‘Red Wall’ – Mike Coles

The Wait, agonising, the Tension, unbearable, ley-lines dance to The Hum, the Harlequin again in the ascendency, the Darkness Before Dawn signalling time to cross the Rubicon – heed The Calling… Since Money Is Not Our God, the Mathematics Of Chaos usher in the Aeon of Maat, forever vanquishing the Dark Forces… Collectively This Tribal Antidote shall Honour The Fire, our supersynthesis In Cythera, heralding the Dawn Of The Hive…

photo by Moritz Jekat

It is a joy, to finally see the physical release of The Underground Youth‘s Mademoiselle.

As the Fuzz Club Records Blog attests, “The story of Mademoiselle is a testament to the power of great music being able to reach an audience, regardless of the fact the artist might be unsigned, underground and almost unheard of. Originally released in 2010 and only available online, Mademoiselle has piled up millions of views on YouTube, and has seen The Underground Youth acquire a cult following at a ferocious pace.”

All things come to those who wait…

photo by Steve Gullick

Mugstar are like a favourite armchair, a trusted confidante, a font of eternal comfort – one which can sprout wings, when flights fancy dictate, the one who always has your back.

For me, Mugstar are the latter day saints of a tradition conceived by Fairport Convention. Updating the electric folk ethic, reanimating it with their unique brand of “Psychedelic / Space / kraut Rock”. Not only do I sense the vibrations of this ubiquitous association, I am humbled by a connection to that hallowed ground, of the band who recorded the last ever Peel Session, in 2004.

Four sides of transportive vinyl, courtesy of Rock Action Records await…

“Sons of the Void is the latest project from David Max, former bassist/songwriter with Hoboken/NYC psych rockers Tadpoles. Following his tenure with Tadpoles, David emigrated to Switzerland and began a 5-year stint as guitarist/songwriter in Genesis P-Orridge’s psych-futurist collective Psychic TV. David has also worked alongside many pioneers of drone, dream and psych over the years, including Sonic Boom and Gibby Haynes. After meeting Nick Nobody, David struck out on his own with ‘Simple Psychedelic Pleasures.’ A band was assembled to tour ‘SSP,’ and shortly after a new crop of songs began to take shape. After establishing their own studio, Logical Magic Recordings in Basel, David and Nick took those songs to the next logical step: the debut album of Sons of the Void.” So says the comprehensivly succinct  press release, courtesy of Kevin McFadin, under the ever watchful, third eye of Sunrise Ocean Bender Records.

photograph by chromaticism @ Fuzz Club Festival 2015

2016 finds the Dead Rabbits on the cusp of releasing a new, eagerly anticipated LP.

It is perhaps only fitting then that Fuzz Club Records, close that circle with this repress of their 2013 debut, The Ticket That Exploded.

I was beyond stoked, to obtain a copy of the limited edition first press on vinyl. The collaborative artwork by Olya Dyer & Casper Dee, recreating a sleeve and picture disc, in the guise of a recording tape reel, is a stroke of genius.

The vinyl experience, has seldom been more tangibly tactile and visually stimulating, from recording to aural delivery, encapsulated in one gloriously realised package.