Earn 1 Loyalty Point With Every $1 Spent!

Still Life With Eggplant

SKU: RCD2143CD
Label:
Rune Grammofon
Category:
Psychedelic
Add to wishlist 

"In October of 2012, Motorpsycho entered Brygga Studio in Trondheim for the first time in many, many moons -- this being the studio where they recorded a few of their first albums some 20 years ago -- the vibes were good, and the music happened like it was supposed to. As this was the first time in quite a while that the band recorded stand-alone songs -- as opposed to pieces connected by a concept or a narrative -- it felt quite odd working in this way again, but it was also a refreshing approach that highlighted other aspects of their work that perhaps had been ignored over the last few years. In the end, it still very much felt like Motorpsycho music, albeit with a twist: for three days of the two-week session, the core trio was augmented by guitarist Reine Fiske. Best-known for his work in Swedish psych-combos Dungen and The Amazing, Reine is an old acquaintance of the band, and his recent exploits with Ståle Storløkken's Elephant9 made the pairing seem like a potentially interesting one for Motorpsycho as well. It's always good to have a wild card and someone from the outside to mirror your work, and the fruits of Reine's involvement, as presented on this album, speak for themselves: his finger-picking dexterity on the acoustic guitar provides both "Barleycorn" and the old Love chestnut "August" with a solid organic bed for the musical escapades of the other three, and on "The Afterglow," his tasteful guitar shadings and mellotron work adds immensely to the mood of the song. But it's on "Ratcatcher" that his talents shine the best: he slips right in there, and proceeds to glue Snah's lead guitar and Bent's "lead bass" together in a different way than heard before, adding light and shade and splashes of color to the musical repartee, but never getting in the way or hogging center stage in an unwelcome fashion. It's the work of a musician with huge ears and an uncanny musical insight."

There are no review yet. Be the first!
You must login or register to post reviews.
Laser Pic

customers also bought

SEE ALL
  • LImited edition digipak with one bonus track.Scorpion Child are yet another new band that sets the Wayback Machine to England 1971.  This Texas based band has latched on to Nuclear Blast who are really riding the retro-wave with Graveyard and Witchcraft.  Scorpion Child create full on Zep worship.  Plain and simple...and they do it really, really well."Less enamored of the new wave of British heavy metal than its fellow contemporaries, Scorpion Child pledges troth to the early Seventies, when hundreds of proto-metal bands joined Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath in redefining the art of the riff. The Austin quintet doesn't imitate the standard forebears on its full-length debut for major label metal imprint Nuclear Blast, even if the John Bonham thud and golden god howl of opener "Kings Highway" indicate otherwise. Instead, the gnarled, psychedelic roots of early metal feed the Child's headbanging. "Your remorse finds a virtual Zen," asserts singer Aryn Black in "Antioch," dismissing sleazy seduction from power balladry with a psychotropic twinkle in his eye. "Salvation Slave" interrupts its dramatic stomp with a dreamy midsection, while the anthem "Red Blood (The River Flows)" swells from acoustic guitars and bongos to power chords and wails, dissolving its celebratory wistfulness into cricket noises and pastoral acid pop. It's not all electric fairy tales, either. The brawny "Liquor" pushes addiction agony ("I've been aching lately to see you again/And lose another friend") through a melody rippling with thunderous power, and heartbroken stomper "The Secret Spot" climbs a guitar wall four decades thick. The locals find their sweet spot with "Polygon of Eyes," a perfect marriage of chugging verses and wide open chorus breathlessly fielding the lyric, "A time sent event horizon will leave our stories behind." Produced by Chris "Frenchie" Smith, Scorpion Child keeps jeans on its hips and stars on its brow." - Austin Chronicle
    $9.00
  • "Few bands of the era offered as much variety in material from night to night. King Crimson’s propensity for improvisation & fondness for playing its newest material – often unreleased on record at the time of the concerts - is legendary. Fewer bands still, whether by accident or design, recorded so many of their live shows.Starless offers an in depth overview of one of the era’s most significant bands in its most celebrated live line-up.Autumn 1973: As King Crimson’s second lengthy US tour of that year was coming to a close, a short series of UK concerts for the end of October, followed by a more extensive European tour in November was already planned. Three of these concerts; Glasgow, Zurich & Amsterdam, were recorded as full multi-track recordings, with material from the Amsterdam show being used as core material for the January 1974 recording of Starless & Bible Black. From mid-March to the start of April, the band was on the road in Europe again, promoting the album with their final European concerts of the decade, prior to undertaking a further US tour. A number of these concerts were recorded on stereo reel to reel machines, fed directly from the signal as sent to the PA system on the night of the performance. These soundboards are often referred to as “The Blue Tapes”, named after the outer colour of the original tape boxes & are especially valued for both the quality of recording & performance.This boxed set presents eighteen CDs of live concert performances, seven of them mixed from the 1973 multi-track tapes and a further eleven presenting the complete run of “The Blue Tapes” for the first time. CDs of the ORTF Paris TV performance & the 2011 stereo mix of Starless & Bible Black also feature. Two DVD-A discs & two Blu-Ray discs contain concert & studio recordings in stereo, quadraphonic & full 5.1 surround sound – all presented in high-resolution audio."
    $165.00
  • New edition of the classic second album from this amazing German band. Fully authoerized and remastered by the band it arrives with one previously unreleased live bonus track from 1973.2nd featured a revised lineup with Stefan Diez replacing Jorge Schwenke on guitar. The ethnic vibe from Malesch is gone. Instead of inner space the band reaches for the cosmos. There is a strong Pink Floyd feel at work but it doesn't sound English (if that makes any sense). Sometimes if we don't listen to an album for some time we forget how great they are - we take it for granted. Revisiting the first two reissues from Agitation Free once again made me respect their importance in the history of German progressive rock. Essential.
    $18.00
  • "Hi Fiction Science comprises former members of Suncoil Sect and Fuzz Against Junk. Guitarist James McKeown is also known for his solo work released by Fruits de Mer and Reverb Worship. Following their self-titled debut album on own label Negative Drive and a 7" on Fruits de Mer, Hi Fiction Science have signed to Cherry Red offshoot Esoteric Antenna. Curious Yellow, their first release on this label, is a truly amazing synthesis of late 60s/early 70s-style electric folk, psychedelia, and electronica. Think Trees, Liege and Lief era Fairport, Pentangle, or any number of bands on the Erewhon History of UK Underground Folk-Rock compilation albums, combined with vintage electronica and ambient music; as bizarre as that description may sound, it really is a winning formula. Elsewhere they introduce elements of angular art-rock and intense psychedelic guitar work (Vapour), wordless vocal and electronic soundscaping (Komorebi), and in Curious Yellow they set a medievalesque song to mesmerisingly repetitive psychedelic instrumentation. This is a really exceptional album from a band I will definitely be looking out for more from in future." - Bliss/Aquamarine
    $17.00
  • "During the last few years North Atlantic Oscillation have been steadily building both their fanbase and their reputation. Well known fans such as Zane Lowe and Guy Garvey have been joined by a growing number of devoted punters drawn to the band's unique combination of sonic complexity and melodic intrigue. The band's second album Fog Electric was released in 2012, following 2010's Grappling Hooks and numerous tours and festival appearances have accompanied both releases.Now Sam Healy, NAO's frontman and songwriter, returns with Sand, a new solo project which will be released on Kscope in October 2013. Written, performed and recorded throughout 2012 and 2013, Sand allowed Sam to work in a different way, as he describes:"I wanted to try something that I could work on entirely alone, with no deadlines or schedules intruding on the process. It was an experiment to see if I could conceive and execute a whole record without any outside influence. I only told few people about it until it was almost complete. I had a sense after the release of 'Fog Electric' that I should try something else before starting on a third NAO album, something with a different feel, a musical palate-cleanser."This change in process has resulted in an album which, while still sure to appeal to fans of Healy's previous work, has a more intimate and personal feel, both sonically and thematically.Melodic passages and conventional pop structures are framed by striking changes in dynamics, to create a dramatic sonic palette which ranges from the barely audible to wildly loud and back again, often within the same track. The album also has a slightly warmer, less alien feel than NAO recordings, with instruments less likely to be heavily treated and distorted beyond recognition."
    $14.00
  • Many of you may be familar with Dave Kerzner who occasionally pops up with posts on the Progressive Ears forum under the moniker "Squids".  Dave is an exceptional keyboardist who made his bones back in the day playing in the LA prog band Giraffe along with Kevin Gilbert.  Since then he founded a keyboard software company called Sonic Reality and has been able to play along with a massive amount of high profile musicians - many of which fit squarely in the prog community.  Dave was also the co-composer of the Sound Of Contact debut release.  Dave has decided to release his own proper solo album so whats it about?Well its pretty suprising right off the bat.  The music of New World veers very heavily into Pink Floyd realms.  The core lineup consists of Dave Kerzner (vocals/keyboards), Fernando Perdomo (guitars/bass), and Nick D'Virgilio (drums).  Sometimes its good to know people...the guests featured on the album are mind boggling.  The more well known ones include Keith Emerson, Steve Hackett, Francis Dunnery, Heather Findlay, Colin Edwin, Simon Phillips, and the list goes on and on.  Forgetting about all the prog glitterati for a moment, this is superb symphonic rock from beginning to end.  You get the whole enchilada here including 2 epic length tracks that will keep your head spinning.  I'm sure Dave's software is pretty much on parade here and its all very impressive.  Everything about this is.  Highly recommended.
    $14.00
  • "SULA BASSANA is on the way again in 2009 - this time with a vintage space rock styled album. Multi-instrumentalist Sula is a music aficionado as no other when simultanously collaborating with several bands/projects, organizing festivals in Austria as well as his own SULATRON record label and mail-order business. In spite of that he's even able to spare time enough to record complete albums on his own. This means 'The Night' was produced at his homestudio where he manages all the instruments by himself. Cover art (painting by Frank Leweke) and track titles are obviously referring to cosmic themes.Here we have five playful songs mastered by Eroc (ex-Grobschnitt) - sounding relaxed and busy at once. This is trippy basically, except some rare heavy rocking elements. Probably this album is concipated as a time travel (didn't ask for clarification though) ... anyhow, the opener In Space appears in really retro clothes - mysterious - maybe even a little bit nightmarish. This is immediately reminding me of a sound track seemingly composed for a sci-fi series like the German 'Raumpatrouille Orion' for example which started in 1966. As for that the song even reflects a pop appeal in my humble opinion especially caused by this special beat and the synthesizer contributions.Later then we are Lost In Space - this song might refer to the early 70s - krautrock tinged with hypnotic rhythm elements where Sula's keyboard work is very very attractive. With the epic title song the album gets going at the latest. Divided in four parts it undoubtely makes out a highlight of the production. Partially grooving but also trippy floating this song is ultimately dedicated to the psychedelic guitar! A wonderful melodic piece of work where you will detect the sole external contribution by Stefan Koglek from the band COLOURHAZE. He provides lyrics and vocals for the second part and this fits closely to the mellow mood.Now hereafter we are up to enjoy contemporary space rock at its best I would say. Meteorritt - the song title shows a nice pun at first colloquially meaning 'ride on a meteorite'. A fine straightforward grooving ride indeed with many repetitve elements plus echoing and swirling guitars all over. Stylistically on nearly the same line Kosmokrator as the last (and longest) tune follows - much more diversified though containing also culminating heavy rocking impressions, some typical vocals - rather more sprechgesang and ambient gliding parts.'The Night' is offered with a charming appeal but guarantees tension too - you can smell Sula's longtime experiences composing music. An excellent cosmic journey which will please krautrock as well as psych/space fans." - ProgArchives
    $15.00
  • Import special edition comes with:Download code for studio version of “Into The Sun”40-pages picture booklet"Imagine this - you're thrust into the metal world and, as a classical singer, it's pretty alien. But you do your job, sing your songs and the money comes in. And your name gets bigger. And the band become enormous and before you know it - you're literally singing for your supper. Your ultimate passion becomes your job. But is the world of metal really a place for a classical singer? Many thought that, once ousted by Nightwish, Tarja Turunen would soon return to her classical roots. Not quite. She began producing symphonic tinged material that, dare we say it, took the same path as the band that brought her success.The cynics are always going to be around, and I admit, I had the tendency to be one of them - Tarja is clearly only sticking with the guitars because it pays the bills, right? If it was up to her, she'd be singing 'Ave Maria' until the cows came home, right? Some of you stubborn lot will never shift from that point of view, no matter how many metal albums she releases, but it has become clearer than ever whilst listening to 'Colours In The Dark', that Tarja has found the beauty of orchestral metal just as captivating as Nightwish fans and her conviction is growing ever more powerful - if you don't believe it, check out the Romanticide-styled outro of 'Never Enough'. There's plenty more headbangs left in those raven locks - know that!'Victim Of Ritual' highlights the way Tarja commands a song vocally and suits it's position as opening track. The rolling 'R' in the title refrain and the silence she will inevitably conjure during live renditions of the accapella bridge stand to prove why she is such a beloved vocalist. Musically, the track deals in 'Phantom Agony'-era Epica, orchestra-lite and guitar heavy. It also has the most addictive refrains on the album, so it's position as single is proven correct. Likewise 'Never Enough' is instantly enjoyable - the chorus still sounds as vibrant and exciting as when it premiered. The real standout, surprisingly, is the Peter Gabriel cover though. 'Darkness' is not half as pop-ready as her take on 'Poison' and much more Tarja-friendly than 'Still Of The Night' - it shows just how successfully she can transform a cover and make it into her own. The thick strings and swooping instrumental wrap around her versatile vocals as Tarja switches between sinister and emotional at the drop of a hat.It can be a little taboo to mention the language problems, but the purity in which Tarja approaches her English lyrics is both a positive and a negative. Whilst there are the odd cringe-worthy blips throughout ('A conquest of fear, lonesomeness and dislike'), there is a richness to the lyrics of songs like '500 Letters' that simply tell a story, without killing it with too many pretence-laden metaphors. Tarja's infamous pronunciation also serves in her favour on the record - as minor as it may seem, her slightly peculiar delivery brings an unfamiliar flavour to the songs and possesses the ability to coat any banal lyrics with seductive and intriguing overtones just with a twist of a syllable.The record does have plenty of moments to excite you, as I mentioned, but it's not an entirely smooth ride. Too often, the songs feel a little lengthier than they should. I noted in my review of 'Never Enough' that the closing guitar riff went on for too long and a lot of the songs have a similiar fate. None of the tracks are skippable and every single one has it's merits, but it feels as if their strengths may be washed aside by a niggling thought in the back of your head, pondering whether you can bother to venture into a seven minute song for three minutes of beauty. 'Lucid Dreamer' is one such track that would have benefited from a little chopping. 'Mystique Voyage', too, could have seen a shorter track length further highlight the triumphant classical influence on the chorus.Though I exaggerate her operatic past, Tarja has spent most of her vocalist talent and career amongst metal music and it has really shown. What is both frustrating and rewarding, though, is that she is learning as much as the fans are. The music she has produced so far has been on a huge upward curve. The saccharine tendencies of 'My Winter Storm' pale in comparison to 'What Lies Beneath' and it's fantastic manipulation of orchestra, ambiance and metal. 'Colours In The Dark' comes as the next step up - slightly better than it's predecessor but, and this is where the frustration might set in, not quite as brilliant as you predict the next release will be. Editing the tracks a little more and emphasizing the true moments of beauty that linger within the songs is the next mission for team Tarja to take on.Watching an artist grow into the music that gave her the career she has  is not something you see everyday and Tarja is truly and deeply passionate, something many musicians don't retain after many years of the same old record-and-touring routine. She has eager ears and versatile lungs that want to explore. They want to learn and they want to become better. Listen to that aforementioned discography and you'll see how much Tarja has grown and become a force to be reckoned with in metal. 'Colours In The Dark' is nowhere near perfect but it's another chapter in the increasingly refined career of a woman that is, quite rightly, sticking her middle finger up at those who have written her off much too soon." - The Sonic Reverie
    $21.00
  • Third album from this excellent Belgian band. The Intrigue Of Perception finds them making the transition from a stoner/space band to a progressive rock outfit. While later albums are a touch more refined, this album still has that raw energy from their stoner rock days. The addition of sax player Steven Marx reminds of Mel Collins in "Islands"-period King Crimson. More than enough Mellotron for those (like myself) that can never have enough. Highly recommended.
    $10.00
  • "Much like my addiction to Swiss roll, for some people more is never enough. You’d have thought two wildly successful “day jobs” would be enough to keep some folks busy. But not so for Katatonia lead vocalist Jonas Renkse and The Pineapple Thief front man Bruce Soord. Clearly they've got too much time on their hands as they have come together to create Wisdom Of Crowds. I can tell you now, I am eternally grateful that these two chaps did a bit of moonlighting. As will you.Originally written for Renkse’s voice, Soord sought out the acclaimed vocalist to complete the compositions and release the music to the masses. In doing so, Bruce Soord has found the perfect foil for the music he has written. Which is all at once jagged, sharp, melodic, aggressive, tender, sparse and loud. What anchors it all together, what makes it a cohesive mix, is Renkse’s vocals. His delivery is sublime. But we’ll come to that in a bit…Album opener ‘Pleasure’ sets up the album with Renkse’s weary and plaintive voice stretching across the track as it morphs from electronic intro to a upbeat mix of live instruments, effects and sounds. This album is different to their respective bands yet retains enough familiarity to comfort fans of both. Title track ‘Wisdom Of Crowds’ evokes a faint vibe of early Gotan Project with its horns and sparsely placed guitar lines whilst ‘Radio Star’ leaves you haunted…. leaves you looking for something as Renkse sings "give you the lights, give you the stars, give you a sign".Standout track of the album is ‘Frozen North’. It’s simply stunning. A melancholic guitar line awash with strings coupled with Renkse’s beautifully evocative vocal melodies and lyrics transporting you to a place of reflection. When, 4 minutes into the song, we descend musically into a fantastically out-there blend of electronica with jagged shards of glitchy noise rhythmically pounding towards the conclusion of the song. It just feels right and natural. It feels magnificent.Next up we have ‘The Light’, a more traditional (as in what the uninitiated imagine it to be) prog tune that is reminiscent of Saucerful-era Floyd with its backwards guitar and drumbeats. It’s 7 minutes of pure progressive music: bluesy guitar licks on a bed of synths with again startlingly intimate vocals.  ‘Pretend’ counters this with aggressive shards of guitar playing from Soord.With that we head into the final 3 tracks on the album. The triumvirate of the album in fact. I’ve genuinely never heard an album FINISH with such breathtakingly songs. Most artists would have put these tracks at the top of the album such is their magnificence. ‘Stacked Naked’ shimmers into view with a tenderly melodic  intro backed with some wonderfully harmonised vocals. Renkse’s lyrics painfully urging "if anyone should ask how the story goes just pretend we're almost there just pretend....pretend.....". ‘Centre of Gravity’ is a song that made me think of the bond of friendship, of the shared experiences, of the sharing of secrets and hopes and dreams. It ends with Jonas repeating "hold out your hand", a plea to never let go of what once was but also as an offer of support. And finally ‘Flows Though You’ arrives with a wail of siren and simmering aggression. Renkse defiantly proclaiming "I can lose but I will never break" as the song heads towards a cacophony of drums, guitars and electronica.So. After all that what is this album like?Jonas Renkse’s vocals and lyrics are the highlight of this album. They are the lynchpin of the entire record. No matter where the music goes, no matter what genre it delves into, the guiding light is his voice, his delivery and inflection. In Soord, he has found a collaborator that can create music that uses every aspect of his voice and talent.It is a stunning album in both depth and range of emotion and music. It captures so many genres and yet defies labels. Part rock, part electronic it's all blended together to create and album that lifts you up, makes you think and most importantly makes you FEEL. There is a hypnotic use of space and dynamics from the frailest most intimate ambience to bombastic guitar driven sections that lift your spirits. It is everything you can want from an album and more." - Echoes And Dust 
    $9.00
  • "Considered to be the some of their finest work since Agents of Fortune , this flight of dark fantasy, which includes the Top 40 hit, Burnin' for You , will satisfy the souls of Cult fans everywhere!"
    $7.50
  • Composer, guitarist and electronics innovator Richard Pinhas is recognized as one of Frances major experimental musicians. A pivotal figure in the international development of electronic rock music, Pinhas' stature in France is analogous to Tangerine Dream's in Germany: the father figure of an entire musical movement. The pioneering, aggressive music produced by his band Heldon during the 1970s, fusing electronics, guitar and rock, heralded the industrial and techno to come and remains today vital and unsurpassed. On Tranzition, Pinhas weaves beautiful, spacey, processed guitar tapestries, with added color from laptop, violin and the drumming of Antoine Paganotti of Magma. The voice of the late author Philip K. Dick can be heard on Moumoune girl, from a 1977 tape that he gave Pinhas. The BBC described his recent guitar music as Music that is in flux and stasis at the same time, with an almost sculptural presence, stuffed with overtones and rich textures. Tranzition is a multifaceted and richly jeweled work in which cause and effect, acoustics and electronics, taped sound and live playing change roles and even realities. Among collectors of electronic music, some names have become legendary and are present in every search list. These names include Richard Pnhas, the leader of the French cult group Heldon."-Audion.?
    $13.00
  • "On the success of their EP, Reflections, Italy's Cyrax returns with their first full-length album, Pictures. First impressions can sometimes be tricky and perhaps set aside for additional listens. But what can be said at the start is that Pictures offers some rather interesting progressive metal from some very talented and inventive fellows.While the "heavy metal" is apparent, it's not the first thing you might notice in Cyrax's musical equation. Notable is the extensive and varied use of keyboards, from quirky and innovative synths to the significant piano presence. Both can be found in the song Cyrax, which expresses the band's raison d'etre. However, the keyboard solo in the first half sounds like ducks farting underwater. The piano often adds a subtle even delicate nuance to a largely heavier number as in the later third of Shine Through Darkness Part I. Then at the start of Part II, the synths turn to the sound of harpsichord. If you're piano and synth fan, Larsen Premoli will give you a large and entertaining lesson in their creative use.A second thing of interest is the large use of classical music elements in nearly every song. I'm not talking about the huge use of keys to create some bombastic symphonic canvas (like Rhapsody of Fire, for instance). Cyrax uses both violin and cello, along with some choral vocals and piano, to steal lines traditional classical music. A superb example is These Greenvalleys where the strings are pronounced and female lead vocals stirring. The 7th Seal does much the same with piano line and choir vocals in the center of the song. Speaking more specifically to the vocals, the male lead vocalist Marco Cantoni quite the vocal wild card. His voice and sound is all over the place, screeching to screamo, cranky to gruff. It was hard to find him all that enjoyable.Alternatively, but also including many of the aforementioned aspects, several songs definitely put the heavy metal into Cyrax's progressive metal. Oedipus Rex, even with a generally subtle start, moves with some strong riffs and stinging guitar (against some of that piano). The three part Shine Through Darkness also has some very meaty parts, notable in the third part. But this trilogy, like all the arrangements, are diverse and varied showing the depth of Cyrax's creativity. Perhaps the best example of this might be the final instrumental track Phunkrax. Like the name implies it has some kind of funk, rock, and jazz fusion thing going on between the riffs, rhythms, and keyboards.Needless to say, Cyrax and their Pictures is not your ordinary, nor predictable, progressive metal, especially with the depths of it's classical music influence. It's definitely an album that's worthy of your attention and time. Easily recommended, just wish I had some music video to share at the end. (BTW: if you go to their web site you will find all the lyrics as well as the scores to the songs.)" - Dangerdog.com
    $13.00
  • 2007 Nick Davis remix/remaster edition. Some consider this their best album - it could be hard to argue against that notion...
    $12.00