It’s interesting to me that they appear to be the only prog band from the UK, that doesn’t court the popular like Muse, that can make it over here to play shows in a professional manner.

Kinda cool.

Linking to Dave Gilmour’s blog.

http://www.davidgilmourblog.com/

Looks like it’s updated regularly. Nice find.

http://www.davidgilmourblog.com/2009/12/cavern-club.html

http://afacemeltingblogofstaggeringriffage.blogspot.com/2009/12/pink-floyd-atom-heart-mother-1970.html

Good read (great read actually) at Recording Hacks.

http://recordinghacks.com/2009/10/28/paul-northfield/

Progressive rock fans need not look far to find Paul Northfield’s name among their music collections. Over the past 35 years, he has recorded Gentle Giant, RUSH, Asia, Queensrÿche, Porcupine Tree, and Dream Theater, along with dozens of other artists you know — like Steve Vai, Bryan Adams, Pat Travers, Hole, Ozzy, Judas Priest, Suicidal Tendencies, Marilyn Manson, and on and on and on.

Monolith Cocktail 009 -  An Experiment On A Bird In The Air Pump,  Fuck Buttons,  Amon Duul II ‘Live In London’

Posting 009 comes round early this time with a pre-release special review of An Experiment On A Bird In The Air Pumps new EP, which is out in November.
This will be the first release on their very own recently set up label Buy A Life Records and was produced by former Charlatans front man Tim Burgess.

We also have a review of the new Fuck Buttons LP, a delicious slice of trance, electro and heavy doses of Klaus Schulze and La Düsseldorf. ‘Tarot Sport’ is a dance album of progressive rock ambitions that will appeal to the more spiritual electronic fans amongst us.

Finally we have part six of the German Music Odyssey featuring Amon Duul II ‘Live In London’ LP from 1973. There seems to be a lot of attention drawn towards this period lately, with a BBC 4 documentary being aired next Friday (October 23rd) on the rebirth of German music from 1968 to 1977. They interviewed the usual suspects from Can, Neu! and Kraftwerk but also spoke with members of Amon Duul II and Faust. From what I’ve been told and seen of early footage they will be concentrating more on the synth based material as this programme is a companion piece to the recently shown Synth Britannia show.
It remains to be seen what sort of job they will do of it, but expect the usual interviews with bands and artists who seem to re-write their own history have that all knowing hindsight recollection.
Also there will be the usual talking heads that surface to discuss how cool they are and muse on music they don’t actually really know sod all about. I mean to be honest it wasn’t until much later that this music became known outside Germany. It was down to the likes of Bowie and Eno who drew attention to it, and this was most people’s initial exposure to what we term Krautrock.

I expect to being cursing at the screen next Friday!

An Experiment On A Bird In The Air Pump

An Experiment On A Bird In The Air Pump

Taster of the new E.P to be released in November

Released on Buy A Life Records

Tracks:-
1.    Smear
2.    Silent Hour
3.    Only In The Death

Now let me just say before we start that the band sent me this pre-release taster to review not because I’m that important or because I carry that much sway or influence. No they passed it on because I’m foremost a big fan of the group and their nice like that. In fact they are one of the most down to Earth bands I’ve corresponded with, of course they hope to some degree that my review will be positive and give them some kudos.
Well fear not ladies, this the first release on their new label imprint is a riotous slice of post punk influences and Bow Wow Wow, produced by the Charlatans man about LA Tim Burgess.
Now if you haven’t had the pleasure of seeing these ladies live let me give you a quick paragraph of summary, imagine the combination of Return To The Thunderdome ascetics with the sound of Jesus And The Mary Chain being banged out by an exotic trio of instrument swapping sirens.
Two bass guitars and a set of primitive drums, played standing up, are their only tools with which to do battle as each secretly titled member, only known as C, D and X Bird to add a shroud of mystery, take it in turns to sing.
I hope that does some justice for the trio though really you need to see them for yourselves. Right now lets move on to the EP.

This new set of songs are slightly more polished then their previous efforts, though it’s pretty close in style to last years ‘These Sins’ EP.
Sounding like The Strangeloves era 60’s garage pop crossed with Sonic Youth the opening track ‘Smear’ begins with a trebly screeching bass before a raw tribal drum beat kicks in. D-Bird supplies the vocals, which are at their most serene and vulnerable as she sings of having no one to reject and cutting away the tears and smears of the title. Grunge influenced but far too cool in comparison with those Seattle losers.
‘Silent Hour’ has a swap around with a moodier and more paced tempo as X-Bird now takes on vocal duties. The drum beat in all its primitiveness is straight out of Ben Hur, imagine our main character chained to the oars of a Roman galleon as the beat keeps up a rhythm of strokes for the poor unfortunates to row with. A harsh wall of sound is built from the fuzz and phaser heavy duo of basses, which brings to mind a looser Spaceman 3.
Our final track ‘Only In Death’ is a more up-tempo number, which sounds like a steroid pumped Karen O, as C-Bird yelps her way through.
Plenty of noisy and distorted bass lines with all their slides create an infectious and powerful slice of edgy grunge, the highlight of the EP.
The sound of discourse on this track has been delivered at this a most opportune moment. As our bleak landscape of Capitalist market failure slowly rebuilds into the same as it ever was depressing inevitability.

AEOABITAP are the perfect band to feel angst with.
At least for a while they rally the troops for a brief but encouraging moment in these bleak times if nothing else.
Purchase this record and soak up the non-conformist nature of the UK’s best and most uncompromising underground band.

Dominic Valvona.

Fuck Buttons – ‘Tarot Sport’

Fuck Buttons - 'Tarot Sport' 2009

Double LP Vinyl Gatefold version reviewed.

ATP Records. 2009.

Track list:-
1.    Surf Solar  (10:32)
2.    Rough Steez   (4:44)
3.    The Lisbon Maru   (9:19)
4.    Olympians  (10:54)
5.    Phantom Lab  (4:50)
6.    Space Mountain (8:45)
7.    Flight Of The Feathered Serpent  (9:32)

Fuck Buttons seem to be listening to some very interesting records of late, the odd Sven Vath LP and E2-E4 by Manuel Gottsching instantly spring to mind on what can only be described as a move towards prog-rock dance!
It is full of analogies and references from the Euro pop direction found in Krautrock heroes like La Düsseldorf to the titles that bare homage to Ash Ra Tempal, Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream.
In the same way that Brit artist Glenn Brown re-appropriated the fantasy science fiction art of Chris Foss so Fuck Buttons in a similar fashion tip their hat to the best of the Seventies trance pioneers.
Further guidance can be found in Sven Vath’s 1995 LP ‘The Harlequin, The Robot and The Ballet Dancer’, which acts as a natural spiritual guidance to the album.

‘Tarot Sport’ echoes a similar sound palate and driving concept throughout, the opener ‘Surf Solar’ and the track ‘Space Mountain’ set up an ambitious pathway of fuzz, toms and acid scuzz all interlocked with the ever present vintage synthesiser and brooding pulsing bass lines.
On these tracks especially the build up harks at their more grown up presumptions, an attempt to being taken seriously perhaps?

Some of the shorter tunes on display such as ‘Rough Steez’ use the darker influence of Faust as the complex beat takes its time to eventually loop into time. On ‘Phantom Lab’ they come across more in step with Canadians Holy Fuck, especially their track ‘Echo Sam’.

Highlights include the mesmerising ‘The Lisbon Maru’, which crosses Ash Ra Tempal and Black Neon to make what sounds like the Beach Boys riffing on Talking Heads ‘Road To Nowhere’.
Another highlight is the heroically named ‘Olympian’, a Florian Schneider fronted Joy Division circa Trance Europe Express before the Euro pop sound of ‘Viva’ era La Düsseldorf steers it away from sounding too moody and punches the air for the sheer hell of it.

Closing epic the opulently fantastical titled ‘Flight Of The Feathered Serpent’ is a slow building barrage of deep space exploration and trance fuelled floating melodies that builds into a version of Can on their later albums, I’m thinking of ‘Out Of Reach’ and ‘Can’ albums. A slow grower as I they say, as it keeps up a regular momentum throughout its nine minutes.
This takes the duo into some potential goldmines of exploration as their points of reference have rarely been used, especially in a successful way like this.
A great attempt that should be encouraged, it remains to be seen how well this album tours though critically it has gone down pretty well.

As I was listening through my headphones to this record it suddenly dawned on me that this would be the perfect soundtrack to the spaceman from another planet theories of Erich Von Daniken, especially his Seventies published book ‘Chariots Of The Gods’ which proclaimed that signs in the deserts of Central America were left for beings from another World. Either that or the last album I’ll play if the Mayan prophecies come true in 2012!

Dominic Valvona.

A German Music Odyssey Part Six

(The best albums from 1968 to 1975)

Amon Duul II – ‘Live In London’

Background: -

Amon Duul II are caught live in a blinding haze of Psychedelic bluster on this 1973 release, recorded on their 1972 tour of the UK. Though it states London it is in fact Croyden, which isn’t technically the capitol, but we can forgive them.
Consisting of the highlights from ‘Yeti’ and ‘Dance Of The Lemmings’, it seems slightly out of step with the material the band released that year. Maybe the English crowd wanted to hear the early albums more or the band felt they had to play these earlier incarnations.
The show itself harks back to 1968 with its acid soaked light show and summer of love pretensions that had more in common with Jefferson Airplane and early Pink Floyd.

The bands close knit core are all present and correct on this performance with the added touch of two drummers, shared duties from Danny Fichelscher and Peter Leopold add a percussion heavy maelstrom to proceedings, which never losses its way.
All of the songs are played to a high standard and sound mostly exhilarating though I’m amazed at how many critics moan about the quality, yes their early LPs always have a certain live sound to them anyway but I believe that it is further enhanced on this recording.
Certainly tunes like ‘Archangels Thunderbird’ and ‘Eye Shaking King’ both sound infinitely better played at a faster pace and with a heavier tone. Believe me these guys sound tight and the stand out, the musicianship of Lothar Meid on bass and Chris Karrer on guitar, violin and sax really make a difference. John Weinzierl and Renate sound great most of the time on vocal duties.

Side two of the recording is handed over to ‘Dance Of The Lemmings’, which is hastily rushed through as if they are on a timer.
Some of the dynamics get lost as they pummel through most of the original double LP in twenty minutes flat, there certainly isn’t any room for space and to take a breather.
But it has to be said they manage to discard some of the more mediocre parts and bulk up the rest in a much heavier rock style, they cut out a lot of the light and shade work.

Falk U Rogner provides the alum cover as usual; he also plays synth and organ on this tour. Looming over London, a menacing proto alien creature wearing what looks like a World War II helmet grabs the famous Post Office Tower in its claws. Whizzing above it is a group of flying saucers, which might be the preferred tour bus of choice for our cosmic band.
Like something that’s sprung from the pen of H.P Lovecraft this serpent from another dimension literally tramples the city beneath its feet.

‘Live In London’ in essence was a showcase for fans across the Channel; it falls short in some respects as the band was essentially born of a free spirited improvised scene. On this record they play it slightly safe, but then they weren’t sure of the welcome they would get and probably needed to focus on delivering a well-rounded set.
It’s defiantly worthy of adding to any collection.

Live In London’  (1973)

United Artists.

Recorded live at the Greyhound in Croyden on December 16th 1972.

Track List

Side 1.
1. Archangels Thunderbird   (3:20)
2. Eye Shaking King   (6:19)
3. Soap Shop Rock   (8:19)
4. Improvisation   (3:42)

Side 2.
1. Syntelman’s March Of The Roaring Seventies   (8:06)
a) Pull Down Your Mask
b) Prayer To The Silence
c) Telephonecomplex

2. a) Restless Skylight – Transistor Child – Landing In A Ditch   (7:43)
b) Dehypnotized Toothpaste
c) A Short Stop At The Transylvanian Brain Surgery

3. Race From Here To Your Ears   (5:04)
a) Little Tornados
b) Riding On A Cloud
c) Paralized Paradise

Personal

John Weinzierl – Guitar/Vocals
Lothar Meid – Bass/Vocals
Chris Karrer – Guitar/Violin/Soprano Sax
Falk U Rogner – Organ/Synthesiser
Renate Knaup – Krotenschwanz – Vocals
Danny Fichelscher – Drums
Peter Leopold – Drums

A quick introduction of the band is swept aside as the first bars of ‘Archangels Thunderbird’ take off, a blast of brooding bass and effects driven guitar set the agenda.
More powerful, emotive and heavy then its original counterpart on ‘Yeti’, this sounds more like a dose of heavy metal as it takes Sabbath and runs them out of town.
Renate high priestess of some Teutonic version of Hammer Horror has never sounded better as her soaring pronunciations of Edgar Poe and Gomorrah add some well-needed emotive feeling to the menacing march.
Handclapping ensues but is met with a short gasp of breath before two drum rolls herald the beginnings of ‘Eye Shaking King’.
Triumphant in all its glory, a much improved on the original version as the vocals are left clean and actually audible. The backing continues on a heavy footing and rocks out during the middle section as the band pull off a tight psychedelic jam stomper.
Lothar Meid on bass lays down a Ten Years After performance as his busy playing style complements Weinzierl and Karrer on lead.
Falk U Rogner adds a level of mystery and misty graveyard atmospherics on the organ and synth.
This one ends with a big applause from the audience who’ve now adjusted themselves and settled in for the night.
‘Soap Shop Rock’ impatiently lurks in the background, both the drummers hunched over their kits ready to continue with the barrage. Meid again on bass lays down some funky octave rundowns as Renate with Weinzierl share profound evocative vocal duties.
The eight-minute suite bounces along buoyed by Grateful Dead riffs before the middle section slows the pace down and Renate opens with a poetic ode whilst an emotive melody accompanies her. It ends in an impromptu final rock out that is stopped in its tracks by an improvised number.
Falk U Rogner is given a free reign as the rest of the group take a rest. His synthasiser has just enough room to show off as its whirling and oscillating loops build up before Meid daintily toys with adding his bass to the cosmic sounding brew.
Some harsh bird like calls and screeches are added before it all fades out to nothing.

Side 2 is handed over to ‘Dance Of The Lemmings’, a pared down version of the whole album in just twenty minutes flat.
‘Pull Down Your Mask’ sounds more theatrical and benefits from this rockier played out version as does ‘Prayer To The Silence’ which is more West coast freak out then subtle soundtrack.
On ‘Telephonecomplex’ we are propelled at speed to this three part acts climax without time to take it all in, a short shrift shock of a version that fits more ideas into its brief time then most bands managed in a whole career.
‘Restless Skylight’ is hurried but sounds like it means business whilst ‘Transistor Child’ and ‘Landing In A Ditch’ are radically sped up; there is no time to rest on your laurels here.
‘Dehypnotized Toothpaste’ is all worked up with more of the cosmic rock before it gets immersed in some doom and dread theatre of horrors.
Wohoo! ‘A Short Stop At The Transylvanian Brain Surgery’ has arrived; I love this messy Gothic opera track. Though the vocals get lost in the smothering effects and at one point it all nearly falls apart as I picture them all looking at each other in a nervous way. Nice try though and we honour you for it.
The final suite of songs starts with ‘Little Tornados’, a tip toeing cymbal and delicate bass riff is helped along by both Weinzierl and Renates stirring vocals.
‘Riding On A Cloud’ and ‘Paralized Paradise’ are worked through, though quite delicate in contrast, all this before a last three-minute workout brings the set to a close.

It is a shame they never made more live albums, it would have been great to hear the likes of ‘Wolf City’ and ‘Carnival In Babylon’ played out in their entirety. Especially with this same line up and atmosphere.

Part 7 :‘Viva La Trance’ – The now more glam influenced Amon Duul II adopt a different direction and style reaching into new sonic landscapes but sounding more structured. A maligned but affectionately loved LP that finds our heroes taking a messy, but rewarding in some aspects, journey through 1973. Next time we shall explore in detail this strange but decent enough LP in all its glory.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8266922.stm

Among a flurry of new entries from Peter Andre, Jay-Z, Pixie Lott and David Gray is an album by a band that has been around longer than any of them: Porcupine Tree.

Check em out.

Great drumming, powerful stuff…

The idea of a concept album is one that has been thrown around long before artists like Pink Floyd wrote The Wall or The Who with Tommy. Some belive that Frank Sinatra was one of the first to play with the idea of an entire album with one focus, telling a story. However, The Dear Hunter attempt to continue there concept band with the release of their third studio album.

The Dear Hunter, a band that was created by former lead singer of the band The Recieving End of Sirens, Casey Crescenzo, looks to tell the story of the charachter simply known as the Boy or the Dear Hunter. This album, Act III: Life and Death, is the third installment of the six part epic that Crescenzo plans to create. Crescenzo’s ambition shined through in the second album, Act II: The Meaning of and All Things Regarding Misleading, as it recived numerous positive reviews and praise for its unique sound that blended progressive rock with an orchestral and gypsy twist.

As the albums opens with a dreary procession and ominous chorus awakening the audience to the continuing story line and then the listener is launched in to a crashing, jazzy rock opera. Tracks like, “The Tank”, give the album and an industrial feel, but Crescenzo constantly shifts the mood, jarring the listener.

The progressive nature of the music is both its’ strongest and weakest point. One moment you feel like you have entered a hard rock saloon filled with the dredges of society and the next moment the rock opera’s following movement turns classical and sentimental. While the quality of the music is superb, you cannot really listen to one or two tracks just on their own without wanting to hear the rest. For this reason, the album lacks a sort of ‘catchy’ quality, but then again Crescenzo does not wish to create an album of pop tunes.

Crescenzo aims to weave a story imbedded in the lyrics and riffs that expand upon differnt genres, which he does much better on this album than the previous albums. His ability to add influences from eclectic genres makes the album far more interesting to listen to than most concept albums. However, the problem I found in the second album Act II was with Crescenzo’s lack of range in vocals and he does little to expand on his two dimensional style, either monotone singer or yelling. Both are apporriate at times and his singing is my no means poor, but it leaves something to be desired.

Overall, the album feels fresh and nice to listen to as it avoids the same old prog-emo album feel of boy gets rejected and cries about it. Perhaps you could classify it as literary progressive rock, but no matter what label you give this, it definitely warrants a listen.

RIYL: Coheed and Cambria, Receiving End of Sirens

Play it in HQ for best results! Come out to the show, we’ll have this going, plus more, much more. All of Animals, all of Wish You Were Here…plus a few surprises.

The EOPF official site

A gear junkie’s cornucopia. Even if you’re not a fan of their (his) music, the attention to detail in his songs is so great.

Prog is not dead, and it doesn’t smell funny.

Preview the upcoming recording, it has a 55 min track. That’s longer than Topographic.

Good info, interesting pov on the album, and a nice site to poke around in for the PF fan.

http://www.neptunepinkfloyd.co.uk/index.php/npf-mag/315-the-final-cut-a-review-by-christian-bobocea

The Final Cut a requiem for the post war dream by roger waters… performed by pink floyd.

The Final Cut… Pink Floyd’s first and only album without Richard Wright, and the last with Roger Waters.

Now, that’s some pretty good, had no idea he could do that. I wish *I* could do that.

Check em out, let us know what ya think.

Pigs from The Omni, Toledo
Astronomy Domine from Founders Brewing, Grand Rapids
Run Like Hell from the Small Planet, East Lansing
On The Run Synth Madness from Founders
Mathilda Mother from the Planet
Dogs from the Planet
Echoes P1 from the Planet
Echoes P2
Money from the Planet

http://www.pinkfloydtributeband.net

Haven’t listened to it yet, but it could be gravy…

http://halsprogressiverockblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/ron-geesin-with-david-gilmour-june.html

We’ve been busy lining up shows for the late summer/fall. The 3,000mW EOPF Laserium will be at every show, except the outdoor gig at Lugnut Stadium. It’s too big for outdoor performances!

EOPF crosses The Intersection in Grand Rapids
Friday, August 14th
The Intersection

EOPF plays a double header at Oldsmobile Park in downtown Lansing (after the Lugnuts game)
Thirsty Thursday! Bring your drinking face. No lasershow this night.
Thursday, August 27th

Pink Floyd Night at Lugnuts Stadium

EOPF packages it up and brings the cabbage to the Magic Bag in fabulous Ferndale
Friday, August 28th
The Magic Bag

EOPF orbits the Small Planet in Lansing, MSU homecoming weekend
Friday, October 16th
The Small Planet

EOPF rolls into Sandusky at the Norwalk Theatre
Saturday, Sept. 19th
http://www.norwalktheatre.com/

Check our site to keep up with the news. We will be playing more places soon, with many different, interesting performances. We try not to play the same show twice!
EOPF home page

http://pinkfloydonline.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=14901

Looks very well prepared. I wish I lived nearer to Prague.

Just a reminder, please check us out at these sites, for booking, for keeping up to date on what we’re up to and when we’re playing next, new media and bootlegs.

http://pinkfloydtributeband.net/

Our Myspace page:

http://www.myspace.com/thesurrogateband

And don’t forget to vote for us in the WDIV “local band contest”.

http://wdiv.cityvoter.com/echoes-of-pink-floyd/biz/161021

From the 80s…the user has some other really nice videos of PF. There are more interview vids too…

WDIV vote 4 the best.

http://www.pinkfloydtributeband.net/

We played this past weekend at the Stars and Stripes Festival in Mt. Clemens this past Saturday. It was a great show, great crowd, people were into it. Just awesome.

In the Flesh?
The Thin Ice
Another Brick I
Happiest Days
Another Brick II
Sheep
Speak to Me
Breathe
Breathe Reprise
Great Gig
Money
ootd
Have a Cigar
Wish You Were Here
Comfortably Numb
Run Like Hell

http://www.pinkfloydtributeband.net/

Love these melodies, the combining of flute and guitar and mellotron is unique, and the timbre.

Very pastoral and moving.

Plus the biggest drumset in 1980!

Good version, lots of energy and intensity, plus a lot of delay on the guitar!

http://www.box.net/shared/bzsz5r3bls

www.pinkfloydtributeband.net

Very jammy, in the middle, loose and ripping. Matt Popel ran sound that night at the Omni and made this recording.

http://www.fileqube.com/shared/zQyQIXj1434811

www.pinkfloydtributeband.net

The drummer’s second show. What a great tune.

Fearless mp3

http://www.pinkfloydtributeband.net/

Rare track from Ummagumma, the melody sticks with you.

http://www.box.net/shared/qjfkt7×84z

http://www.pinkfloydtributeband.net/