Podcast 2022.14 The Peace & Love Van

After a 2+ month hiatus, Turn Me On, Dead Man is back with two hours of recent psychedelia. This episode is divided into three parts. In the first hour I cover psychedelic tracks released during the last few months, followed by a short set of notable reissues, and finally I round out the episode with some extended tracks, improvised and otherwise.

time artist title
00:30 Pale Blue Sound Broken Heart
05:10 Erik's Iridescent Tent Wailing Fungus
08:42 Sun Voyager Some Strange
16:55 Snakes Don't Belong In Alaska Cosmic Prophet
24:23 The Dead Novas Bar Fite
29:15 The Hologram People Drone of the Holy Numbers
31:53 Babe Ruthless Mysteries of the Egyptian Gods
34:27 A.J. Kaufmann So Hot
37:31 Ala Mil Space Age Dub
41:04 Forklift Driver On Board
43:50 Melt Plastic Group Hooh
50:14 Lost Fuzz Someday
53:18 Uncle Wizard I Am, It Says
57:01 Brazil Banks Swell
Reissues
1:04:24 Orchestra Gold Mali Senekelaw
1:08:21 Psychic Ills Mind Daze
1:11:30 Naujawanan Baidar Isyan Dorost Ast
1:15:24 White Hills Radiate
Extended Tracks
1:19:34 Sol Viator Phoenix Flies Over The Rockies
1:24:54 Uguns project No quisiera
1:32:08 They Came From Mauritania Space
1:38:22 Trip Pilots Stargazing
1:45:22 Gozu Pierced by Lunar Rays
1:51:21 Zong Encounters On The Astral Plane

Turn Me On, Dead Man 2022 Podcasts

#AcidRock #AfghanFolk #Afrobeat #Alternative #Ambient #Avant-garde #Cosmic #DarkAmbient #DesertRock #Doom #Drone #Druggy #Dub #Electronica #Experimental #FreakFolk #Fusion #Fuzz #GaragePunk #GarageRock #Giallo #HardRock #HeavyPsych #Improvisation #IndieRock #Industrial #Instrumental #Krautpunk #Krautrock #Lo-Fi #Meditation #MiddleEastern #Neopsychedelia #Noise #Post-punk #Post-rock #Prog #Psych #PsychRock #Psychedelia #Psychedelic #PsychedelicFolk #PsychedelicPunk #PsychedelicRock #Punk #PunkBlues #Sludge #Soundtrack #SpaceRock #SpiritualJazz #Stoner #StonerRock #Surf #Trance #World

One notable track is “Cosmic Prophet” by Snakes Don’t Belong In Alaska. This track caught my attention because it opens with a passage from Arthur C. Clarke’s book 2001: A Space Odyssey talking about the ratio the number of people alive today to the number of human beings who have ever lived. Interesting to me because I teach a course called Population Geography and we actually cover this in a unit on population in history.

Arthur C. Clarke’s book version of 2001 was published in 1968 and he put the ratio of the dead to the living at 30:1. The ratio is actually lower than that now because the population of the world is just about to cross the 8 billion threshold, which is more than double the population of the world in 1968, and the estimate of the number of people who have ever lived is now around 117 billion–so the ratio now is more like 14:1. A few years ago the Population Reference Bureau released a video showing a timeline of the human population. I’m not exactly sure why they used the amped up soundtrack but it does illustrate this point effectively.

Anyway, I asked Snakes Don’t Belong In Alaska why they opened their track with this quote and Aaron explained to me, “The song inspiration comes from my realisation of my significance in being insignificant,” which is an interesting take on it. I guess I think about it a little bit differently, though. In the course I teach we talk a lot about human development. Around 1990 the UN began using the “Human Development Index” which is a measure of human progress and well-being. They wanted to shift the focus away from economic measures of progress to a more human centered approach. So given that through most of human history, only a select few were able to rise above the level of subsistence, when I think about how many people have ever lived it’s only been in the recent past that large numbers of people could focus on pursuits beyond bare existence. I wonder how many talented people didn’t have the opportunity to develop their abilities. How many Einsteins have there been? How many Jimi Hendrixes? How many Joey Ramones? I would imagine that there have been a great many people who weren’t fortunate enough to live in a social-technological environment to actualize their potential and share their accomplishments with a wide audience. Can you imagine a world without “I Wanna Be Sedated”? I mean, there had to be at least a few punks among the hunter-gatherers.

Some interesting reissues have come out recently. This episode includes a track from the White Hills album The Revenge of Heads On Fire, which is an expanded reissue of their 2007 album Heads On Fire. We’ll also hear a live track by Psychic Ills, recorded in 2012, and released as part of the Reverb Appreciation Society’s Live at Levitation series.

Going a little further afield, we’ll also hear a track from Naujawanan Baidar, who rework tracks from cassettes containing Afghan traditional music “by collaging traditional melodies, entrancing loops, and psychedelic noise.” This episode also includes a track from the recent LP compilation from Orchestra Gold called African Psychedelic Music. Orchestra Gold is a collaboration that began between Erich Huffaker, an American guitarist, and Mariam Diakite, a singer/percussionist from Mali. What’s interesting about Naujawanan Baidar and Orchestra Gold is that they emphasize the psychedelic orientation of their approach.

Just a note about the cover image I used for this episode. Running has become part of my daily life and I’ve logged over 1000 miles so far this year. I took this episode’s cover photo on one of my regular running routes. I kept noticing this van parked near a facility for the homeless and I was struck by the artwork on it. Actually what particularly caught my attention was the fart icon drawn on the heart. Simple but effective. After passing by it so often I’ve come to see this beat up van with a flat tire and a kind of defiant expression of peace and love as an effective metaphor for our world. Whenever I run by, I always take a moment to pay tribute to the peace and love van.


Pale Blue Sound – Broken Heart (from Reflection, release date: July 30, 2022)

Pale Blue Sound are from Seoul, South Korea.

Erik’s Iridescent Tent – Wailing Fungus (from Peter Piper Pepperidge Farm at the Gates of Dawn Detergent, release date: June 1, 2022)

Coming from the frozen urban wasteland of Minneapolis, MN, Erik’s Iridescent Tent delivers fuzzy and acid-damaged heavy psych directly into your trip.
TMODM: What had the strongest influence on Peter Piper Pepperidge Farm at the Gates of Dawn Detergent?
EIT: There was a sense of randomness, pulled from the ether, that had the strongest influence – it was the joining of the psychedelic as well as the earth that culminated in “Piper”. The band, under my direction, was able to channel the entities we communicated with into something that people could understand and enjoy… it was understood that there was a message amongst the sound, and a resonation with the universe.
TMODM: What record changed your life?
EIT: Everyone in the band would have a different answer, but I think the album that we reference in the title is probably not a bad place to start. Life changing music can be found anywhere, whether it’s in the grooves of a vinyl record, the magnetic signals pulled from a cassette tape, or the howling of the wind during a lightning storm.
TMODM: What’s next for you?
EIT: The band is currently recording a new EP, which should be out within a month or so. There are also plans for some regional shows in Minnesota and Wisconsin for Fall 2022. There has been quite a scene developing around our music, based at the Dead Wizard Lounge in Minneapolis, and we hope to offer up our music to others at this location even more in the future.

Sun Voyager – Some Strange (from Sun Voyager, release date: October 6, 2022)

New-York garage psych trio SUN VOYAGER present the follow-up to their revered 2018 debut ‘Seismic Vibes’. Fusing early metal influences from the comedown era with kraut jam-inspired stoner rock freakouts, you can expect plenty of groove and loads of fuzz. For fans of Kyuss desert grooves, expansive garage psych à la King Gizzard and Oh Sees, and Earthless wah-driven explorations.
TMODM: What had the strongest influence on your upcoming album?
SV: Definitely touring. After our last record came out, we spent more time on the road than we ever had, playing with bigger bands and playing more festivals, which had a big impact on our performances and our writing style. We thought a lot more about our sound, what worked best live, what types of songs belonged in the set, and the general feeling in the band was that the louder and harder we played and the more we jammed, the better we felt. So when it came to writing, it always came back to the road and what hit hardest live. We really sought to capture that energy, as well as the live sound, on this record.
TMODM: What record changed your life?
SV: I think it always comes back to Led Zeppelin and “How The West Was Won”. It’s a record that captures the energy of the greatest band of all time at the top of their game. We listen to that album a lot on the road. The way the band feeds off each other, the playing is just on a whole nother level, and how tight they were. There are other great live albums like Deep Purple’s “Made in Japan” or Thin Lizzy’s “Live and Dangerous” that are right up there, but neither of them had Bonham.
TMODM: What’s next for you?
SV: We’re getting close to finishing the next record. The one we’re releasing was written and recorded pretty much right before the world shut down. This new one was written primarily in the studio, away from the road. There’s still a lot of energy but it’s more pent-up aggression from being cooped up and live takes of crazy jams. There might even be a couple instrumentals on it.

Snakes Don’t Belong In Alaska – Cosmic Prophet (from Interstellic Psychedelic, release date: August 4, 2022)

Mind bending psychedelia from the North East of England.
TMODM: How did you come up with that intro about the ratio of the dead to the living? The reason I ask is that I teach a class at South Dakota State U. called “Population Geography” (not very psychedelic, I realize) and we actually cover that in one of the units of the course. Just curious how you came across that estimate of the number of people who have ever lived.
SDBIA: It’s actually a clip of Arthur C Clarke from a reading he did of the 2001 a space Odyssey book. The song inspiration comes from my realisation of my significance in being insignificant.

The Dead Novas – Bar Fite (from Dysphoria, release date: July 23, 2022)

So-Cal Psych Heads
TMODM: What has been the biggest influence on Dysphoria?
TDN: Love, Drugs and bad cops. We are all very involved with the Psych/Stoner Punk scene so are very influenced by so many amazing bands.
TMODM: What record changed your life?
TDN: Sabbath, Vol. 4
TMODM: What’s next for you?
TDN: Live shows, more records and planning a tour!

The Hologram People – Drone of the Holy Numbers (from Village of the Snake God, release date: September 2, 2022)

The Hologram People are Dom Keen and Jonathan Parkes. I corresponded with Dom Keen.
TMODM: What has had the strongest influence on Village of the Snake God?
THP: It was a combination of the 70s film Psychomania, along with an old TV series called Children of the Stones. Also I was reading a book called Monolithic Undertow by Harry Sword, who very kindly let us use his chapter titles as a starting point for the LP.
TMODM: What record changed your life?
THP: CAN, Tago Mago. I still listen to it as though it was new.
TMODM: What’s next for you?
THP: We are putting the finishing touches to our next movie soundtrack record, also we have the four Studio Kosmische albums coming out on vinyl sequentially over the next 12 months.

Babe Ruthless – Mysteries of the Egyptian Gods (from Valley of the Sun, release date: July 21, 2022)

Babe Ruthless are from Los Angeles and play garage, psychedelic, punk.
TMODM: What makes music psychedelic? How do you think your music is psychedelic?
BR: I think what makes music psychedelic is the atmosphere the music brings. Especially back in the 60s it was music that was different and trying different things! Why I like to think my music is psychedelic is because I try to embody what the early garage scene of the 60s were doing while trying to make modern interpretations of what the newer psychedelic bands are doing. If I try to explain garage rock to anyone the easiest way to explain it is psychedelic punk and that just sounds really cool!

A.J. Kaufmann – So Hot (from Arterie, release date: September 3, 2022)

The prolific A.J. Kaufmann is a regular on Turn Me On, Dead Man. His music has appeared on 2021.20 as Fairyport Convent, 2021.26 as The Yellow Blackness, and 2022.03 as The LSD Zapata. A.J. Kaufmann is based in Poznań, Poland.
TMODM: What makes music psychedelic?
AJK: I think it’s the combination of many aspects of sounds and lyrics. For me the definition of psychedelic music can be found on the 13th Floor Elevators “Easter Everywhere” LP. Spirituality, strength, rock’n’roll. Not even drugs are necessary when the combination hits the right spot. Then the live setting. Lights, light show, graphic design, album artwork, song titles, lyrics… stuff like this I guess. In the 21st century we’ve got a whole lot of psychedelic giants on whose shoulders we can climb.
TMODM: How do you think your music is psychedelic?
AJK: I don’t really think it is. For me, it’s normal music. It’s the stuff I do daily, and I don’t consider it psych or otherworldly or anything like that. When I was 15 or 16 I accidentally took a dose of acid and went through a really bad trip. So, maybe that’s why my music is psychedelic. I just try to escape the acid hell writing and recording songs and improvisations. It’s been now over 20 years since that bad acid trip, and, as bad as the experience was, it actually inspired me to write and perform music. So, I guess there’s a bright side to everything. Also, reading lots of books helps to find inspiration, especially classic sci-fi and fantasy titles.

Ala Mil – Space Age Dub (from Ep 1, release date: August 31, 2022)

Ala Mil is an instrumental band from Balneário Camboriú, Brazil. They began in 2017 with César Blax (bass and production) and Virgilio Teixeira (guitar), and later joined by guitarist Everton Piagetti and drummer Giva Farina. Influences range from rock to jazz, from Brazilian music to funk and dub.
TMODM: What had the strongest influence on EP 1?
AM: There a several influences form me and the others members, but i would say the the main one are Jazz (fusion, free, spiritual), funk/soul, dub music, krautrock, post punk and alternative rock, Brazilian music to the regional to the most modern and psychedelic music in general.
TMODM: What record changed your life?
AM: Journey in Satchidananda by Alice Coltrane was a album that changed my life, made me feel music differently, with a spiritual ear and not just a physical one.
TMODM: What’s next for you?
AM: The next step is release the second EP from these sessions that is already record and just need some adjustments, it should come out in January or February 2023.

Forklift Driver – On Board (from The Night Shift EP, release date: September 2, 2022)

Forklift Driver is from São Paulo, Brazil.
TMODM: What has had the strongest influence on your music?
FD: There are many of them. Musically speaking I would say Byrds, Beach Boys, Elephant 6 bands, 90s Lo-fi, 60’s garage, Scottish indie rock. On other aspects I should mention: home recording, music journalism, 80s and 90s indie labels.
TMODM: What record changed your life?
FD: I can recall a few but I will probably forget others. Beat Happening’s You Turn Me On was a major reference, combining minimalism and free form music, while still sounding tight and straight forward. Teenage Fanclub’s Bandwagonesque was an amazing display of great songwriting. Elephant 6 bands also released many classic albums.
TMODM: What’s next for you?
FD: The goal is probably to keep on writing and recording. I will most likely try to put up a full band in the near future, either for recording or playing live.

Melt Plastic Group – Hooh (from Hooh, release date: October 27, 2022)

Melt Plastic Group are from Brighton, UK. Members are Willy A Robinson (Words, Lead Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica, Keys), Jessica FF Lazzeri (Bass, Fur), Gazik Stan (Drums, Vocals, Keys, Guitar).
TMODM: What has had the strongest influence on your music?
MPG: The experimental period of the late 60s and early 70s.
TMODM: What record changed your life?
MPG: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.
TMODM: What’s next for you?
MPG: Keep playing, improving and not worry about what the humans think.

Lost Fuzz – Someday (from Someday (Versions), release date: July 28, 2022)

Lost Fuzz is from Edmonton, Alberta.
TMODM: What has had the strongest influence on Someday?
LF: The strongest influence I would say was a previous song I wrote called dreamer, I wanted to recapture the feeling I got from writing it.
TMODM: What record changed your life?
LF: An album that changed my life would be The Fragile by Nine Inch Nails.
TMODM: What’s next for you?
LF: I just moved into a house with a bunch of my musician buddies so we’re gonna be working on some new tracks coming soon!

Uncle Wizard – I Am, It Says (from Negative Hallucination, release date: July 16, 2022)

Uncle Wizard is from Reading, Pennsylvania.
TMODM: What has had the strongest influence on negative hallucination?
UW: The strongest influence I’ve had while working on this ep was probably mean machine by the warlocks. It was really dark and hypnotic and beautiful and inspiring in a way that made me feel like I could make some cool music also. This is my first time recording my own music so I’ve been playing around with all the plug-ins and have been experimenting with sounds I never got to make before and each new sound was a new inspiration and foundation for a song. Also a lot of the lyrics and the theme of this ep have been inspired by my reading of a book on sex magic that details how to use ceremonial sex to connect with your higher self. And that is what I try to do with my art, connect to myself in a deeper and truer sense.
TMODM: What record changed your life?
UW: A record that changed my life was George Harrison’s Wonderwall. It’s his first solo album and it’s a soundtrack for a movie. George actually didn’t really like it himself but it is one of the most beautifully produced albums. It really got me into music production and made me realize that stereo sound is like a painting on a canvas, you can play around with the composition.
TMODM: What’s next for you?
UW: We’ll see what’s next. This is my first shot at recording and writing my own stuff and I’ve really enjoyed it so I hope to make more and experiment with more sounds.

Brazil Banks – Swell (from Above Us The Waves, release date: April 9, 2022)

Brazil Banks is a musician and DJ living in the south-west UK.
TMODM: What was the biggest influence on Above Us The Waves?
BB: The album was written and recorded over a twenty-year period so the songs have soaked up a lot of life stuff along the way. The biggest influence out of all of that is probably regret. Whilst it’s not a theme, I think that the songs all carry a weight of sadness with them and that comes from experiencing regret in life.
TMODM: What record changed your life?
BB: Tricky question, many records have had that effect on me. The first one was an album called ‘Headsparks’ by an American band called Seam. I picked it up in my local OurPrice based on the cover in 1992. Whilst I’d heard music like it (kind of shoegaze, kind of grunge but not really either), this album really resonated with me.
TMODM: What’s next for you?
BB: It’s a busy year for me. I have two albums of brazil banks music to self-release along with an album of remixes for a really cool post-rock band called Menendez. I’m also releasing a cassette album on a micro-label in October/November. Hoping to self-release an album of improvised guitar/double-bass/FX music with a friend of mine if we can find time.

Reissues

Orchestra Gold – Mali Senekelaw (from African Psychedelic Rock, release date: July 15, 2022)

Led by Malian vocalist Mariam Diakite, African Psychedelic Rock ensemble Orchestra GOLD 🔆 is celebrating the release of their third album, “Medicine,” on January 20, 2023. Recorded at Tiny Telephone Studios in Oakland, CA, “Medicine” was mixed by Chico Mann of Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra / Here Lies Man. I corresponded with Erich Huffaker, guitarist/arranger of Orchestra Gold.
TMODM: What record changed your life?
EH: I’ll name two because I think in some ways Orchestra Gold is the nexus between those two worlds. The first one is One Hot Minute by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. This record touched me at the tender age of 15. Laced with rock, funk and the psychedelic guitar of Dave Navarro, this (very underappreciated) record introduced me to the full magical potential of music. In terms of Mali, I’d rather just give the following list of songs below. These tracks below illustrate to me the raw, visceral, pentatonic beauty of the music of Mali. My primary influence on the guitar is the Bambara music (the first two tracks are in that style, the third is a different style). Much has been said about the connection between the Bambara music and what later became the blues in America. I think it’s an African music that feels very familiar to us here in the US, blessed as we are to have grown up with African-American music. Super Djata de Bamako – Signanna Super Biton de Segou – Saajuru Mystere Jazz Tombouctou – Apollo
TMODM: What makes music psychedelic? or maybe better, what about your music is psychedelic?
EH: Of course, there’s lots of differing opinions on this, all of which are true to the believer. From my vantage, psychedelic music is more about function than form. For me, it opens up portals to other dimensions and multiverses. So, many things can be psychedelic. I know the delay and reverb are often associated with it. I love those just as much as the next person, and if you listen to those tracks above you will hear psychedelia in them. I also find rhythm incredibly psychedelic. The effect of listening to this music over time is that it induces a state change. This state change is healing. We aim to create music that induces that state change as well; music that heals you.
TMODM: What’s next for you?
EH: We are releasing a new album in Jan 2023. It’s called Medicine, and it’s really about that last point I made. It’s how music has become a healing factor in my life, and the life of Mariam Diakite, our lead singer. Music brought us across continents to work together, and it’s helped sustain us through the tribulations of life. I’ll include a blurb about the album below, but importantly we’re also doing a limited pressing of that album on vinyl to support our upcoming tour next March. We’ll be performing at SXSW, courtesy of Joey Massa from Space Agency Booking. If you’d like to support our work, get some at https://www.orchestragold.com/store/signed-african-psychedelic-rock-lp-jlrw5, and Follow us on Bandcamp/Spotify.

Psychic Ills – Mind Daze (from Live at Levitation, release date: September 30, 2022)

The fifth LP in this Live at Levitation series features New York psych legends Psychic Ills capturing the band’s spellbinding performance in 2012.

Naujawanan Baidar – Isyan Dorost Ast (from Khedmat Be Khalq, release date: July 8, 2022)

“Iconoclastic Afghan-American street music project Naujawanan Baidar makes its long anticipated return with “Khedmat Be Khalq,” its third album and first new release in three years.”

White Hills – Radiate (from The Revenge Of Heads On Fire, release date: September 16, 2022)

White Hills are from NYC.
TMODM: What are you working on currently? What’s next for you?
WH: Well…at the moment we’re getting ready for our EU/UK tour which kicks off in Berlin on October 12th and ends in London on November 15th. Before we headed out on tour in the US this summer we recorded songs for our next record which should come out next year. All of the touring since July has put working on those songs on hold, but we are shooting to have the new album done by the end of the year.

Extended Tracks

Sol Viator – Phoenix Flies Over The Rockies (from Sol Viator, release date: March 4, 2022)

“[Sol Viator is] the latest project from improvisor Matt Meeker (Holy Drone Travellers & Raga Onagra). Recorded during the pandemic, Sol Viator is a stunning soundscape that draws on the music of the Middle East and seamlessly blends elements of fusion and avant-garde. Against a backdrop of tanpura-esqe drones Matt lays down shawm, bass, trombone, chalumeau, electronics, and percussion with the help of cello, guitar, and some stunning vocals, tabla and electronic sarangi from Bhuyash Neupane.” – Ramble Records, Australia
TMODM: What record changed your life?
SV: There are two albums that I think I need to talk about here. Firstly–Jimi Hendrix’s “Are you Experienced?” changed my life drastically. I know it’s a big one and an album that lots of people are familiar with–but when I first heard it with my friends on vinyl at 19 I decided to drop out of university and go to another university to study music (jazz bass & audio engineering). My favourite track is “Third Stone from the Sun”–I had never heard music like that in my entire life. Jimi unfairly gets a reputation today as being the life of the party but the truth is he was a more introverted guy than you’d think and worked very hard on building his music studio to make his sonic dreams into reality. When you look at how many high quality recordings he put out in that short of a time span you can tell how hard working and dedicated he was. Record companies treated working musicians like dogs in those days–if you look at bands like Cream for example, the amount of shows they would play in a year–it makes sense that there was a string of high profile musician deaths. The other album that changed my life is Tago Mago by Can. Can is my favourite band of all time. I love all of the members but the bassist and audio engineer Holger Szukay has been a huge artistic influence for me–his playing style, and his recording style too. Taking long jams and editing them down to just the cream of the crop is something I’ve been doing for the last 6 years worth of releases under the names Raga Onagra and Sol Viator. My favourite track on it is “Oh Yeah”–I love krautrock immensely because of how it continues psychedelic music down a different path than what was going on in America. The reversed vocals, hypnotic drum and basslines, and everyone else in the band make this a perfect recording in my opinion.
TMODM: What makes music psychedelic? or maybe better, what about your music is psychedelic?
SV: That’s a good question–I had to think about this for a few days. I think I will answer this question mostly as a musician and then secondly as a listener. I fell in love with psychedelic music at 15 years old and it took me years of learning through various different means to be able to create the music I hear in my head. South Asian music (music from India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka) sounds inherently psychedelic to me because there are rarely key changes–there is a drone and then a wide variety of different scales and modes that you can solo and sonically paint over. In most western music there are usually key changes–the music has a sense of “going” somewhere. But when you take an eastern approach and get rid of that, it poses the question “why go anywhere?”. If you don’t need to focus on chord changes, it allows you and other musicians to play differently. When I am making psychedelic music at home or in town with other people it feels like painting with sound to me. I can be present and just focus on the sound textures, rhythms, special effects, and creating a musical conversation with other instrumentalists. I am an improviser primarily so that is my favourite kind of music to play hands down. Drone music is something that is present in all cultures of the world so taking a medieval Shawm and playing it with tablas and electronic drones works out quite well I think, As a listener: for me psychedelic music is something that frees the listener from daily reality and takes you to a land of euphoric self-reflection. It’s music that sounds beautifully dreamy and shows that building a better world is possible.
TMODM: What’s next for you?
SV: I was lucky to graduate with a degree in music education in April 2020 and get to start my music teaching career in the pandemic. It was very difficult but I also can’t imagine how hard of a time I would have had doing online university courses. Bhuyash Neupane (the tabla player on Sol Viator) also played in several other groups with me and we made many other recordings together (Raga Onagra, Holy Drone Travellers). Our band Holy Drone Travellers was lucky enough to tour Saskatchewan a week before COVID shut everything down in March 2020–we had a big west coast tour planned for that summer and were going to open for Sun Ra’s Arkestra at Sled Island music festival that year. The band fell apart over 2020 and Bhuyash returned back to Nepal so that’s all over, but I am glad that I worked on these recordings over the pandemic. Playing Shawm got me through the pandemic as well–I started playing in February 2020 so I ended up doing lots of good practicing over that time period (I’m talking hours a day hahahaha). Getting to play music with Bhuyash is one of the greatest experiences in my entire life and I will treasure those experiences forever. I was recently hired to be a full time music teacher at Balwin public school in Edmonton (teaching grades 4-9), so I’m really looking forward to that starting in September–I’m definitely going to get an after school rock band program going as those are lots of fun. Other than that I’m really excited to get some more bands going! I’m primarily a bassist at heart and music has always been best for me when it’s a shared group experience. Some people are like one-man battleships where they produce every single thing themselves in their home studios–lots of electronic musicians for sure. For me though it’s always best as a group experience which is why Sol Viator and all the Raga Onagra albums have such a big cast of musicians on board. I play in a free jazz trio called GMC trio right now–I played Palastinalied with them live at a jazz club back in February. I’m always down to collaborate with other musicians live and try new things out–I look forward to doing that on a stage as Sol Viator and whomever else is there. Other than that this summer has been about having fun, catching up with friends, and sailing into new horizons with new people who want to make mind-blowing psychedelic music. There’s another group I’m involved with that is currently in the very early formation stages as we speak that I think will be very trippy and ethereal.

Uguns project – No quisiera (from Uguns project, release date: July 14, 2022)

I corresponded with Loranzo from Uguns Project. Uguns Project are from Spain and he answered my questions in Spanish so I used Google Translate to translate his responses into English.
TMODM: What has had the strongest influence on your music?
UP: Our influences are wide, punk, jazz, noise, rock in its great breadth, life, its dramas and joys. We try to capture everything we are in sounds. Where our music is really lived is live, in each concert there is a place to improvise, play songs, collaborate with music friends! We try to keep the door open to live new experiences.
TMODM: What record/band changed your life?
UP: On a band that changed our lives: Lorenzo infexion(Guitar, sitar, synth) Jimi Hendrix. El city (drums, percussion) La polla records.
TMODM: What’s next for you?
UP: For us now the most important thing is to continue playing and very soon to record our first full-length. Original reply in Spanish: Hola, soy Lorenzo de “Uguns project”. Nuestras influencias son amplias, punk, jazz, noise, rock en su gran amplitud, la vida, sus dramas y alegrías, Intentamos plasmar todo lo que somos en sonidos. Donde realmente se vive nuestra música es en directo, en cada concierto hay sitio para improvisar, tocar canciones, hacer colaboraciones con amigxs musicxs! Intentamos mantener la puerta abierta a vivir experiencias nuevas. Sobre una banda que cambio nuestra vida: Lorenzo infexion(Guitar, sitar, synth) Jimi Hendrix. El city (batería, percusión) La polla records Para nosotros ahora lo más importante es seguir tocando y muy pronto grabar nuestro primer larga duración.

They Came From Mauritania – Space (from Tacnaam Demo, release date: April 7, 2022)

They Came From Mauritania is a post rock/stoner/psychedelic band from Murcia, Spain.
TMODM: What has had the strongest influence on tacnaam demo?
TCFM: As you can see, the 4 tracks in tacnaam are very different one from other. While gold experience tends to a stoner rock sound with kinda funky rythm in the last part, Madera is strongly influenced by bands like Naxatras and classic psych bands. Space and Agua are kind of different and similar at the same time, both are very influenced by bands like my sleeping karma or Mono
TMODM: What record changed your life?
TCFM: Its difficult to choose only one récord, these are some of our favourite records which could have some influence in our sound: For my parents – Mono The fragile – NIN Naxatras – Naxatras Soma – my sleeping karma
TMODM: What’s next for you?
TCFM: we are jamming as usual, and we are trying to create new songs based on those jam sessions. To sum up: keep working on our sound and try to have new gigs.

Trip Pilots – Stargazing (from Supersonic Stargazer EP, release date: November 5, 2022)

UK psychedelic-experimental band Trip Pilots were founded by Johnny Sharp in August 2022 and currently they are recording their debut EP Supersonic Stargazer being released in November, and a follow up debut album Centurions in mid-2023.
TMODM: What has had the strongest influence on Supersonic Stargazer EP?
TP: Early Syd Barrett and Astralaysia is a big influence as well as the grateful dead, US and UK psychedelic scene from 67 to 73.
TMODM: What record changed your life?
TP: The record that changed my life was Piper at the gates of dawn by Floyd.
TMODM: What’s next for you?
TP: Next thing for Trip Pilots is releasing our debut EP Supersonic stargazer and limited edition CD out on the 5th November 2022. Lot’s of events and festivals to perform at next year with any luck and really wishing for a UK national tour in the next couple of years. Our debut album LP is being released next years called ‘Centurions’.

Gozu – Pierced by Lunar Rays (from Conqueror, release date: September 10, 2022)

Gozu is a one-man project from Manchester, instrumental heavy music drawing from black metal, doom, sludge, drone, punk, psyche.
TMODM: What has had the strongest influence on Conqueror?
Gozu: My music is mainly improvised so I tend to just draw on whatever I’m feeling in the moment of recording. Happy accidents and surprises keep it fun. ‘Conqueror’ is no different and was doubtless subconsciously informed by all manner of music, film, art and random flotsam in my brain. I try not to think too much or aim too specifically for anything in particular during recording – I just let go and make sense of everything once it’s over.
TMODM: What record changed your life?
Gozu: A record that changed my life was ‘Highway to Hell’ by AC/DC. I was around ten years old in my dad’s car and the title track was playing on the radio. That opening riff did something to my brain I never recovered from (and would never want to). My dad bought me the full album a few days later and that was it, I was hooked. I love AC/DC to this day even though I don’t listen to them so much anymore.
TMODM: What’s next for you?
Gozu: I’m constantly making music under various monikers. I just dropped a new Oathless One release, called ‘Samhain’. Everything can be found on the Bandcamp page (gozu-music.bandcamp.com). There are tapes available for some releases – the most recent of those to come out was ‘Moonlight Sorceries’, through Malferna Productions, who have been great to work with. I’m really happy with how those came out. Basically I intend to keep making stuff until I can’t.

Zong – Encounters On The Astral Plane (from Astral Lore, release date: October 7, 2022)

Zong is a three-piece heavy psych band from Brisbane, Australia.

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