes, he was raised in a Kentucky cabin with no running water or electricity, and yes, he's picked watermelons and designs roadkill cowboy hats for a living, but Charlie's art is as savvy and calculated as it gets – not one effect or detail escapes his attention.

Fantastic Greatest Hits was created after a long chain of events including a lead guitar position in the Kansas City garage band The Prophets of Paradise, a stint in art school, a 3 year lsyrgic tour through the Haight-Ashbury, and a childhood filled with chirping crickets and UFO sightings. By the time 1971 rolled around, Charlie's pharmaceutical wanderings led him to believe he was a real life prophet and that his brand of Appalachian Psychedelia would change the world.

Instead, the LP was almost universally panned and he spun off into a deep depression from which he wouldn't emerge for several years.

Fast forward 20 or so years and his lone eccentric LP would become a highly sought-after (and befuddling) psychedelic artifact, quietly championed by the few who had the great fortune to run across a copy in a flea market or thrift shop. Give this album some time, we think (and hope) you will find it rewarding in some small or big way. --- Will Louviere 


We are happy to announce the reissue of eccentric folk artist Charlie Tweddle's self-released 1974 LP Fantastic Greatest Hits, a unique blend of psychedelic country and tape experiments.

Charlie felt sure his new style of music would take the world by storm – it didn't work out that way. Recorded in 1971, 500 copies of Fantastic Greatest Hits were pressed in 1974 under the name Eilrahc Elddewt with extravagant packaging. The LP was hand-distributed and received only minimal positive feedback; sales were poor.

Why? Well for one, side two of the album is 25 minutes of chirping crickets and sound fragments. The abrupt patches of dead air on side one probably didn't help much either. More than a few of these albums were returned as "defective". Of course, all of these production moves were intentional.

The CD was transferred from a copy of the original album. It includes six unreleased tracks from the same period as well as all of the original artwork in a fold-out digipak. We hope you find it as nice and as interesting as we do. (companionrecords)


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