The Mind Expansion Thread - Psych/Space Rock

ELECTRIC ORANGE Music Reviews

Studio Album, 2003

3.00 | 2 ratings
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Platte
Electric Orange Krautrock

Review by sinkadotentree
Prog Reviewer

3.5 stars.For me this is a step up from the previous album "Abgelaufen!" but it's not quite worth 4 stars.I suppose i've been spoiled by their excellent "Morbus" release,it's hard not to compare their earlier albums to "Morbus" when it was the first record by them that i had heard. "Kwark" is the 20 minute opener.It has a mid-paced trippy beat throughout.The organ becomes more prominant 3 1/2 minutes in and the overall sound is building.Great sound 7 minutes in and later at the 9 minute mark, as we get some good organ runs as the drums pound away. "Holzbock" is more uptempo with a catchy beat.I agree with Rivertree that this song recalls CAN.Guitar before 1 1/2 minutes joins in.Organ comes in before 4 minutes. "Columb" is the 11 minute closer.This is my favourite of the three tracks.It's led by heavy drums as organ and synths create an almost haunting atmosphere.Mellotron 7 1/2 minutes in. I don't know but this record and the previous one just don't seem very inspired after listening to Morbus.It's like the latter is in colour,while the other two are in black and white.

Studio Album, 2001
3.00 | 1 ratings
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Abgelaufen!
Electric Orange Krautrock

Review by sinkadotentree
Prog Reviewer

— First review of this album —

3.5 stars. This was released in 2001, but was based on sessions recorded July 1999-August 2000,and was mastered by Eroc at The Ranch. This is very much a hit and miss affair for me. Maybe i was spoiled by starting with their "Morbus" release which is simply amazing. This one is trippy,repetitive and fairly laid back overall,it just doesn't have those outstanding moments that "Morbus" does. "Off" opens with hammond organ as a beat comes in.Then a different,more uptempo beat takes over.The organ is back ripping it up, and it takes turn with the guitar the rest of the way.Great start. They slow things down on "Dym".A relexed beat leads the way until a complete change after 3 minutes.Then we get spoken words as the beat has stopped.The rhythm returns after 4 1/2 minutes with organ.More spoken words 6 minutes in.Mellotron before 7 minutes.Nice. "Zwiestuck" has this catchy beat as vocals come in reminding me a lot of Damo Suzuki.This sounds so much like CAN! "Bandeins Swingklar" is experimental early with different sounds coming and going.Farfisa organ 5 1/2 minutes in and some mellotron.This is a dark soundscape. "Golden Lake" opens with percussion and a dark mood.The tempo picks up with hammond, then vocals join in.The organ becomes prominant after 2 1/2 minutes.Guitar before 4 minutes.It settles 4 1/2 minutes in for a couple of minues then the organ and vocals lead the way once again. "Gruff" features a mid-paced dark rhythm with faint vocals for 11 minutes. "Hydrat" is more upbeat and faster paced than the previous song.An infectious beat to this one. "Ganus Abgelaufen" is the 15 minute closer.This is slow moving and dark throughout.There are these faint spoken words and some organ. Lots to like about this record,but they will improve upon this with "Morbus".

Studio Album, 2007
4.00 | 2 ratings
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Morbus
Electric Orange Krautrock

Review by sinkadotentree
Prog Reviewer

4.5 stars.Thanks to bands like ELECTRIC ORANGE and THE FUTURE KINGS OF ENGLAND krautrock is alive and well in 2008.I don't know if the spirit of krautrock ever really died but i sure appreciate these bands giving us fresh material to listen to.The only thing i don't like is the cover art,but it's all about the music right? "Einwahn" opens with samples that make you think were in a middle of a party.Then the pounding drums arrive with guitar melodies.This is very repetitive(hey it's krautrock) and catchy.Organ joins in at 2 1/2 minutes.A minute later the sound changes as the drums become less prominant. "Rote Flocken" has these spacey sounds,drums and spoken words.Processed vocals 2 minutes in and a heavy soundscape.Organ runs are great that follow.Dissonant flugel?(sounds like trumpet) out of nowhere after 3 minutes.Distorted guitar and organ are outstanding. "Span 5" has this mid-paced,catchy rhythm.The bass stands out as the organ comes and goes.The harmonium cries out 3 minutes in.This is amazing! Some ripping organ 5 minutes in to the end. "Morbus" opens with percussion and drums as spoken words arrive.It's almost impossible not to groove to this one.A powerful wall of sound 2 minutes in changes things briefly before the beat comes back.This contrast continues. "Errorman" opens with sinister sounding organ as a nice heavy sound comes in.Drums and organ dominate this tune.Vocals a minute in.This is incredible! The melody stops 6 1/2 minutes in as deep,dark sounds take over,then back to the melody. "Flohfunknest" opens with drums,bass and strange sounds.Powerful organ joins in.Spoken words come in as drums,bass and organ lead the way. "Traumama" is spacey with drums and organ.Female vocal melodies 2 1/2 minutes in.Guitar comes and goes. "Krautschock" opens with dark,spacey sounds as drums and spoken words come in.The flute comes and goes.Organ and other sounds come and go.This is trippy stuff,i like it. "Wald" features drones and spacey sounds to open with no melody.An OZRIC TENTACLES-like beat comes in 2 1/2 minutes with organ.Vocals 5 1/2 minutes in with spacey synths.The beat stops 7 minutes in but then kicks back in with attitude.Killer guitar too.Fantastic ending on this one,incredible song. "Reaching" is a restrained tune with percussion,processed vocals and mellotron.Freaking amazing! Strummed guitar and flute also come in.The sound on this one reminds me a little of OPETH's Damnation album. "Schohl 2" is different with outbursts of sound coming and going.Not a fan of this one. Sarau sounds great with these waves of sound with organ and flute.A very spacey,FLOYD-like soundscape.Before 4 minutes in a beat arrives and the tempo picks up.Guitar after 7 minutes is atmospheric then noisy in a good way.Love the last 1 1/2 minutes of this one. Favourites are "Span 5","Errorman","Wald","Reaching" and "Sarau". Thought about 5 stars because i adore this record.but at 78 minutes in length it has it's share of average moments.Lots of variety though.

Live, 2002
4.00 | 1 ratings
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Unterwasser - Live 2002
Electric Orange Krautrock

Review by Rivertree
Special Collaborator Psych/Space Team & Band Submissions

— First review of this album —

Electric Orange underwater ...

ELECTRIC ORANGE's masterminds Dirk Jan Müller and Dirk Bittner had been invited to perform two live sets during the 10th anniversary concert of the Manikin label in 2002. The event took place at the Toskana Therme - a thermal bath at Bad Sulza in Germany - and experienced 18 different performances of acts from all over the electronic scene. It was a 36 hour non-stop event with lightshow and over/underwater soundsystem. Due to this special happening with a relaxed and warm atmosphere ELECTRIC ORANGE was playing very floating, spacey performances managing the electronic side of krautrock here whilst people were drifting in the water or were lying around.

They picked up some themes from the former 2001 studio release 'Abgelaufen!' but also older and new tunes. Because the music happened spontaneously, improvised, one can only recognize basics of this tracks. Ffurg is starting the first two hour set in a Tangerine Dream mood with a monotonic slinking beat by sampled percussion. Some twittering synths which are typical for space rock bands are also integrated. The dreamy Transit ins Jenseits with guitar contributions similar to Ashra is an excellent more psych oriented groover - gripping - always leaving you curious how the track developes. Fading into the shorter Sauerkirsch with a weird creepy touch the excerpts of the first set are finished.

Not of ... is another psych monster mainly caused by Bittner's excellent guitar work and a dull electronic bass groove. Wet cake as a fascinating and somewhat confusing synth sample opens the door for Ortat the masterpiece of this set. Again a synthetically generated hypnotic bass is initiating this song which unites psychedelic and electronic elements in a special way. Drum samples are faded in after a while which cares for a killer groove, later followed by floydy organ and guitar - hard to overtop.

With Span 2 Ashra and early TD like floating sounds are following now once more wheras Hydrog later is characterized by a more Can resp. Kraftwerk vibe. Mk closes this quite varied performance with a melodic flow dominated by guitar and organ which were swirling around nicely supported by a tambourine simulated drive.

More than 150 minutes of groundbreaking trippy music. Take a seat - maybe in your bath if possible - with your headphones on and enjoy the voyage! Fans of electronic and spacey psychedelic sounds shouldn't miss this album.

Studio Album, 2003
3.00 | 2 ratings
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Platte
Electric Orange Krautrock

Review by Rivertree
Special Collaborator Psych/Space Team & Band Submissions

Can you find a holzbock on platte?

I don't know if the song titles have any sense. It doesn't matter - the main thing is to judge the musical output in the end. Here we have an album with some band jams mastered by Eroc at his 'ranch'. Originally released as a long player in 2003 - platte is a german expression for vinyl - the digitalized version from 2007 contains two bonus tracks. ELECTRIC ORANGE is delivering a special unique album - something I've never heard before. Either you love it or not. Fans of Hammond drenched music must be satisfied. But don't expect rock songs as usual. The basis of this album are hypnotic beats, pointed out monotonous with intention and the band members are spinning a fine web around them with their instruments.

kwark, nearly 20 trance minutes long, has a gloomy meandering begin. The song is absolutely Hammond infected but also with spacy guitars and raises in waves. holzbock with an impelling rhythm work remembers much at CAN. columb is my favourite - melancholic trippy with a floating beat because of the use of old drums. Probably suitable for a film music about camel riding across the Sahara - fantastic! Dedicated to mk with a swirling Hammond, caused by a Leslie I suppose, is recorded in memory of Michael Karoli from CAN who sadly died in 2001. This song was released on a Manikin Records sampler before. On flurstück something like a rhythm machine gives a minimalistic beat only accompanied by harmonium and flügel. The bonus tracks are rounding up the album with more variety.

Don't listen to this stuff only for one or two times - you will lose. The more I hear this the more I like it. Very creative album. References to the old kraut and psych times are intended but ELECTRIC ORANGE are delivering something new. 3.5 stars really.

Studio Album, 2007
4.00 | 2 ratings
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Review by Rivertree
Special Collaborator Psych/Space Team & Band Submissions

Now it's time to present the current album of ELECTRIC ORANGE, a german band which was founded in the year 1992. The members describe their music as Neo Krautrock - that suits fine as a matter of fact. 'Morbus' - mastered by Eroc (Grobschnitt) - shines with much variety and a wealth of details is to be considered whereas the cover artwork is a controversial thing anyway. Very deliberately, I think. The songs are constantly driven by hypnotic grooves, embraced with space/psychedelic organ and synth layers. Samples and diverse other elements like german recitatives are integrated and there are many 'inventions for guitar'. ELECTRIC ORANGE's music is somewhat retro, inspired by Krautrock bands of the 60/70s with their typical Trance and Psych. But you can also feel a 'modern' TripHop/TripRock touch. Provided with some crazy ideas this album has a very special unique atmosphere.

Einwahn is arranged to be the only way to get into the album for sure. I assume the band changes one letter of the german expression 'Einbahn' (One way). And it comes up a compelling song with a very repetitive rhythm. Initiated by some samples the track develops from a mysterious Trance mood to a Psych groover offering some impressions what follows in the next 70 minutes. Rote Flocken, cumbersome, seems to be provided with another title variation (Rote Socken?). A modified voice recitates german lyrics accompanied by distorted guitars. The track sounds like a krautrocked version of the french volkslied 'Frère Jacques' - absolutely crazy! Next one Span 5 has got its place on this album totally improvised without any reworking - a Space Jam which remembers me at AMON DÜÜL's Yeti decorated with some floydy keys. The title song Morbus has nothing to do with any sort of disease, right? A german voice with an accent is giving a lecture about ... nonsense? Weird guitars are interrupting this interesting lesson from time to time - what the hell is goin' on here?

Errorman follows - gloomy, Mellotron pregnant, symphonic with heavy guitars and english spoken words. In opposite to this Flohfunknest swings because it's carried by a jazzy contrabass. Someone brushes his teeth, recorded secretely and used as the only long solo of the album - oh boy! Unfortunately I couldn't find any credit which band member is responsible for that! Traumama - another pun - you have 5 minutes to give it a serious consideration. Space/Psych with nice female voices and ASHRA guitars. Krautschock is beautiful relaxed with flute and organ - the song flows just like a meditation mass. Vibraphone alike sounds, Harmonium and freaky samples in the background are initiating the longest track Wald. A punching bass and spacy keyboards are giving the song a new direction after a while. Noticable is also one of the rare guitar solos at the end.

Reaching enlarges ELECTRIC ORANGE's repertoire with a ballad surprisingly, supported by the use of acoustic guitar, percussion and Mellotron. The door to avantgarde music is opened wide due to Schöhl 2, hard to define, fascinating - it picks you up on its way to another universe. After a beautiful melancholic meandering intro with flute Sarau glides into a sensitive TripRock groove - my personal favourite. Fine organ layers, excellent bass lines and guitars matching with Manuel Göttsching. The song ends with a sudden death much too early and you are back and present with the one and only avoidable question: what can I expect from this band in the future?

'Morbus' seems to be ELECTRIC ORANGE's masterpiece at the moment. As for the first impressions you might think it's monotonous here and there. But if you take some time the album unfolds its beauty. For the summary a must have - not only for Krautrock fans - get it and enjoy!

 CARLTON MELTON

http://www.myspace.com/carltonmelton

 

1. Pitom (3:48)
2. Haish Sheraa Hakol (3:19)
3. Hor Balevana (6:28)
4. Mechonat Hazman (2:53)
5. Kol Kivun (6:05)
6. Ktifa Schora (4:24)
7. Lifamim (4:41)
8. Meuhar Kvar Lo (1:43)
9. Ani, Ani Vema Shmafrid Binenu (4:17)
10. Ze (3:03)
11. Ed Medina (1:52)
12. Sof Haderech (4:09)
13. Haish Sheraa Yoter Midai (0:35)
14. Afar (7:33)

Total Time: 54:04

- Eli Lulai / guitars, acoustic guitar, vocals
- Marc Lazare / guitar, bass, vocals
- Baruch Ben Itzhak / bass, guitars, vocals
- Issar Tennenbaum / drums, percussion

Open-Mind

"The Man Who Saw It All" is the 2nd studio album of Rockfour. The album characterized with 60's style psychedelic sound. Although the tracks were pretty long and complicated, and part of them are instrumental, he was very successful producing hits like "The Man Who Saw It All" (Track 2) , "Time Machine" (T4) , "Hole In The Moon" (T3) and "Any Direction" (T5) and many people define it as the best israeli album ever. Isn't it a bit disturbing to say that, for an album who is just 12 years old?

Rockfour like to play it 60's in "TMWSIA" in every aspect: from the non-conceptual instrumental tracks, the divided sound (Guitars on the left vehicle, vocals on the right - see track 02), to the sweet composings with background vocals and great harmonies. After the galloping open ("Suddenly"), Eli Lulai and his friends start to symbol the power of one of the best albums i've ever heard with "The Man Who Saw It All", "Hole In The Moon" (where Baruch Ben-Yitzhak defines a dirty guitar sound for generations to come), "Time Machine" (which can remind you of The Beatles' "For No One", in a way) and one of the best psychedelic tracks ever to be recorded in hebrew (if not the best of them) - "Any Direction".

If i can be perfectly urnest, i believe that until track no. 8, "Late No Longer", Rockfour gives you - track by track - pure israeli classics. The album grows up with the listener, so that he can learn to love even the less communicative in it - for example, if in the beginning i couldn't stop hearing "The Man Who Saw It All" and "Time Machine", i began learning to love the complexity and the beauty of the storming guitars and electric bass of Baruch & Mark in "Sometimes", and i litterally fell on the floor when Eli started screaming and Iser before "It"'s chorus. I can't even switch tracks in this album, because Rockfour have created a musical journey, when every track builds the next track, and the album as a whole. This is not a concept album, but with the time the listener turns it to a concept album deep inside.

So is the best israeli album ever a perfect song compliation? no. There are some tracks that steals this title from "TMWSIA". There are not bad tracks, or even medicore - but with the high standard that Rockfour puts here, even "good" tracks can interrupt the musical orgasm that Rockfour provides. You can mention "Late No Longer" and "Me, Myself And What Comes Between Us" (Track no. 09), are obstacles in this album's way to the top of the international music mountains.

After Track 10, comes "Witness", which is really an exposition to one of the album's peaks - "End Of The Road". In "End" Rockfour proves they can be cynical, sharp & rageous and provides a full well-done rock anthem, with extra-ordinary drumming by Iser Tennenbaum, and mainly the singing by Eli Lulai, that will reach perfection in "Supermarket". The album ends with two instrumental tracks - "The Man Who Saw Too Much" and "Dust", that besides being a stage to Rockfour's talent, really contributes to the circle feeling that the album gives, like commands you to press play again and to re-experience the journey you have just witnessed to.

So if the Rockfour-haters, the ones that define them as "A very good band, that didn't reached it's full potential" (since when a rock band became a 12 year old student?!) - "TMWSIA" is the israeli album i've most enjoyed listening to, and i recommend it very much, because it's one of the best things that can happen to your musical archive.