I have had the unbridled pleasure of witnessing Radar Men From The Moon in their natural live, improvisational element, on two rapturous occasions now.

Last year, following the release of their ‘Strange Wave Galore’ long player, then earlier this year in concert with The Cosmic Dead for their collaborative, shamanic wig-out, ‘Audio Test 001.epl 15 – hit, quit, rave, repeat’.

Both instances on hometown soil at the distinguished Effenaar venue, as part of their lovingly curated, inaugural then sophomore, impeccably organised, Eindhoven Psych Lab.

The instrumental powerhouse that is Radar Men From The Moon, have carved out for themselves an enviable niche, as their mission statement attests, “Their approach on the psychedelic rock scene is rather broad. By taking different genres into account such as shoegaze, neo-psych, space and noise rock, they take off in an interstellar exploration of new sounds”.

A crash course in all that is Quicksails with a few words from the man himself;

“Quicksails is the moniker of Ben Billington’s densely layered solo electronic music. Influenced by the Kosmische school of krautrock and the organ works of minimalists Terry Riley and J.D. Emmanuel, Billington conjures abstract synth-scapes, hypnotic loops and textured atmospheres punctuated by rhythmic pulses. His background in free jazz and world percussion also lends a heavy hand to create a truly unique project that sets itself apart from the vast synthesizer music underground of today. Billington’s debut vinyl offering Silver Balloons In Clusters (2012) was released through Under the Spire Records. The album Mayville Dream (2013) was released by Spectrum Spools, the label curated by John Elliott (of Emeralds) as an off-shoot of Peter Rehberg’s Editions Mego. His solo music has also been released through Deception Island, Digitalis Limited, Discriminate Music, and NNA Tapes”.

photograph by Lorenzo Ferraro

Sometimes in life it seems, if you don’t join the dots, the dots join you.

My appreciation for AK Press / PM Press founder Ramsey Kanaan, recently led me to the M.A. Littler film in which he appeared, called ‘The Kingdom Of Survival‘. I had no idea at the time, that just a few short months later I’d be in thrall to Squadra Omega, who just so happen to have provided the soundtrack to M.A. Littler’s ‘Lost Coast‘, both on Slowboat Films.

“Over the past 15 years Slowboat Films has gathered a dedicated international cult following for their uncompromising aesthetic and portrayal of underground art & music, radical politics and maverick minds”.

I’d like to think that if this page aspires to anything, it is that some of those same maverick minds may find their way to this portal.

Image by Mattias Launois Photo

The Underground Youth return with yet another vinyl masterpiece, their latest triumph, in the shape of ‘Haunted’.

Such is the buzz, for those in the know, around The Underground Youth – that the Fuzz Club Records deluxe vinyl edition of 100, sold out immediately on the day the pre-order was announced, one of which plays before me as I write this.

Photograph by Eugenio Crippa

I love bands who have the self-assurance and presence of mind to produce a clear, concise and informative website, Giöbia are one such band…

“Giöbia has been one of the most influential psychedelic bands in Italy over the last years. Seduced by the lysergic side of the ‘60s, by exotic mantras and the evocative power of space-rock, Giöbia is a band from Milano, Italy with many facets and one only faith, that is to turn every encounter with sound into a psychedelic experience”.