Dedicated to delving into the psychedelic wilderness, boldly prospecting the precipice of interstellar transcendence; "Of all ebriosity, who does not prefer to be intoxicated by the air he breathes?" - Henry David Thoreau (1854)
After a few months hiatus, I have come back onto the psychedelic writing scene with an article detailing my thoughts on susurrus, wilderness, and what I consider to constitute the truest and rawest psychedelia around. As you may imagine, the article itself is rather abstract and difficult to comprehend at times, so to make the concepts described easier to understand I have compiled a list of a few artists which channel the susurrus below to get you started. Happy listening. The Drone Accelerator (all albums) The Myrrors (Arena Negra) Kikagaku Moyo (Mammatus Clouds) Master Musicians of Joujouka (all albums) Arbete Och Fritid (specific parts of most material) Cloud Shepherd (All albums after Mark Pino joins) Ø+yn (most if not all material) Montibus Communitas (all albums) Pandelindio (all albums) The Night Collectors (Voice of the Cicada and Maybe Tomorrow) Scattered Purgatory (all material) In coming months I will be attempting to review as many of these as possible. It is also important to note I have already written reviews for two Montibus Communitas records, one Drone Accelerator LP, and a Night Collectors cassette. You can find these in the section of the top bar titled 'Album Reviews'. Article written by Daniel Sharman
Ever wondered what Terry Riley would of sounded like if he'd ditched his Yamaha organ, picked up an electric guitar and turned the reverb up to 11? Well, wonder no more.The Myrrors, hailing from Arizona in the U.S, are a band which this blog has reviewed and interviewed several times before, the band being a pinnacle of the neo-psychedelia in my opinion. Get ready to experience a band that manages to capture the essence of the wilderness, and still make you feel right at home.
The facts that you need to know:
Claira Safi (who has now left the band) - Bass, Electronics
Electric Moon, Liquid Visions, Weird Owl, Night Beats and Shapes Have Fangs.
Their Labels?
The band has self-released its current works, but now has also gained the backing of several other, third-part record labels. These include: Fuzz Club Records, Merlin Nose Records, Rewolfed Gloom Records, and Strange Design Records.
What Have They Released?
One full-length LP, 'Burning Circles in the Sky' and a limited-edition cassette containing three live jams titled 'Solar Collector'. A two-sided, digital single has also been released, but is yet to enjoy a psychical edition, this contains the song 'Ramona Parra' b/w 'Nobody's Children'.
In the past couple of days Arizona-based psych-desert rock band, The
Myrrors, have put up the tracks from their latest release, Solar Collector, up
on their bandcamp page. Originally only available to those who bought the
limited-edition cassette, the band has now kindly enough put up digital
versions of the songs so all fans of the band have a chance to hear the new
Myrrors' exploits.
Recorded in Tuscon directly to tape, this latest release captures a more
natural, and live element, of The Myrrors performing ability. But, don't be
mistaken, this latest EP of sorts, retains all the original charm and
brilliance of the band's prior releases. Still ever present are the lazy bass
grooves, mellow drum beats and searing guitar lead, this is the unmistakable
sound of the The Myrrors.
When we interviewed the band's guitarist, Nik Rayne in August last year,
he claimed the Solar Collector tape would not only better reflect the band's
true live sound, but would also act as an 'unpolished
Kodachrome of that new stage in our evolution as a band', bridging the gap
between the band's second, long-awaited album.
Described as 'three raw jams' which show the band 'stripped back to its
essentials', the Solar Collector tape is a welcome surprise for all fans, whom
have been waiting patiently for a new full-length from the band. Each track is
perfectly mellow and strung-out, not rushing to reach any conclusions and
instead, deliberately taking the longest route possible.
Ascensión- 7:52
When selected, the album plays the second track on the EP first,
Ascension, whether this be for artistic reasons or just an glitch in the system
is unclear. What is clear though is that this is yet another golden piece from
the Myrrors. Opening with an organ track which screams the influences of Terry
Riley (a performer whom the band recently featured on their Facebook page), and
with fluid cymbal crashes reminiscent of The Doors, John Densmore, from a track
such as 'The End', the track is cut in two by the first few notes from Rayne's
guitar, which is later followed by a backing of shimmering, Farsifa-esque organ
chords. Shut your eyes and you can feel yourself slowly cruising down Route 66,
dusty landscapes recreated in sound on either side, and the sun blinding yet,
beautiful, gently laying down over your entire body.
Whirling Mountain Blues- 14:35
Opening with a fuzz-ridden, bassline it may be easy to mistake this
track for an early Wooden Shjips song, such as 'We Ask You To Ride'. However,
once again Rayne's Grestch bursts onto the sonic scene, this time the
temperance of his playing noticeably more aggressive, ripping apart the
bassist's created soundscape, with the accompaniment of the acid-rock beat in
the background.
Solar Collector- 7:00
The album closes with its own namesake's track, this cut more
progressive than the previous tracks on the EP, similar to fellow
neo-psychedelists, Naam. Slow and plotting, this track builds up in tempo and
attack as it progresses. Slow and evocative in the beginning, this is a track
which causes the listener to slow down and listen with the track, not allowing
you to get too far ahead of it.
As previously mentioned, the free-release of this new Myrrors' EP is
truly a gift from the band, and will satisfy my own appetite whilst we wait for
the release of the band's second full-length. Whoever you are, taking a
half-hour out of your day to sit down and listen to this new cut will not
disappoint, it being a perfect EP to relax to and surely not one to regret
hearing after a long day.
Critics Comment: A perfect record to space out to, Solar Collector shows what the Myrrors can accomplish even when they aren't attempting to amaze. If the evolution of the band's sound demonstrated in this album is anything for fans and critics alike to go by, the anticipation for the second Myrrors LP release should be even greater...
The Myrrors, hailing from Arizona, U.S.A, have been the muse of many a psychedelic and desert rock fanatic for the past five years now as the popularity of their first record, Burning Circles In The Sky, spirals forever upwards. Amongst other things, fans of the band, including myself, have always been fascinated with how the 'Circles' EP was recorded exactly, I caught up with the bands guitarist Nik Rayne to find out more...
Dan: What guitars were used (with addendum regarding other instruments) on Burning Circles in the Sky?
Nik: Since the band's earliest days my mainstay electric has always been a Gretsch Double Jet. It's got a strong, sharp attack and, perhaps most importantly, a Bigsby tremolo that I really abuse the hell out of. For a while I was messing around with a Fender Stratocaster, but it just never did it for me. Acoustic guitars are been more of a mixed bag. The title track on Burning Circles In the Sky was, to the best of my memory, recorded on a cheap Washburn steel string. Between the band we have a rather large and motley assortment of stringed instruments. In fact, a lot of our gear was either salvaged or entirely homemade. The dulcimer that leads "Nobody's Children" even has some scratchy handwriting inside reading "made on a rainy day November 9, 1979"...so if your out there, mister Robert Sitnek, thank you for the wonderful instrument! It's always a beautiful thing unearthing historical footnotes on old pieces of equipment like that. Grant [Beyschau, drummer] and I really have a passion for finding and learning unusual instruments, and we've recently started incorporating a lot of new textures into the music. He plays a righteous free jazz sax on our latest single "Ramona Parra," for example, and I've been working out the charango and quena, which I picked up back when I lived in Chile.
Dan: Additionally, What pedals and amps were used on the recordings of Circles, Solar Collector, and Ramona Parra?
Nik: I've actually gotten a lot of mileage out of a little Fender Eighty-Five that I picked up at a thrift store several years back, and it's that amp which is most likely featured on Burning Circles In the Sky (in any case it was most certainly the one used for the guitar parts on "Ramona Parra" and the Solar Collector tape). The rest of the band has been on me for a while now about getting a new amp, but I have to admit I've grown close to the little bastard. It doesn't look like much, but it packs a punch. As for guitar effects, I'm very fortunate in that most of the ones I use are handmade by a friend of the band's named Claira Safi, including the fuzztone that drives "Warpainting." I've got an echo box of hers that I use that has so many unmarked controls that no one really knows what it's capable of! Hell, even my power supply comes from her worktable. I'll confess that I do still use a stock Dunlop Cry Baby and an Electro Harmonix reverb on occasion, however. I know the former made it onto "Plateau Skull."
Some of Nik's Custom Pedals
Dan: Furthermore, what can you tell us about the Circles recording sessions?
Nik: The first record, Burning Circles In the Sky, was recorded at my home studio back in Phoenix, Arizona in rather piecemeal fashion over the course of a summer. That record was, more than anything, us attempting to find our way in the studio, and some of the material reflects the rather tentative, experimental nature of the proceedings. The rhythm tracks were usually laid down first, then the rest of the instruments would build up from that. A few of the tracks were already live staples, such as "Mind's Eye" and "Warpainting," but the rest was thrown together as we recorded it. Though the record turned out pretty firmly structured, we have always been much more about free improvisation...in the end we only ever included one or two tracks from the album on any given night's setlist, though I suppose we'll probably keep playing "Warpainting" for a while, as that one seems to be pretty popular.
Dan: Follow up and new material?
Nik: After reflecting back on the material after five years there is a lot about the recording process I would have changed, but in that way I suppose it is an honest reflection of the band at that early stage of development. We relied far too much on post-production and multi-tracking in those days, and not enough on capturing what we really sounded like as a band. Fortunately we have almost wrapped up cutting our long overdue second album down here in Tucson, where I've been living for the past four years, and in my opinion the music is not only sounding a lot more interesting than that on our first record but also much more organic. The three jams on our recent cassette release Solar Collector are kind of an unpolished kodachrome of that new stage in our evolution as a group, I think.
If there ever was a song that captured the feeling of strolling through dusty, sun-scorched alleys on a baking summer day it has to be this, Warpainting, one of the best depictions of 'Desert Rock' to date. The band, formed by two friends when they were still in high school, self-released a 5 track EP and posted songs to YouTube. Whilst the band was on a hiatus, this 7 minute stunner gathered over half a million hits. Now the band has reformed and currently sought a new bassist, apparently working on several new projects. If this single is anything to go by, the future is immensely bright for the Arizona four-piece.
Analysis of the song:
This sand-sodden symphony really highlights what psychedelic rock can be at times, a force which can expand the consciousness without the need for mind-altering drugs. Everything about this track oozes dusty desert-psych, including the album's cover artwork. The light shaking of a maraca, the searing tone of lead guitar, the gritty, reverberated lead vocals, the primitive, metallic sound of a droning drumbeat, this song has a whole host of psychedelic rock's common calling cards, including an explosive breakdown at 6:09, starkly reminiscent of a dust storm one may gaze at from afar on a desert plane.
Where to buy and other trivia:
- Following Burning Circle's In The Sky's success, the band have decided to put up a high-quality downloadable version of the album on their BandCamp, for more information click here.
- If you head over to the Band's Facebook page, there has also been talk about reissuing the album on vinyl and CD in a limited pressing.
- The Album originally was originally put out by the band on 50 hand-burned copies, here is the original artwork that appeared on the digipak:
