Children of One - "Children of One" {USA} [1969] (psych)

Hello! , Altought its quite common, its my latest discovery. i amazed myself during the week with that album, its something like an authentic theraphy at scizoprenic level. hope you like it too. some copy/paste;

Lineup pasted above from Fuzz, Acid & Flowers, whose entry says nothing more than that they're from New York. Apparently a 1968 release, never reissued, very obscure and rare. [lysergia.com] gives the release date as 1969. Most definitely NOT a rock album even though it's likely to float in the same circles of rare late 60s psych. This is truly one of the most bizarre albums I've ever heard, somewhere in between mystical folk music, new age music, and modern classical with a strong element of Indian music because of the use of sitar, dilruba and tanpura. It has a very non-academic feeling; it would be easier to imagine this music coming out of a hippie commune than a university, though I imagine it was probably some mix of these cultural contexts that resulted in this. With cello, bass clarinet, and flute mingling with multiple female voices, there's a rich and warm feeling. Very dreamy and mellow, not much in the way of driving rhythms. Strangely there's little percussion on the album, yet in the middle there is a quite lengthy unaccompanied drumkit solo, which is quite nice and not a detriment to the album or the sort of thing that begs to be skipped over. The strongest feature of the album is the abundance of female vocals in a wordless, somewhat operatic style that comes off as mysterious and ritualistic instead of gratuitous or annoying. I wasn't familiar with the dilbura before this, though I noticed a very sarangi-like sound in the mix and I just read that it's an Indian classical instrument somewhere in between a sarangi and sitar, bowed like the former with tuning and fret arrangement close the latter. It's a fantastic sound. A real masterpiece of subtle mysteriousness! Non-idiomatic psychedelia outside of time and place. Meditative yet freaky. I've really never heard anything similar to this at all. Seriously demanding investigation by anyone who might be remotely interested in this aesthetic! This general vein of music isn't a strong interest for me, but I'm pretty knocked out by this and the composing is very sophisticated. I would expect a lot of folks to give this one 5 stars.

Michael Anton Parker

LES GRINAGE cello, dilruba
KONRAD KAUFMAN drms, perc
BALA KRISHNA sitar
LAKSHMI tanpura
LEONARD LONERGAN soprano sax
MARCELLA MALMOLI vcls
LUCAS MASON flute, piano
PAULA MASON vcls
IRIN POELLIOT vcls
PETER SOKOLOW bs clarinet
VERA SOKOLOW vcls

time tuRns toward tomorrow..

Enjoy!

Freedom "Freedom is more than a word" {UK} [1972] (Progressive rock, Heavy)

Vertigo vertigo vertigo... A really strange label that had (or have) bands like Black Sabbath, Dr.Z, Tudor Lodge. And everything is getting expensive these days. But how ever Freedoom its a really nice progressive rock band and pretty heavy too, from the UK and the opening track is really awesome with viola and great guitars. If you know anything about the band you can write it in the comments. That would be really kind.

The line up:
Roger Saunders: Vocals, Piano, Lead Guitar
Steve Jolly: Lead Guitar
Pete Dennis: Bass, Accoustic Guitar, Vocals
Bobby Harisson: Drums, percussion, vocals



Download link in comments (sharbee and massmirror have been really strange the last weeks so I use rapidsahre so please don't complain)
Best wishes from Sweden

Prog Not Frog proudly presents: Queen Elephantine "Surya" {US} (2007) [Doom Stoner Sludge]

OKEY!!! Some days ago we recived an e-mail with a link with a band that was so heavy that I couldn't wear headphones while I was listening caus it would be hard to hold my head up. It sounds like OM or Sleep but with 5ives speed. But a lot more psychadelic. It's really hard to compare with something cause these guys sounds really new and fresh. Their first full length album is a limited edition so get it now before someone else do it!

Buy their first full length CD here:
http://queenelephantine.clfrecords.com/

And visit their myspace site and be their friend
http://www.myspace.com/queenelephantine

We at prognotfrog wish them good luck and hope that more people will discover their music.

The line up:
Indrayudh Shome (Guitar, Vocal)
Andrew Jude Riotto (Bass)
Rajkishen Narayanan (Vocal)
Chris Dialogue (Drums)

Avalanche - Perseverance kills our game (Kraut/Prog) {Netherland} [1979]

On the mostly instrumental Perseverance Kills Our Game, Avalanche achieves all that makes a low-budget production endearing. First of all, the playing is true to the heart - an intangible that is subtle though very recognizable for those who hear these type of recordings on a regular basis. The musicianship here is superb though hardly symphony orchestra quality. And there is a real intimacy that surrounds the atmosphere - as if you're in the room while they're recording. And perhaps the fact that Avalanche have six full-time members helps keep the album from the one-dimensional nature of most private releases.

Side one is primarily a folk rock affair with wonderful acoustic guitar, piano, bass, drums and sparse (one track), but well done vocals. The real highlights, though, have to be the gorgeous flutes (various types) and the soaring and spiritual electric guitar work. For pure haunting folk, "Cola-tik" is the embodiment of melancholy whereas the progressive folk rock number "Maiden Voyage" displays the band's talent with extended compositions.


While the opening side is excellent, there is no foreshadowing of the brilliance to be found on the flip side. It moves beyond folk rock to a more complex prog rock sound and climaxing at the end of the album with a psychedelic space rock sequence not found since the glory days of Krautrock and bands like Ash Ra Tempel. "Transcendence" starts this side with serene piano and is augmented by bagpipe and flute. Then a powerful electric guitar enters to play the same beautiful melody. The tone gets noticeably louder until there's a dramatic break. Here, Avalanche display a ferocity that is a complete contrast to the delicate and mellow nature displayed so far. A soft, two-minute acoustic ballad is inserted to calm the nerves before the massively powerful "Oblivion" enters. This 11-minute plus opus is the high water mark for folk rock.
As on "Transcendence", the composition opens softly with a stunning acoustic guitar melody which is then offset by some dire sounding flutes followed by harmonium. It's just unbelievably pretty yet somehow very sad. Just when you're ready to cry, the electric rhythm guitar begins a simple, jazzy pattern. The bass and drums follow shortly thereafter creating a head-moving groove. Entering unannounced is a twin guitar attack which begins to pulverize your senses. The sound is heavy and acidic like that of Manuel Göttsching, and the playing has the same soul the Ash Ra guitarist has. The solo contains a number of original melodies within that add to the special quality. And this goes on for close to seven minutes to solidify one of the most intense and beautiful guitar solos in rock history. The album ends at the peak of the solo; one almost wishes for another 15 minutes to be found from the same tape. What a trip through the emotions!

(Thomas Hayes; http://thomashayes.com/albums/avalanche.htm)

Tracklistings:

01/ Lodalientje (03:55)
02/ Cola Tik (02:47)
03/ Hymns on wind and water (05:17)
04/ Maiden voyage (06:56)
05/ Glumsick for 20 fingers (01:18)
06/ Transcendence (for Leo) (07:11)
07/ Image of long gone by (02:29)
08/ Oblivion (11:14)

Lodalientje:

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Ian Matthews "If You Saw Thro' My Eyes" {UK} {1971} (Acid Folk, Folk-rock)

Some days ago I went shopping at the local second hand store for used vinyls. While I was browsing, this one showed up that had the Vertigo swirl so it looked really interesting. And it only cost about 6 euros so why not! However I think you people know Ian from the group Fairport Convention. Before that, he played with the group Pyramid, who recorded a single for Deram. After that, he became a member of Fairport Convention on their first 2 albums. After quitting Fairport, he formed the band Matthews Southern Comfort, who released an album back in 1970. In that year, when the band reached their peak of popularity, Ian left to record solo work. Really great folk-rock, especially this one and Tigers Will Survive, also recorded in 1971.



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Best wishes from Sweden